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Dear Colleague,
I feel great pleasure in presenting this report on theCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives by the
Asian Paints Group. As we are aware, there is demand forincreased CSR and environmenta l accountability on part ofthe corporates worldwide. Companies are being calledupon to actively take responsibility for and positivelyengage with their communities, the global society and the
environment. It is important for corporates to recognise thattheir progress comes from society and they must give back tothe society its fair due.
As an organization Asian Paints has understood andimplemented these 'Business Basics' from the beginning. Ithas produced cost-effective goods in a manner that isethically, socially and environmentally responsible, and hasalways been sensitive about the impact of its business on allits stakeholders. At the same time, the Group has gonebeyond the awareness of these social impacts by beingwilling to act upon them, to bring about a progressivechange across the regions and communities within theinfluence of its operations and beyond. This has been one of
the reasons, apart from the good performance on thebusiness front, why the Group has been able to gain adefinitive mindshare of the stakeholders. Today, when theGroup is at a juncture where it is aspiring to become a globalleader, it is all the more imperative that it approaches thepractice of CSR in a more focused manner.
This report will take you through the numerous initiativesthat the Group has been carrying out worldwide, primarilyin the last two financial years, for the benefit of the localcommunities, and how these initiatives have brought abouta tangible change in the better interest of thesecommunities. From health to education, culture,environment and sports, the CSR initiatives of the Group
touch all the important aspects of people's lives. In all theregions where the Group operates, there is a sustainedcommitment to empower the local population andcontribute to the growth of the region.
Through its social responsibilit y initiatives, the Asian PaintsGroup will keep on trying to make a difference and giveback to society a part of what it has received in terms ofsupport and goodwill.
Regards,
Ashwin DaniVice Chairman & Managing Director,
Asian Paints
"The successful companies of the future will be those thatintegrate business and employees' personal values. The bestpeople want to do work that contributes to society with acompany whose values they share, where their actions count andtheir views matter."- Jeroen van der Veer (CEO, Shell Chemicals Ltd. )
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to an ongoingcommitment by business to behave ethically and to contribute toeconomic development while demonstrating respect for people,communities, society at large and the environment. At Asian Paints,this sensitivity towards the issues that affect the lives of the people welive and work with, was embedded in the early days itself. Thecompany understood the role of the community as an importantstakeholder and, therefore, undertook initiatives to partner it in itsgrowth. CSR, as a philosophy and practice, was thus established.Over a period the need was felt to make the numerous and diverseCSR initiatives focused and carry them out on a sustained and long-term basis for significant impact. The benefits that would accruefrom this approach were numerous. While on the employee front itwould help build a value based culture with increased participationand pride, on the external front it would send out a strong messageabout the company's core values, earn it the goodwill of the localcommunities and enhance its overall image.Based on this approach, and after due deliberations on the needs ofthe communities within the influence of the operations of AsianPaints, Healthcare and Education were identified as the two highimpact areas for focusing the CSR initiatives and channelising theresources on a sustained basis. Thus, the following mission statementwas adopted:
Activities pertaining to the mission statement have already beenrolled out at the various plants across India with special focus on thebetterment of lives of the communities living around these plants.The results from these activities have been quite encouraging andare in line with the objectives of the CSR programme. Besides, ourunits world wide have also been active on the social responsibilityfront and have been conducting regular activities for the benefit ofthe local community.Now the efforts are towards expanding the scope of these initiatives,institutionalizing the entire process and sustaining them for greaterbenefit to the society.
We are committed to undertake initiatives in areas of basicHealthcare and Education, to bring about visible and measurableimprovements in the lives of the underprivileged and deprivedsections of the societyWe shall align our initiatives with the local and national cause andensure sufficient resources for their sustenance and continuity
"The successful companies of the future will be those thatintegrate business and employees' personal values. The best
people want to do work that contributes to society with acompany whose values they share, where their actions count andtheir views matter."
- Jeroen van der Veer (CEO, Shell Chemicals Ltd.)
