Tata Council for Community Initiatives via @tatacompanies

A journey towards an ideal | The Tata Corporate Sustainability Policy | Tata Index for Sustainable Human Development Taxonomy

The Tata Council for Community Initiatives (TCCI) is a unique initiative that lends structure to the Tata group's approach of sustainable development while driving its community engagement and improvement programmes. It is a centrally administered agency whose purpose is to help Tata companies and employees engage in developing the community through specific processes.

TCCI was established in 1996 to bring together good practices within the Tata group in the sphere of corporate sustainability. Its charter is extensive, embracing a range of sustainable development initiatives such as community outreach, environmental management, biodiversity restoration, climate change initiatives and employee volunteering. TCCI's mission states: "We will work together to be, and to be seen as, a group which strives to serve our communities and the society at large".

TCCI is also involved in assisting Tata companies address sustainability reporting as per guidelines set by the Global Reporting Initiative. It is the focal point for the UN Global Compact in India, which has 42 Tata companies as signatories, the highest in the world from a single business group.

In collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (India), TCCI has crafted the Tata Index for Sustainable Human Development, a pioneering effort aimed at directing, measuring and enhancing the community work that Tata enterprises undertake. The Index provides guidelines for Tata companies looking to fulfil their social responsibilities.

TCCI's participatory network is headed by Dr Mukund Rajan (who is also brand custodian, spokesperson and chief ethics officer of the Tata group), and includes chief executive officers of major Tata companies. The TCCI agenda is largely driven by employees. Tata executives, facilitators and volunteers provide impetus to the TCCI network through their conviction, dedication and involvement in the work that is undertaken.

The Tata Corporate Sustainability Policy
We continue to encourage our companies to:

Demonstrate responsibility and sensitivity to biodiversity and the environment in which they operate by being proactive to conserve, restore and enrich it systematically and continuously
Comply with regulations relating to environment, constantly upgrade technology and apply state-of-the-art processes and practices with institutional arrangements that will comprehensively address larger issues and goals on climate change and global warming
Continually illustrate performance in preventing pollution, ensure the optimum use of resources, and minimise harmful impacts of products and production processes, materials movement and its delivery throughout its supply chain
Create sustainable livelihoods and build community through social outreach programmes in health, education, empowerment of women and youth, employee volunteering, that can be measured in terms of their having more lasting benefits, serving a larger national or regional purpose, and also making it more meaningful to all involved in the endeavour
Find ways to enhance human, social, natural capital as complementing financial growth of the enterprise with explicit goals and processes to sustain the effort

For this purpose, the companies will adhere to our core values, deploy appropriate approaches, demonstrate leadership, train, position key professionals; and create consciousness among employees, suppliers, contractors, customers and the community at large through a process of continuous dialogue, initiatives and collaboration.

Some initiatives of Tata companies:

Bridging the divide
Tata Teleservices is using technology to provide differently abled individuals with employment and opportunity
Engines of their own growth
Tata Motors, through cooperative societies and vocational programmes, is empowering women and youth with economic independence
Unlocking hidden potential
Titan Industries has, by redefining societal attitudes, given the women of Krishnagiri, Karnataka, new wings of social and economic empowerment
Tackling learning disabilities
Tata Interactive Systems has adopted the cause of children with learning disabilities
A touch of caring
Taj Hotels’ corporate sustainability processes run deep and strong, preserving the environment and serving communities wherever in the world its properties are located
The all-round approach
The long term is at the core of Tata Steel’s corporate sustainability activities, which span health, education, environment, livelihoods, and land and water management
The power to change
Tata Power has engaged in numerous corporate sustainability and community development projects to make sure that communities and other stakeholders benefit from the company's presence
Taking the long-term view
By enabling community participation and focusing on the future,
Tata Chemicals ensures that its corporate sustainability initiatives are meaningful

Tata Index for Sustainable Human Development Taxonomy
The need for reporting all actions on the corporate sustainability and social responsibility dimensions of business is now recognised across industries. However, given the wide scope of the subject and the absence of any standard, objective and quantifiable way of reporting, even organisations belonging to the same sector and reporting to the same regulator tend to adopt different methods for reporting on their sustainability initiatives and their impact on society and the environment.

The Tata Index for Sustainable Human Development provides a way of fixing objective coordinates of organisations on a comprehensive scale. This is done by a team of internal and external assessors who jointly analyse the impact of the organisation’s vision, strategies, and systems and processes on all stakeholders.

The Tata Council for Community Initiatives has formed a partnership with eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) – a global standard for the exchange of business information – to create a social and environmental dimension and to co-create significant sustainable value to the existing form of XBRL as a special offering.

The main purpose of this offering is to set business reporting and information management in the emerging triple bottom line context, as well as in the larger context of integrated business reporting. The taxonomy is specially designed for enlightened businesses, investors, governments and regulators, enabling them to make informed choices and decisions that will sustain their own and their stakeholders’ interests.

Here are links to the Tata Index for Sustainable Human Development Taxonomy: