Corporate Social Responsibility in India
Project themes
- Ahmedabad and Vadodara, Gujrat
- Alwar, Rajasthan
- Faridabad, Haryana
Collaborative – In partnership with the government and experts, placing community at the center.
Extensive – Beneficiaries are reached with project replicability and scalability.
Measurable – The outcome is based on qualitative and quantitative data and monitoring.
Sustainable – Ownership, transparency and positive change.
Considering the guiding principles of the Metso India Corporate Social Responsibility Policy, the CSR Committee designs and undertakes projects, based on the needs of the local community.
The members of the Metso India CSR Board are; Eeva Sipilä, CFO; Nina Kiviranta, General Counsel; Sunil Maheshwari VP, Finance Middle East & India Market Area and Rakesh Thakur, VP, Alwar Plant, Aggregates.
Health, sanitation & nutrition
Health project (Covid support)
During the Covid pandemic, PPE kits and oxygen support were provided to government hospitals in Alwar. Metso also supported the renovation of a Covid ward and provided equipment and operational support to ICU to combat the situation. The improved infrastructure is still supporting the district administration to serve around 5,000 beneficiaries.
Dry ration and hygiene kits were provided to over 1700 families of the 76 village wards of Alwar. PPE kits were also provided to more than 180 doctors and technicians, over 400 paramedical staff members and over 1800 front line workers in various health centers. Metso also supported close to 1900 adolescent students from 23 project schools with sanitary napkins and soaps.
During the pandemic, the community classes emerged as a priority need. Metso organized remedial classes to reduce school dropouts in project schools. More than 900 elementary students received support from 75 local volunteers.
Nutrition initiative
Food security is one of the biggest concerns for the governments across the globe. Metso in India is running the Poshan Program and supplying lunches for school children in government's primary and secondary schools, in collaboration with the Akshaya Patra foundation. The lunch program addresses the issue of classroom hunger and malnutrition and promotes elementary education for the children. The program is not only ensuring food for the children in government schools but it also addresses the persistent issue of malnutrition among children.
The lunch project serves meals to more than 2,200 children in the selected schools in Vadodara and Ahmedabad, which means almost 456,000 meals within an academic year.
The program is a life-changing experience for the children who attend a government school with the hope to get education and a full meal during the day. Every meal has a direct impact on the health and well-being of a child, which lays the foundation for a healthy childhood. With Metso's support, the Akshaya Patra Foundation is dedicated to construct a better and healthier future for the country by creating a strong and educated human force.
School sanitation project
Adequate water, sanitation, and the adoption of healthy practices are critical foundations for children's health, learning and overall development. Metso, in cooperation with Plan International, built wash facilities in 25 schools in India with the goal of improving student attendance.
The project has an influence on the health and hygiene of over 8,000 school children in the Malakheda, Ramgarh and Umrain blocks of Rajasthan's Alwar district. During the project's early years, there was a large increase in girls' enrollment and attendance.
The project was completed together with various stakeholders such as schoolteachers, support personnel, school management committee, Panchayati Raj Institutions and other government authorities. We developed handwash stations, school bathrooms and sanitary pad incinerators in each school, which improved the school children's hygiene indices. To guarantee that the facilities are efficiently in use, regular follow-up and awareness sessions have been organized for the children.
Education, skill development & livelihood
Smart School project
Establishing a school is merely the first step in a child's education; however, quality education may be achieved through improved facilities and learning supplies that make studying more pleasurable and something to look forward to.
Metso, in collaboration with Plan India, is helping 25 government primary, upper primary and senior secondary schools in the Alwar district, Rajasthan. We built smart classrooms with enhanced content and computer laboratories as part of the smart school project. During the early years of the project, we also developed science and maths labs in selected schools.
The project's key component is teacher training and support in associated academic areas such as positive discipline, science and math, life skills, gender sensitization and menstrual health. Every year, the project has an impact on the lives of around 8,000 school kids. We have already achieved a child-friendly learning environment and outstanding teacher delivery. The project also saw an increase in the retention of school students.
Other key component of this project is scholarship and career counselling. From 2018, we have provided more than 40 lakh rupees to over 75 kids to pursue higher or technical studies. Today, most of those students have become a provider for their families and are living an established life.
Project Inspire
A secure and nurturing environment is fundamental for a child's holistic growth, yet not every child enjoys this privilege. Absence of a stable family exposes a child to heightened risks such as malnutrition, violence, and exploitation.
Optimal development for a child occurs within the embrace of a caring, affectionate family. This forms the core principle of our Family Like Care Programme (FLC). FLC is designed to provide personalised, high-quality care through a trained caregiver (SOS Mother). The program's foundation rests on four essential pillars: home, mother, siblings, and the community, underscoring the importance of robust relationships with a stable caregiver, family and the wider community. In collaboration with SOS Children’s Villages India, Metso supports 47 children in Greenfields and Faridabad, Delhi region, ensuring they can thrive in a safe and loving environment.
Skill development project
Metso in India works in collaboration with the NSDC Imparting Skill Development training in Ahmedabad and Vadodara. The objective of the project is to provide young people a sense of financial security and stability through skill development and holistic training that makes it easier to find employment.
There are a lot of work opportunities and a big demand for IT professionals in Gujarat. Ahmedabad and Vadodara are two of the most demanding districts, where people need to be properly trained to be engaged in various IT-related professional sectors. Vadodara district views IT as one of the city's growth drivers and fosters it through the establishment of IT and software technology parks.
Within the project, 370 young people will receive training in the IT sector. By now, it has already supported 350 young people in gaining economic security and stability by training them in green energy.
Environment & sustainability
In recent years, climate change, global conflicts and exploitation of natural resources have created new types of challenges in modern societies. To fight the global challenges, Metso in India provided environmental education in chosen project schools.
The project included for instance awareness building campaigns in schools and communities and setting up eco clubs in schools, with an objective to promote sustainability and environmental thinking based on the concept of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, through education and training students, teachers and communities. Today, the member students of eco clubs have become more sensitive towards environmental issues and participate in sustainability activities. They are developing green areas and have planted around over 1500 indigenous plants.
Sports promotion
Children's holistic development is only possible when mental and physical growth occur together. Therefore, apart from education and hygiene, sports and physical fitness are integral parts of Metso's projects. Metso India's sports project provides opportunities for 8000 kids from 25 villages. The continuous training and development, material support and sport competitions are the key components of this project. This project has fostered a variety of indoor and outdoor sports, including football, basketball, handball, badminton, gymnastics, volleyball, carrom and wrestling.
In addition, we also initiated an infra development activity under which a basketball court was built at one of the project schools. As a result, we have witnessed an increase in the participation of intra and inter-school, district and state events. In 2024, 41 children competed in state-level competitions and many were awarded with prizes.
Aside from social and psychomotor skills, it has been noted that young students have developed healthy competitiveness and collaboration through the project.
Rural development
The program’s aim is to improve the infrastructure available to the public, especially government schools and hospitals, and develop a solution to sustain public infrastructure and leverage government programs like Smagra Shiksha and Swachh Bharat Mission. The project is making significant strides by supporting essential facilities for stakeholders. The project provides a last-mile delivery for government programs, primarily in the areas of health, education and environment.
Several critical actions have been completed to improve and equip public areas. School infrastructure development in the Umrain, Malakheda and Ramgarh blocks of Alwar ensures that impoverished students receive quality education. This includes also material support, including books, a solar-powered backup power system furniture for students and libraries. The project benefits over 10,000 people in rural communities.