We are committed to undertake initiatives in areas of basicHealthcare and Education, to bring about visible and measurableimprovements in the lives of the underprivileged and deprivedsections of the society
We shall align our initiatives with the local and national cause andensure sufficient resources for their sustenance and continuity
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to an ongoingcommitment by business to behave ethically and to contribute toeconomic development while demonstrating respect for people,communities, society at large and the environment. At Asian Paints,this sensitivity towards the issues that affect the lives of the people welive and work with, was embedded in the early days itself. Thecompany understood the role of the community as an importantstakeholder and, therefore, undertook initiatives to partner it in itsgrowth. CSR, as a philosophy and practice, was thus established.
Over a period the need was felt to make the numerous and diverseCSR initiatives focused and carry them out on a sustained and long-
term basis for significant impact. The benefits that would accruefrom this approach were numerous. While on the employee front itwould help build a value based culture with increased participationand pride, on the external front it would send out a strong messageabout the company's core values, earn it the goodwill of the localcommunities and enhance its overall image.
Based on this approach, and after due deliberations on the needs ofthe communities within the influence of the operations of AsianPaints, Healthcare and Education were identified as the two highimpact areas for focusing the CSR initiatives and channelising theresources on a sustained basis. Thus, the following mission statementwas adopted:
Activities pertaining to the mission statement have already beenrolled out at the various plants across India with special focus on thebetterment of lives of the communities living around these plants.The results from these activities have been quite encouraging andare in line with the objectives of the CSR programme. Besides, ourunits world wide have also been active on the social responsibility
front and have been conducting regular activities for the benefit ofthe local communi ty.
Now the efforts are towards expanding the scope of these initiatives,institutionalizing the entire process and sustaining them for greaterbenefit to the society.
Declaring the Mission Statementof Asian Paints CSR ProgrammeDeclaring the Mission Statement
of Asian Paints CSR Programme
Social ResponsibilitySocial ResponsibilityC O R P O R A T EReport
FY2004 & FY2005group
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In view of the watershortage in and aroundMumbai, Asian Paints hasb e e n c o n t i n u o u s l yr u n n i n g a w a r e n e s scampaigns on rain water
harvesting and watermanagement in the city.Before taking the conceptt o t he mas ses , t hec o m p a n y f i r s t implemented the rain
water harvesting scheme in all its plants and residential colonies.2003-04The company was the first corporate in Mumbai to implement at itsmanufacturing facility a cost-effective model of rain water harvesting.Other companies were encouraged to visit the plant and implementthe model at their manufacturing facility. Corporates like Godrej,Goodlass Nerolac, Indian Oil Corporation, Galaxy Surfactants etc.benefitted from this visit. Also, during the year, many seminars wereconducted and addressed by company representatives to spread
B handup Plant - Increasing Awareness on Rain Water Harvesting & Water Managementawareness on this water harvestingmethod. One such seminarorganized by the company inFebruary 2004 had over 120participants along with the BMCCommissioner, who addressed the
gathering.
2004-05The company continued during thisyear to spread awareness on rainwater harvesting by addressingseminars organized by prominentassociations. During the year, it alsobegan to advise housing societieswhich were interested to implement
this initiative. Many co-operative societies were advised and giveninformation in this regard. The company has helped in implementinga unique rain water harvesting model in a prominent housing societyat Hiranandani Powai by using the existing dome structure atop the
building as catchment area for rain water, making it the first suchinstallation in a residential building in Mumbai. Due to the helprendered to various societies and institutions, the company hasmanaged to influence 45 million litres of rain water harvesting in thecity, which is a big saving of this scarce resource. The company hasdesigned a rain water harvesting scheme for its corporate office inMumbai, which will be a unique example of a commercial buildingimplementing a rain water harvesting scheme. And to provide aholistic view about water management to the citizens of Mumbai, theplant has begun the process of building a Total Water ManagementEducation Centre at its facility.
The BMC Commissioner addresses the audience at
the Rain Water Harvesting Seminar - Jal Samvardhan
Around 700 school children who could not aff ord the TripleVaccination (MMR/Typhoid/TB) benefitted from the
vaccination camp held at Ankleshwar in Gujarat. Asian Paints has beenassociated with thec o m m u n i t y a t
Ankleshwar in Gujaratever since the setting upof its manufacturingfacility in 1983. Thecompany, through the
Ankleshwar IndustrialDevelopment Societyhas helped setting up theschool "Shree Gattu
Vidyalaya", which has nearly 2500 students in the primary and thesecondary sections. The company has continuously contributed tothe community by supporting various initiatives of the AnkleshwarIndustrial Development Society. In the recent past, the plant hastaken a step further by realigning its CSR initiatives around the
mission statement. Withs p e c i a l f o c u s o nb e n e f i t t i n g t h eunderprivi leged, theplant adopted a fewschools in the villages ini t s v i c i n i t y a n ddeveloped basic hygieneand infrastructure there.H e a l t h d r i v e s f o rchildren supplementedthis effort.
2003-2004The emphasis was on providing basic sanitation facilities like Toilets& Urinals and availability of potable drinking water in the identified
Ankleshwar Plant - Improving Infrastructure
at Local Schools
schools at Juna Diva, JuniDivi and Survadi villages.T h e i m p r o v e di n f r a s t r u c t u r e h a sb r o u g h t r e l i e f a n dconvenience for thestudents and generatedg o o d w i l l f o r t h ecompany among thelocal population.
2004-2005The focus continued on hygiene and, additionally, certain healthareas were also taken up based on the identified need. As part of theinitiative, toilets and urinals were provided in the primary schools atSurvadi and Kosamdi villages and drinking water facility wasprovided at the GIDC School and Kumar Shala at Kosamdi. AtSurvadi an essay, elocution and drawing competition on the themeof hygiene was conducted for the children.
An important activity was the Triple Vaccination (MMR/Typhoid/TBvaccination) camps which were held at Juni Divi and Survadivillages. Around 700 school children, whose parents could notafford the vaccination because of the cost, benefitted from the
camps. Besides this, the plant organized an eye camp at Survadiwhere above 350 patients were examined, of which 65 underwentfree cataract operation. This was the first time that any such campwas organized at the village.
Students of Shree Gattu Vidyalaya at Ankleshwar leave
after their classes
A girl gets vaccinated at one of the Triple Vaccination Camps
Toilet and drinking water facilities at one of the schools
The dome atop the building serves as the
catchment area for rainwater
The company has helped to implement the rain water
harves ting scheme in many manufacturing facilities and co-
operative societies in Mumbai.
A Total Water Management Education Centre is being built
at the Mumbai plant for the citizens of Mumbai.
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provide free medicalcare on a regular basis to10 villages in the region.The initiative receivedgreat support from theresidents as there was noproper medicare facilityin the vicinity.
Another initiative takenup by the plant was the'Nav j yo t i Eye Ca re
Camp' held with the objective of eradicating cataract problem from
the region. The camp benefitted residents of nine villages in thevicinity of Kasna.
2004-2005The MMU, besides rendering curative health care to the needy andthe impoverished, became a platform for organizing preventivehealth check up camps and awareness sessions on issues related tohealth and emotional problems of senior citizens. At least two majoractivities have been conducted by the Kasna plant every monththrough this platform.
The beneficiaries of the 'Navjyoti Eye Care Camp' increasedsignificantly during this period, taking ahead the goal of eradicatingcataract problem from the region.
Kasna Plant - Facilitating Convenient
and Affordable Health Care
A t Ka s n a i n U t t a rP r a d e s h , a n d i t sneighbouring villages,there has been a long feltneed for a system ofreliable and affordablemedical care, especiallyfor the aged and theinfirm. Realizing thehardship that the localcommunity was facing in
the absence of basic healthcare facilities, Asian Paints launched aMobile Medicare Unit (MMU) at the Kasna plant. The services of the
MMU have become immensely popular and have earned wideacclaim from the community. Besides this, regular Eye Camps havebeen a major health initiative at Kasna, and have benefittedthousands of villagers in the past few years with free eye check upand cataract surgery.
2003-2004An MMU was launched for the communities living around Kasna tomeet their basic medicare requirements. It was scheduled to
Medicare to all in remoteareas still remains adistant goal. This isspecially true of the
underprivileged sectionsof the society whocannot afford the cost oftraveling to towns formed ica l t r ea tment .Rea l i z ing t h i s , t hePatancheru plant in
Andhra Pradesh decidedto take Medicare to the doorsteps of the local people with its MobileMedicare Unit (MMU) and other health initiatives.
2003-2004The Patancheru plant launched a fully manned and equipped MMUin association with HelpAge India for taking Medicare to the
remotest corners of the region. Eleven villages around the plant havebeen benefitting from the free medical counseling being offeredthrough the MMU that moves according to a fixed schedule acrossthese villages. The initiative brought a big hope in the lives of theunderprivi leged senior citizens of these areas.
2004-2005The MMU continued its operation, benefitting the people of theregion. Around 15,000 people received treatment through the
P atancheru Plant - Bringing Medicare
to People's Doorsteps
The launch of the Asian Paints MMU at KasnaA patient gets examined for vision defects at an Eye Camp
at Kasna
A scene from one of the Eye Camps organised by the
Patancheru plant
M M U f o r v a r i o u sd i s e a s e s l i k ehypertension, arthritis,diabetes, etc. During theyear , 12 awarenesscamps on various heathi s s u e s w e r e a l s oconducted benefittingnearly 2000 people. Ad e n t a l c a m p w a sc o n d u c t e d i na s s o c i a t i o n w i t h
HelpAge in the nearby villages which benefitted 100 senior citizens.
A camp was also conducted for Diabetics. Free medicine, bloodcheck up and advice from doctors were provided to senior citizenssuffering from this ailment.
The healthcare drive was extended to cover schools as well. Medicalcamps were organized and basic amenities were provided for thestudents at a few schools in the region.
Patients gather for a free check up at one of the halts of
the MMU near Patancheru
During 2004-2005 around 15,000 patients from the villagesaround the Patancheru plant were provided free medicaltreatment for various diseases through the MMU.
Around 2500 senior citizens have attended our eye camps for cataract surgery and around 450 people who weredetected with this defect have been operated free of cost .
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Asian Paints approaches the environment issue from theperspective of waste minimisation and conservation of resources.
Thus, the continued attempt is to reuse, recycle and eliminatewaste, which results in less and less waste being generated.Accordingly, our materiallosses in manufacturinghave been reducedsubstantially over the lastfew years. Further, thecompany's four paintplants and the twochemical plants have theISO 14001 certificationf o r e n v i r o n m e n t management standards.
In 2002-03, Asian Paints instituted its own safety standards across allits plants, which are based on the standards prescribed by the BritishSafety Council (BSC). This year, all our plants merited a Five-Starrating by the BSC. More significantly, all four plants - Bhandup,
Ankleshwar, Patancheru and Kasna- were awarded the BSC's muchsought after 'Sword of Honour' which is considered as the pinnacleof achievement in safety across the world. The 'Sword of Honour' isgiven to only 40 plants in the world each year and is designed toreward the best practices in this field. The award emphasizes oursteadfast commitment to safety.
Further, due to various initiatives undertaken by the company at allits manufacturing facilities, Asian Paints was the recipient of theprestigious 'Golden Peacock National Quality Award' for 2003. This
is the most coveted quality award in the country.
All our paint plants have achieved 'zero industrial discharge'capability. This has been achieved by the installation of upgradedeffluent treatment facilities and installation of reverse osmosisplants in conjunction with appropriate recycling and reuseschemes. Our emulsion manufacturing facility has also achieved'zero waste' status.
We have adopted the principles of green productivity. Some ofour innovative schemes which enhance green productivity are:
Colour World Dealer Tinting System- allows for greater choice atthe customer end, thus reducing the number of shades produced inthe factories. This has resulted in larger batch sizes and lessernumber of changeovers leading to effluent reduction.Upgradation of Material Handling and Storage Facilities - such asthe new bulk storage facility for monomers to reduce material lossesand eliminate effluent generation arising out of barrel cleaning .
Upgradation of Process Technology - has resulted in increasedyield and, therefore, lesser pollution. For instance, the improvedfiltration process has resulted in higher filtration rates and lowerlosses.
