ET Corporate Citizen of the Year 2021: HCL ⁠— The company that leverages resources to deliver sustainable solutions for the poorest

HCL Technologies is one of the leading Nifty 100 companies to have comprehensive ESG policies that received recognition from global assessment platforms and investors. “It is an honor for HCL to be recognized as the ‘Corporate Citizen of the Year 2021’,” said CEO C Vijayakumar. “This award is a recognition of our efforts to uphold the highest standards of environmental, social and governance practices for delivering sustainable value to our stakeholders. We are humbled to have received this citation in a year of the most challenging humanitarian crisis which speaks volumes about our resilient commitment towards the wellbeing of the communities we work in,” he said.

HCL has been cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing its carbon footprint, and promoting ethical waste management and energy efficiency. The company has achieved 55.9% reduction in per capita carbon footprint between 2010 and 2020, increased the renewable energy portion of its energy consumption to 10.4% in FY20 and decreased per capita water consumption by 23.5% since 2013.

HCL carries out its developmental agenda through its CSR arm, the HCL Foundation, set up in 2011. The foundation has invested over `680 crore, impacting 2.14 million lives. Its green initiatives have helped to revitalise 52,000 acres of land, establish sustainable community governance, rejuvenate 82 water bodies, and ensure protection of 18,000+ animals.

Programmes in India include HCL Grant, which funds NGOs in environment, health, and education; and HCL Samuday, which provides financial and other support to rural communities. Through HCL Uday programme, the company leverages the scale of the government, expertise of NGO partners and the volunteering spirit of its employees to bridge the access gap and reach the city’s poorest residents with quality services. Through its programme, the ‘Power of One’, the employees aggregate contributions in areas of payroll giving, active volunteerism and capacity building of communities.