Jasbir Grewal, Head, Fortis Charitable Foundation and Executive VP, Fortis Healthcare, discusses the challenges involved in implementing CSR at hospitals in India, with M Neelam Kachhap
Is CSR a priority for corporate hospitals in India or is it mere tokenism?
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a priority for Fortis Hospitals. For Fortis, as an organisation, CSR has always been more than just a legal mandate – it is about corporations being socially responsible and focusing on sections of society who cannot afford quality healthcare. We have been working with the underprivileged since 2003. The Fortis Charitable Foundation was established in 2005 with the intention of supporting preventive and remedial healthcare services to vulnerable sections of society.
How would you define CSR with respect to corporate hospitals? Would you define it in terms of its stakeholders or as a form of capital stock renewal?
At Fortis Foundation, we have been working with those who cannot afford quality preventive and remedial healthcare for the past decade. The recent government mandate requires a certain minimum spending on CSR, and being accountable to its stakeholders, it is our responsibility to report all such spending in a transparent way.
What is the difference between CSR and traditional corporate philanthropy?
Traditionally, corporate philanthropy was based on a model of charity where a project continued to be dependent on the donation and would continue only till the donor thought necessary. The CSR mandate amounts to a huge allocation of funds towards social causes. Today, in India, CSR is starting to play a major role in areas like education and health. The due diligence required for disbursement of CSR funds also creates certain accountability in project implementation.
According to corporate philosophy, corporates can and should discharge their social responsibility by engaging in ethical business. However, recently there has been a lot of criticism about unethical business practices of corporate hospitals in India. Comment.
The definition of ethical business is subjective. Every corporate has a unique way of functioning. It is important that ethical generalisation that runs organisations should abide by the law of the land and help the beneficiaries on the ground.
Do you believe that CSR is a strategy for capturing and sustaining markets? Would you like to provide examples from your business?
CSR is not a strategy for capturing and sustaining markets. It is a method of ensuring that all corporates put aside a percentage of their profits for helping those who cannot afford, in our case, quality healthcare. Our healthcare initiatives do not focus on marketing our services rather it is about using our strengths for the benefit of people, especially those who are economically vulnerable.
Social and environmental stability and sustainability are two important pre-requisites for the sustainability of market in the long run. How can corporate hospitals deliver this?
Corporate hospitals should be responsible and accountable in their functioning – whether it be through performance or interactions at every level of society. The principal philosophy of a hospital should be driven by the need to save lives, create strong preventive health mechanisms and earn trust among the stakeholders about best practices in healthcare. Social and environmental stability will follow. It cannot be the other way round.
Would you agree that accountability, transparency and social and environmental investment are key aspects of CSR. Can you give examples of how this is being practiced at your organisation?
With our CSR projects, there is continuous assessment of the process and impact in terms of the project need and implementation. Our focus is healthcare for the vulnerable and hence more inclined to social impact as that is our key area. Environmental investment is more embedded in the way we operate as an organisation – the way we run all our hospitals. We abide by all the statutory pollution and environmental norms. Whether it’s to do with recycling of medical waste, waste water filtering processes but we also conduct stringent training of all staff on how to handle and segregate waste. This is done to sustain Fortis as an environmentally sound organisation.
Are you working with non-profit and government organisations to solve social problems?
Fortis Foundation is collaborating with several non-profit organisations such as – The Needy Heart Foundation, Aishwarya Trust, Being Human Foundation, Rotary Club, and Government of Punjab among others, as a health partner. On an average, we conduct 80-100 congenital heart defect surgeries per month for children, referred to us by our partners. We have linkages with NGOs, government agencies and other corporate CSR foundations to carry out awareness programmes, health camps and disaster relief initiatives in case of natural calamities.
Has the Indian government created incentive policies as tax savings for hospitals practising CSR?
The government does not offer any incentive policies as tax savings for hospitals practising CSR. Tax benefits (under 80G) are only applicable for voluntary donations to a registered organisation.
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