O ur Commitment - Green Environment, Clean Environment
The massive disaster Tsunami hit the coastal areas of South India and South East Asia on December26, 2004 and left behind a trail of devastation. As a socially responsible company, Asian Paints roseto the occasion and decided to play its rightful role in extending support and relief to the affected.
All the employees contr ibuted in cash and kind to the best of their capacity. These contributionswere supplemented with a contribution from the company. A total amount of Rs. 4.7 million wasgenerated as rel ief aid and handed over to the Tsunami victims. Besides India, all the units acrossthe world also contributed to the best of their capacities towards Tsunami relief.
T sunami Relief - Helping Community in the Time of Need
Factory
Leve
l
Losses
Year
0
1
2
3
4
5
98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04
6
(5.19%)
(4.35%)
(3.93%)
(3.60%) (3.50%)
(2.90%)
Use of Natural Gas as Fuel- instead of furnace oil or diesel has notonly improved fuel efficiency but also reduced Sulphur Dioxide
emissions by 77%.
Solvent Recovery Plants - set up with an investment of Rs.1.8million have resulted in almost zero reduction of solvent disposaland have already yielded a direct benefit of Rs.10.4 million.
Improved Incinerating Systems - have resulted in over 72%reduction in waste after incineration. The remaining waste is alsobeing re-used. For instance, we have eliminated the need fordisposal of incinerator ash by manufacturing bricks. These bricks areused for internal construction purposes.
Reverse Osmosis - helps us re-use treated effluents in our coolingtowers. This has reduced fresh water consumption by 50,000 litres
per day.
Rain Water Harvesting Scheme - developed by us has become theb e n c h m a r k f o rindustries. Rain waterharvesting at our plantshas resulted in around14.5 million litres beingharvested in 2003-04and 12 million litres in2004-05 and used at ourplants.
A s a r e s u l t o f
implementing variouswater recycling , reuse and conservation measures in our plants, ouraverage water consumption has reduced by 45 % in spite ofproduction volumes of water-based products doubling in the lastfive years. Asian Paints is committed to operating its plants andfacilities in a manner to ensure continual improvement towardsachieving 'CLEAN ENVIRONMENT'.
Ankleshwar plant in Gujarat
An overview of the Kasna plant
Ashwin Dani (centre), Vice Chairman and MD, and
S. A. Sudarshan (left), Factory Manager handing over the
cheque for Tsunami relief work to Dr. J. Jayalalithaa, Hon'ble
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
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Berger Bahrain made several donations throughout 2004 to noblecauses. It provided financial support to various charitableinstitutions for distribution of food, clothes etc. to the poor andneedy during the month of Ramadan. It also supplied paints free ofcost for the repainting of the Mosque and the cemetery at Sitra. Inaddition, the unit contributed towards the Tsunami Fund forproviding relief to the victims.
B ahrain - Berger Paints Contributing to
Noble Causes
Berger Barbados' majorinitiatives were towardsthe promotion of cultureand spor t s . I n t hebeginning of 2004 itsponsored the YMCAhockey team. It was asponsor at the NationalCultural Festival (cropover), a major annualevent involv ing the
entire nation. The unit sponsored a team (New Orleans Sports Clubin conjunction with Royal Barbados Police Force) for the NationalRoad (Paddle) Tennis Tournament and hosted one tournamentmatch at the Berger premises (car park). This is a rapidly growinglocal sport which is still restricted to the lower socio-economiccommunity villages, but is widespread across the country. Besidesthese, the unit actively participated in another activity that is anational attraction - decorating and illuminating roundaboutsacross the country.
B arbados - Berger Paints Adding Spice to
the Culture
B e r g e r E m i r a t e s
conducted several sociala c t i v i t i e s f o r t h ecommunity during theyear. The first among theactivities was the visit of'special needs' childrenof the Rashid PediatricCentre to the BergerEmirates factory wherethe children saw thefunctioning of the facility
and tried their hands at painting. Besides this, workers of the unitparticipated in the Dubai Municipality initiative 'Clean Up YourWorld'. During the massive disaster 'Tsunami', the entire unit came
together to provide as much help as possible in the form of clothes ,provisions and cash for the victims.
