Ambuja Cement Foundation, the CSR arm of Ambuja Cements, has been felicitated with three awards at the 4th Social Impact Awards 2022 held by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Kolkata. Ambuja Cement Foundation, Sankrail won an award in ‘Gender Equality and Women Empowerment’ in the large industry category while Ambuja Cement Foundation Farakka won an award for its work in ‘Water Resource Management and Livelihoods’ and a ‘Jury Award’ in the Health Category.
From around 60 applications from various companies and NGOs, Ambuja Cement Foundation stood out as the Best Organization in the field of Water, Women Empowerment and Health. For the fourth consecutive time in a row, Ambuja Cement Foundation Farakka and Sankrail have been winning the ICC Social Impact Awards for their work in community development initiatives of the rural community. The awards were graced by the Consul-General of Australia, the Consul-General of Japan and the Deputy High-Commissioner, Kolkata.
Mr. Neeraj Akhoury, CEO India Holcim and MD & CEO of Ambuja Cements Ltd. said, “As a socially responsible organization, development and progress of underprivileged communities has always been an integral aspect of our core philosophy. We have been at the forefront of undertaking community development initiatives in the rural areas across the country. This recognition bestowed upon us by ICC for the past few years is a testament to our innate ethos of energising, involving and enabling communities, further strengthening our commitment to work for their wellbeing.”
Ambuja Cement Foundation has been working in Sankrail, an industrial block in West Bengal with nearly 130 heavy industries, on gender sensitisation and specifically on women empowerment in 16 villages around the Ambuja Cement plant areas. Under the women empowerment program, focus is on forming Self-Help Groups, promote credit planning and integrate the program with other thrust areas of agriculture, water resource management, and health and skill development. The organisation encourages local women to participate in local development issues and be a part of community or panchayat meetings, leading to 40% of women being part of village level institutions and committees.
Farakka is another block of West Bengal which is based close to the Bangladesh border and considered one of the very under-developed block of the state. Health indicators were very poor in the villages but with Ambuja Cement Foundation focused on interventions and community involvement, behavior change in family planning, maternal & child health and anemia prevention has been quite visible in these areas. The team has also been working on improving livelihood of small land holders through water harvesting and lift irrigation systems which is helping them grow more crops, get better yield and earn more.
Pearl Tiwari, Director and CEO, Ambuja Cement Foundation said, “It is a proud feeling to have renowned bodies like the Indian Chamber of Commerce recognize our work for the past few years. All credit goes to our hardworking and committed team in Sankrail and Farakka who work tirelessly to bring prosperity to our rural communities.”
The ICC Social Impact Awards is an initiative of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in which the Chamber engages with corporate entities, NGOs and implementing agencies to recognize them for exemplary work done in the field of social investment, CSR and sustainability on a pan India basis.
