Paras Group has its values embedded at the heart of its commitment to social responsibility. As we deal with companies that create a global impact, our sustainability strategy is comprehensive and integrates both social and environmental criteria. Guaranteeing sustainability instil in us, the will is to become representatives of social change by placing society at the center of all our activities.
We believe in a holistic approach of creating and sustaining long-lasting corporate values both inside and outside the company (employees, customers, suppliers and farmers) not just through monetary gains but by creating value for society in which they thrive. It is being done through employee empowerment, philanthropy and by improving operational effectiveness throughout the value chain.
We continuously work to provide everyone workplace safety and give constant attention to improve working conditions up and down in the supply chain. We ensure welfare of our employees through regular medical screenings. On a yearly basis, all employees are screened and vaccinated for various infectious diseases. It helps us to combat HIV-AIDS, Malaria and other diseases.
We are also facilitating the growth of local communities, suppliers with a motto of inclusive and collective growth while being committed to social change.
At Paras, we are walking towards a better world by
EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT
- Trainings – Along with a safe and healthy work environment, we are promoting and providing regular employee trainings as a part of our skill development initiative to equip them for their concerned job. We clocked 2835 man hours of trainings in 2015.
- Ethical Labour Practices – Being SEDEX compliant, reflects our company’s unceasing commitment to CSR .We believe that our workforce is our true strength and this is our initiative to ensure a fair working environment for them.
SEDEX* – the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange, is a not-for-profit membership organisation dedicated to driving improvements in responsible and ethical business practices in global supply chains.
- Gender Balance – Traditionally, industries in India have been male dominated which reflects in our sex ratio balancing as well. We as a responsible company have always tried to maintain gender balance and as a policy we ensure recruitment of all employees on basis of merit and not sex. We look at it as a resource and not a compliance criterion. Today, we have a sizeable number of female employees at all levels of our organization chart.
FARMER EMPOWERMENT
- We are working to strengthen the farming communities associated with us by improving the farmer’s livelihood by sharing with them the best agronomic practices through trainings, demonstrations and encouraging fair trades. The increased income through this ensures that farmers are more likely to keep their children in school and out of the field. Paras Group’s competent field staff offers hands-on knowledge to the farmers on the sustainable practices that can help them earn premium for their produce.
- Through our cattle feed division, we conduct different activities to ensure the overall quality and well-being of the dairy farmers and their animal. Our general awareness program ‘Jaago Punjab’ and ‘Jaago Kissan’ in the states of Punjab and Haryana respectively, creates awareness about immunization and contagious diseases. This is done by conducting trainings sessions, plant visits and road shows. We have already conducted over 400 road shows and 350 plant visits. Our 150 Aflatoxin Awareness Sessions have led to a significant improvement in awareness of Aflatoxin and its impact on milk and health. In totality we have physically communicated with over 1,00,000 farmers in the last 3 years.
SUSTAINABILITY ACROSS ALL OPERATIONS:
- R&D: We believe that innovation in any form i.e. new product development or providing technology solutions, along with reducing operating costs has mitigating environmental impacts. Hence, we are pro-active in adopting newer technologies and develop products which help us to achieve efficiency in our operations and eliminate foreign bodies and other harmful substances to guarantee a product which passes the highest food safety standards. Also, we make sure that these new innovations are more energy efficient and have better impact on carbon footprints.
- Manufacturing environment: At the plant level, we undertake various measures to contain the carbon emissions at all stages. To fulfil our role of reducing carbon footprints, we as a responsible company, have planted around 4000 plus tree saplings in nearby villages and surrounding areas in 2015 and over 35,000 in the last 3-4 years.
- Supply chain: Paras Group is committed to integrate its business values and operations to meet the expectations of all its stakeholders. Our sustainable backward integration initiative is to implement responsible sourcing in our supply chain. We are working at all levels with the farmers on the field (empowering them with trainings on GAP & IPM [Good Agricultural & Integrated Pest Management] and ensure that they get the best economic returns for their collaboration with us.
- Water management: We installed rain water harvesting structures and sewage treatment units and achieved a zero discharge unit status. The treated water is 100% reused for sanitation, horticulture and green cover around our manufacturing unit.
PHILANTHROPY
We believe that sustainable community development is essential for harmony between the community and the industry. We make positive contributions especially to the underprivileged communities, supporting a wide range of socio-economic, educational and health initiatives.