E mirates - Berger Paints Touching
the Heart of Society
The Taubmans Fiji team places great emphasis on Safety, Health andEnvironment and has been displaying this commitment in all itsoperations. As a good corporate citizen it has always extended a
F iji - Taubmans Paints Extending
the Helping Hand
Berger Paints Jamaica'sC S R a c t i v i t i e s a r efocused on community
(neighbouring and widerc o m m u n i t i e s ) ,education, sports andculture.
A s a p a r t o f i t sc o m m u n i t y b a s e dprogramme, the unit hasa d o p t e d R i v e r t o n
Meadows Early Childhood Education Centre, a basic schoolattended by 120 students aged 3-6 years. It provides the studentsthe basic necessities including lunch. In the aftermath of HurricaneIvan in September 2004, the unit undertook the rebuilding of theschool roof which was severely damaged.
Berger Jamaica has formed a partnership with the Blood Bank of Jamaica to overcome the chronic shortage of blood by hosting aBlood Drive at its Headquarters on Spanish Town Road. It has alsopainted schools, churches, charitable organizations and buildingsof historical importance throughout the island in keeping with itscommitment to 'help keep Jamaica beautiful'.
The unit has been sponsoring the Jamaica Teachers' AssociationRoll of Honour, the highest award conferred by the local teachingassociation, for the past 11 years. Besides, the unit provides ascholarship for the Masters Programme tenable at the CaribbeanSchool of Architecture at the University of Technology (UTECH).
Berger Jamaica has been sponsoring the Division 1 BasketballLeague, the main Basketball competition in the island, for over 30years. This has helped in making Basketball a popular sport in thecountry. It has worked diligently with the Jamaica Netball
Association (JNA) to help take the sports to new heights . The mostprestigious Netball League in Jamaica, the Super League, which theunit has been sponsoring for 17 years now, has been renamed the
Berger Super League.The unit also continuesto serve as the longestsponsor of the GibsonRelays which has provento be the breedingg r o u n d f o r m a n yOlympians.
Berger Jamaica has alsos u p p o r t e d t h ep r o m o t i o n o f t h e
Jamaican Culture. Sincethe inception of the
Jamaica Cultural Commission's (JCDC) annual festival celebrations,over forty years ago, Berger Jamaica has been a sponsor of the DanceCategory, making it JCDC's longest serving sponsor.
J amaica - Berger Paints Setting
CSR Benchmarks
helping hand to the society in times of need. In 2004, the unit
contributed to a number of charities including Red Cross Appeal,Blind Society, Salvation Army, International Women's Associationand Tsunami Appeal. It also supported a fund raiser for Rotary with$100 vouchers and provided help to a few schools from which thechildren have represented Fiji at international forums.
A decorated Berger roundabout
'Special Needs' children on a visit to the Berger Emirates
factory
Sports Day celebration at the Riverton Meadows Early
Childhood Education Centre
(From right) Warren McDonald, Managing Director/CEO,
Berger Paints Jamaica Ltd., Richard Salmon and Ricardo
Young, staff member, donate blood at Berger's Head Office
Asian Paints Overseas Units - Contributing to the Growth of the Community
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S ingapore - Berger Paints Partnering
Society for GrowthD r u g a b u s e i s an i g h t m a r e f o r a n ym o d e r n s o c i e t y .Unders tanding th i s ,Berger Paints Singaporeco-sponsored the 'Anti-D r u g M e s s a g eCampaign' conductedby People's Association
Y o u t h M o v e m e n t (PAYM) and the NationalCouncil Against Drug
Abuse (NCADA). During the campaign over 150 secondary schoolswere provided with canvas banners and paint (Vinyl Silk from BergerPaints Singapore) and students expressed their commitment againstdrug abuse by creating their palm prints on the banner. The exercisewas also carried out at the community centres/clubs across theisland and helped in generating good awareness on the evils of drugabuse.
When Solomon Islands was undergoing a political turmoil andcompanies were leaving the country for security reasons, APCOCoatings did not do so. Though the unit was closed for more than sixmonths, the employees were paid and cared for. During that periodthe unit also participated in a number of activities like helping thelocals with food and clothing, participating in the Clean HoniaraCity Operation 'Helpem' during the weekends, organized by theRAMSI (Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands) andworking closely with the Honiara Beautification Committee bygiving different guidelines for painting and giving empty drums tocollect waste.
