A Review of the Sustainability Report of Jain Irrigation Systems Limited

A REVIEW OF THE SUSTAINABILITY REPORT OF JAIN IRRIGATION SYSTEMS LIMITED

Submitted to

Mrs. Anita Chouhan

Prepared by

Shraddha Chillarige C12

Vivek Hariharan C24

Manisha Kumar C36

Mythri Macherla C40

Shubhangi Saraf C49

Anurag Thakurta C59

Kanchan Tiwari C61

NARSEE MONJEE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

CONTENTS

S. No. Topic Page No.

1. Introduction 3

2. Around the World 4

3. Triple Bottom Line Review 5

4. Sustainability Challenges 6

5. Business Strategy 7

6. Stakeholder Engagement 9

7. Strategic CSR 12

8. Future Projects of JISL 15

9. Independent Reviews 16

10. Conclusion 17

11. Bibliography 18

1. INTRODUCTION

Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. (JISL) is a multinational organization and one of the leading agri - business groups operating from Jalgaon, Maharashtra with a global presence in 120 countries. Besides being the largest provider of Micro Irrigation Systems (MIS) in India, its product range spans a diverse spectrum of the agri-business value chain.

The company's product range includes piping systems consisting of PVC pipes and polyethylene (HDPE/ LDPE) pipe products, plastic sheets consisting of PVC sheets and polycarbonate (PC) sheet products; agro processed products consisting of dehydrated onion, processed fruit purees and concentrates and other products such as agricultural tissue culture Hybrid & Grafted Plants; Greenhouses, Poly and Shade Houses; Bio-fertilizers; Solar Water Heating Systems and Solar Photovoltaic Appliances (Solar lighting systems) and Bio-Energy sources.

Based on its experience in the micro irrigation space, JISL provides agri-business related consultancy for project planning and implementation for services like Watershed or Wasteland and / or Crop Selection and Rotation.

JISL has been expanding its business scope with time and has extended its operations from Maharashtra to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and now has plants in USA and Israel. The overseas market has started emerging as a significant contributor to its top and bottom line.

2. AROUND THE WORLD

Although JISL seems to be a relatively lesser-known organization, they have been making the news around the globe. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, honoured Jain Irrigation Systems Limited with the annual IFC Client Leadership Award, noting the company's pioneering work to promote sustainable agriculture and raise farmers' incomes through the efficient use of water, energy, and fertilizer. They acknowledged that use of Jain's drip-irrigation technology has resulted in water savings equal to the annual water consumption of more than 10 million households. In addition, Jain was praised for having tailored its business model to include the poor; creating a supply chain of 25,000 small farmers, 90 percent of whom work with less than one hectare of land. Also, the use of drip irrigation has also led to efficiency gains that have raised annual incomes for small farmers by up to $1,000.

IFC further proposed to invest $2.7 million to help JISL set up a non-banking finance company (NBFC). Jain Irrigation has been working on floating the NBFC, called Sustainable Agro-Commercial Finance Limited, and IFC had announced earlier this year to invest $5 million as part of initial capitalisation for a minority stake in the rural financing unit. The NBFC proposes to provide loans to small farmers in installing micro-irrigation systems and improve farm productivity. The project is expected to benefit more than 6,00,000 farmers with limited access to credit over the next five years.

Jain and USAID partnered in 2008 to align the company's grades and standards with international food safety standards, raising the quality and safety of Indian-produced food. Jain uses U.S. technology in its irrigation system and has five plants in the United States that collectively provide jobs to more than 300 people.

Also in 2008, the chairman, Mr. B.H. Jain was bestowed with the prestigious 'Padma Shri' award by Government of India. Mr Jain was honoured for exceptional and distinguished work done by him in promoting science and engineering in agricultural sector, on which, majority of population of India depends for their livelihood. Mr. Jain had pioneered introduction and propagation of micro irrigation technology in India for small farmers. He was also awarded The Crawford Reid Memorial Award instituted by the US-based Irrigation Association, for "Significant Contribution to the Irrigation Industry outside the United States."

3. TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE REVIEW

Over the years, JISL has transformed into a varied agri-business entity. "Leave this world better than you found it"- this is their mission statement, traces of which can be found throughout their growth and learning curve all along these years that they have progressed. In other words, their business objective of making profits is at one with their commitment to its social responsibility and environmental concerns.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been one of the foundation stones of JISL's business ethos since their inception. Be it their diversified product portfolios, the way they engage with their stakeholders or their philanthropic activities, their diligence towards CSR is well reflected in all their aforementioned actions. Incorporating high work standards with the latest