Wednesday, September 28, 2011

CSR at ONGC

The mission of ONGC stated that the company would have an "abiding commitment to health, safety, and environment to enrich quality of community life."And this mission was reflected in its CSR activities. CSR at ONGC began as a philanthropic activity where the company contributed to several socio-economic developmental programs like building schools and hospitals, developing agriculture and cottage industry, building infrastructure facilities, etc., around its areas of operation on an ad hoc basis...

ONGC's CSR programs at the corporate level focused on disaster relief management and water management projects. When disasters struck India, ONGC provided relief and helped state and central governments in rehabilitating those affected. For example, when a heavy cyclone hit the eastern state of Orissa in 1999, the company provided immediate relief like food, drinking water, temporary shelters, medicine, clothing, etc. ONGC doctors provided medical treatment round the clock. The company also contributed Rs. 80 million toward the Prime Minister's relief fund and took steps to rehabilitate the cyclone victims...


ONGC took several measures to reduce pollution and support conservation of resources through the utilization of waste. The company formulated its Environment Policy as early as 1983 and adopted environment protection as one of its objectives in 1988.

It even created a separate department called the Department of Environment (DoE) to ensure that environmental safeguards were in place. The environment policy of the company made it mandatory to submit an "environmental impact assessment report"to the DoE at the time of project formulation...

Safety

ONGC set up the Institute of Petroleum Safety, Health and Environment management (IPSHEM) in 1989 with the objective of improving the safety, health, and environment standards in the Indian petroleum industry. The institute offered training courses in safety and environment management and a special training program for off-shore personnel...