Vacancies
National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights
Our
Studies
Beyond 2%: Reclaiming Corporate Social Responsibility for Community Empowerment
Recognising that there is more to CSR than philanthropy, this study unpacks different ways in which business are accountable to workers and to communities. Whether in the workforce, within supply chains, or in the local area, people’s lives intersect with and are impacted by businesses in multiple ways. Working within the framework of the National Voluntary Guidelines on the Social, Environmental and Economic responsibilities of businesses, the study identifies issues important for any business to consider.
Study on Corporate Foundations: An Emerging Development Paradigm?
This is an attempt at understanding the role and emergence of corporate foundations (CFs) as an alternate development paradigm, their role vis-à-vis the entities that support them, and the challenges and opportunities they face, specifically in reference to the changes brought about by the Companies Act 2013. With a large amount of funds set to be dedicated to CSR activities, as a result of the provisions relating to CSR under the Companies Act 2013, foundations have the potential of becoming the preferred mode for companies to invest in developmental activities.
Making Growth Inclusive – Praxis and Corporate Responsibility Watch
This study, utilising the India Responsible Business Index (IRBI), analyses different dimensions of business policies as disclosed on their websites. Drawing on those elements of the 2011 National Voluntary Guidelines that relate to social inclusion, it takes into account non-discrimination in the workplace, employee well-being, inclusiveness in the supply chain, development initiatives under ‘CSR’ allocations and the positioning of the community as a business stakeholder.
The study is an ongoing programme, with the analyses for two years, taking the form of the Making Growth Inclusive reports 2015, 2017 and 2018.
Bitter Beans – The Coffee Crisis and its Impact in India
This is a study undertaken in the coffee growing regions of India in the light of the alarming increase in number of farmer suicides following a crisis in the coffee sector. It was done as a collaborative effort between PiC and Dutch KoffieCoalitie, Netherlands.
Chai Time: Sustainable Livelihood for Small Tea Growers through CSR
This study tries to understand the drastic expansion, livelihood potential and competitiveness of small tea growers as a new model of tea production in India. It also attempts to understand how elements of improved social, economic and environmental aspects in small holding could lead to additional competitiveness for tea small holdings.
Knitted Together – Multi-stakeholder Perspectives on Economic, Social and Environmental Issues in the Tirupur Garment Cluster
This study is a part of the multi-stakeholder initiative of PiC and Solidaridad. The study was intended to produce the required resource material that would help in strategising the interventions geared to achieve fair trade principles with Multi-stakeholder participation and it also brings out the relevant compliance standards in the garment sector of Tirupur.
Public Disclosure of Information – A First Step Towards Responsible Banking in India
This report summarises a 2016 feasibility study into fair finance in India. It captures some of the key outcomes of interactions with financial sector actors as well as research into, and assessments of, publicly available bank policies.Frameworks used to understand bank policies include the Fair Finance Guide, an internationally applied methodology which brings together a diverse range of international standards on responsible financing.
Businesses ‘Reinvent’ Servitude: Understanding The Status Of Female Migrant Labour From Odisha In The Tamil Nadu Garment Industry
Partnering with READ, Erode, which works for better standards for workers in garment and textile industries, Partners in Change carried out a study to understand the challenges faced by women migrant workers from Odisha. The study shed light on the difficult conditions in which these women work in mills in Tamil Nadu, the gross violation of basic human rights and demands better working conditions, wages and social security, among other things.
Facilitating Vaccination Linkages for Denotified Tribes in Rajasthan
Partners in Change in partnership with the National Alliance Group for Nomadic, Semi Nomadic and Denotfied Tribes have been working closely with several denotified tribes in Rajasthan on issues ranging from entitlement access to education to livelihoods. These groups in the current context of health and the pandemic have faced severe exclusions from entitlements as well as have several misconceptions about vaccines and therefore tremendous vaccine hesitancy.
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Read the Report of Activities between June and September 2021.
Working
Papers
Working Papers on Responsible Banking examine the financial sector from the perspectives of social equity, human rights and sustainable development. They reflect the view that CSR for the financial sector ultimately means being accountable to a broad range of external as well as internal stakeholders.
Why be responsible? The case for being a good bank considers three ethical justifications for responsible banking.
Banks, Financial Institutions and the India Responsible Business Index: Analysing Commitments uses publically disclosed data to assess financial sector commitments to promoting social inclusion.
Disclosure can stop cronyism: How irresponsible lending can be stopped through transparent public disclosure makes the case for transparency and more proactive disclosure in the context of the NPA crisis and the phenomenon of willful defaulting.
Whither sustainability? Indian banks and the Equator Principles
considers the Equator Principles and their uptake in India. It identifies the need for action to promote sustainability of the financial sector and sustainable development more broadly.
Toolkits
Guide to Better Disclosure – Manual on Business Responsibility Reporting, December 2015
This manual combines an attempt to define the purpose of BRR questions and provide an overview of different kinds of disclosure. While designing this guide, it has been kept in mind that responses to each of the questions would differ from company to company – depending upon their policies and practices – and from sector to sector. The guide is based on responses from companies to BRR questions in the past two financial years (2012-13 and 2013-14). It should be of interest to all companies who want to improve the quality, and, indeed, quantity, of their BRRs. ​
The manual was revised in September 2017 to include responses from companies to BRR questions in the past two financial years (2015-16 and 2016-17).
Measuring Commitment to Responsible Business: A Self-Administrable Toolkit for Businesses and Civil Society, March 2016
Rooted in the National Voluntary Guidelines on the Economic, Social and Environmental Responsibilities of Businesses, this toolkit offers a practical and self-administrable guide to enable businesses to assess their public commitments to their own workers and to society at large.