S olomon Islands - APCO Coatings
Showing Solidarity with the People
Asian Paints Nepal hasb e e n f u l f i l l i n g i t sresponsibilities towardsthe community in threeways v i z . Her i t ageProtection, Promotionof the Culture of Nepala n d h e l p i n g Government Agenciesand Reputed NGOs. Theunit is providing help inthe form of paints or
assistance in the restoration process for a number of heritage sight sex- Dharahara, one of Kathmandu's landmarks, Ranipokhari
Temple, Baieesdhara Park in Balaju, Shaheed Smarak Park inHetauda, Vindyabashini temple in Pokhara etc.
The unit has also been active in road safety initiatives includingputting up traffic road signs and messages in Biratnagar, Kathmanduin collaboration with the Valley Traffic Police and Thamel area incollaboration with the local ward committee. The unit has givenassistance in restoring build ings of Maiti Nepal, a leading NGO andpainting assistance was given to the 'Family Volunteer Services',another NGO working in the area of child education anddevelopment.
N epal - Asian Paints Preserving Culture
and Heritage
For the residents of Tonga, the ocean plays an important role in theirlives. Cleanliness of the sea front, the beaches and the maintenanceof the marine ecology is thus an area of major concern. In view of this'Clean Environment, Green Environment' was the message which
APCO Coatings, Tonga drove home with its environmental careinitiatives throughout the year. The unit provided rubbish collectiondrums for waste management which were placed along the waterfront and the walking and jogging tracks along the beaches. On theoccasion of the National Environment Day, the unit set up a boothon the theme of 'Clean Sea Waters for Tonga' which gave the visi torsinformation on how to care for the marine environment.
APCO Tonga's efforts have helped in spreading greater awarenessabout the importance of conserving the environment among thepeople of the country.
T onga - APCO Coatings Painting
the Land Green
T rinidad - Berger Paints Giving Impetus
to Education
As part of its social commitment APCO Coatings Vanuatu paintedthe shed of 'Vanuatu Society for Disabled People'. The gesture wasappreciated and the 'Daily Post' carried a feature on the same. Theunit also painted the club premises of the 'Cricket Club of Vanuatu'at the Independence Park. At the same park, on the request of theSecond Secretary to the Prime Minister, the unit painted thebenches for the Independence Day celebrations. The dustbins inVila were also painted and paint was provided for the Red CrossSociety of Vanuatu for their signboard.
Another major initiative by the unit was the training for womenconducted at Pentacosta on the use and application techniques ofpaint. The exercise was carried out in association with 'Aus Aid', an
Australian Government organisation.
All these efforts have helped in enhancing the socially responsibleimage of the company in the country.
Vanuatu - APCO Coatings Bringing
Colours of Happiness
A major initiative of the unit has been the help provided to localstudents for applying to the Indian Government SponsoredEducation Scholarship in India. Six students have already availed ofthe scholarship programme during the year.
Produced by Asian Paints Corporate CommunicationsBeehive
Restoration work goes on at Dharahara, one of Kathmandu's
landmarks
Jaideep Nandi, CEO, Berger Paints Singapore, being
felicitated for supporting the anti-drug campaign
Berger Paints Trinidad Limited has adopted education as the centraltheme for its social initiatives. The unit provides 2 bursaries of TT$5000 each to the U.W.I. Development & Endowment Fund at The
University of the West Indies, each academic year. These bursariesare given to the Best Student in the Faculty of Civil Engineering (YearII and Year III). One prize each of TT$ 500 is given to the Best Studentin Physics (Year II) and Chemistry (Year II) in the Faculty of
Agriculture & Natural Sciences. A 'Challenge Trophy' is alsopresented for the Best Social Practicum in the Faculty of SocialSciences.
Besides these, in 2004-05, the unit sponsored the Necessary ArtsSchool, a non-profit organization, for their 'Big Hand' artsprogramme which is a twelve week workshop on thematicexpression of social development through various art forms. Theunit also painted the Tobago Aids Society building , which providesshelter and care to people infected with HIV Aids.