Industry leaders discuss the role of communication in amplifying CSR initiatives

In today’s time, brands are judged not only by their products but also by their purpose. At the 15th edition of e4m IPRCCC 2024, a distinguished panel of experts discussed on “Role of Communication in Amplifying CSR Initiatives”.

Moderated by Ritika Upmanyu of exchange4media, the session featured industry leaders including Ms. Kirti Dhingra, Vice President, Corporate Communications, IHCL, Bhavna Singh, Vice President, Communications, BSV, Chhavi Leekha, Independent Consultant, Neha Singhvi, VP - Public Affairs, Communications & CSR, Games 24x7, and Dr. Rajiv Chhibber, Vice President - External Affairs, Sahajanand Medical Technologies Ltd.

Singhvi set the tone of the discussion, emphasizing how communication within CSR has evolved in the past few years and stated, “CSR has evolved over from being just an initiative many years ago to becoming a participatory model, where the focus shifted from simply the what to increasingly emphasizing the why and how. This also brought greater attention to the impact and long-term outcomes of CSR activities. Today, it sits at the very heart of business strategies.”

“When your own employees volunteer over weekends to mentor children from underserved communities, that’s the true power of storytelling and impact. That’s the impact of communication,” she said, stressing the importance of communication in CSR storytelling.

Explaining how professionals can make CSR less transactional and more transformative, Kirti referred to the Taj Public Service Welfare Trust created post the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008. “That trust continues to serve communities to this day, during COVID-19, it provided 1.6 million meals and 60,000 room nights for healthcare workers. That's transformation, not transaction,” she asserted. She further highlighted a major achievement that consistent, credible CSR work had played a role in the Taj being named the Best Brand Across Sectors by UK-based Brand Finance. She emphasized that CSR communications where there is action plays a huge role on the reputational relevance.

Speaking next, Chhibber discussed the fine line between genuine CSR and greenwashing. “CSR communication needs to be rooted in stakeholder engagement and must speak to purpose with credibility. For this, we didn’t want to do CSR just to offset the 2% quota. We created a ‘PPP’ model: Participation for Public Purpose, not public-private partnership,” he explained.

He further shared one of their standout initiatives, Swasta Dil Goal, which focuses on cardiovascular health in aspirational districts. The initiative trains general practitioners and offers hands-on learning for young cardiologists in under-resourced areas. This initiative was deeply integrated with internal and external communications to ensure accountability, stakeholder engagement, and visibility.

Bhavna Singh shared a deeply inspiring CSR campaign that beautifully tied together business ethos and social empowerment and spoke about BSV’s ongoing collaboration with the Abhinav Bindra Foundation. She proudly discussed that their initiative, Sports for Her, identifies and supports potential Olympic athletes from rural India. “As a women’s health company, we found that women’s sports are as neglected as women’s health. This initiative aligns with our purpose and has shown real results as some of the girls have already won medals at the Asian Games,” she said. She further underlined that CSR should be sustainable and deeply tied to the organization’s core values. “If your marketing team is driving your CSR narrative, it’s probably not real CSR,” she added.

Leekha made a strong case for making CSR more measurable and accountable. “Only 26% of CSR projects are actually tracked. If we want real impact, we must strengthen monitoring and evaluation,” she asserted. She addressed the need for integrating national, business, and local agendas while making employees the first line of CSR ambassadors. According to her, CSR now becoming an important element of the entire ESG scenario and effective communication is not just about visibility, it’s about verifiability. “Please use your LinkedIn, WhatsApp groups, and digital tools to push the right message. CSR can’t rely on press releases anymore,” she emphasized.

She also mentioned that CSR is about pushing an agenda that integrates with overall business objectives, integrate it with national agenda or hyper-local agenda, then it can drive an impact.

Returning to the idea of clarity and intentionality, Singhvi identified a common mistake in CSR communication today. “People mistake initiatives for impact. You’re not running a campaign, you’re working on long-term social transformation,” she said. She also stressed the importance of asking the right questions internally before crafting communication strategies because without understanding the ‘why,’ communicators can’t effectively share the ‘what’.

Dhingra mentioned that having a framework of reporting can help professionals measure CSR initiatives impact effectively.

The session moved to a rapid-fire round where panellists answered their perspective on One word wrongly associated with CSR? To this, Chhibber answered ‘Transactional’, Singh said, ‘Charity’. Similarly, Leekha mentioned the word ‘Donation’. Asked about red flags in CSR storytelling, Singhvi pointed to “inauthenticity,” while Dhingra highlighted communication that is “not integrated with business strategy.”

Lastly, the panellists shared a message for the young professionals entering the industry. Chhibber recommended formal training in CSR and compliance, stating, “Learn CSR before you lead CSR. Take courses. Know the ecosystem.”

Singh urged new professionals to build more sustainable CSR programs that can thrive beyond individual tenures.

Leekha stressed the need for making CSR digital-savvy, using right mediums, and aligning national, business, and hyper-local agendas while leveraging digital platforms for awareness. Singhvi encouraged young communicators to be not just present but to be present where it’s relevant. Dhingra summed it up by reminding professionals of the weight of responsibility they carry. “You are the custodian of your organization’s credibility. Don't let poor storytelling dilute genuine impact. Integrity matters most.”