house magazineThe VOL. 7 NO. 4July'07- Aug.’07

Social Responsibility:

An agenda beyond business

SOCI

ARENES

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AL AWIA E E

SOCAL A

W R N SS

E LTHH AE LTHH A

DE UCATION

D CTE U A ION

NVIRONT

ENMENT

ENVIRONME

Between UsDoing good is good business

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Cover StorySocial Responsibility of Business

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Beyond BusinessThe DN A of Social C onsciousness

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Environmental ConcernsEnvironment Protection and C orporateResponsibility

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Reflect. Restore. ReimagineThe Birth of the Industrial Township

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Know your Divisional HeadGeorge Menezes - “If you care you can”

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In MemoriumMeherjibhai D Morawalla: A tribute to thelegend, who pioneered the art of Tool-makingat Godrej

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Our Achievers 39

Home Base 28

C O N T E N TC O N T E N TC O N T E N TC O N T E N TC O N T E N T SSSSS

Doing good is good businessThere is a new consciousness on the rise across the world, which believes that goodbusinesses are those, who are not only doing well financially but are also contributingsignificantly for the improvement of surrounding social environment. Even the stockmarkets are rewarding companies performing well on both, business and social dimensions.

In this issue of CHANGE, Prof. Harshada Mulay writes on what Corporate SocialResponsibility is, the new emerging, models of CSR and how more and more businessesadopting them will lead to greater inclusive growth, which in turn will help uplift millionsof poor out of poverty.

Godrej has been amongst the leaders in the area of CSR for many years. Family planning,health care, primary and secondary education, protecting and nurturing of environmentespecially mangroves, green business initiatives are amongst our noteworthy contributions.Our low-key approach has kept these contributions out of sight of many, hence CHANGEdecided to take a re-look at them.

Godrej also has been a pioneer in adapting many progressive employee-oriented practicesin the country even before the law mandated the same. The examples being providing forprovident fund, gratuity on retirement without limit, medical expenses and so on. Someyears back the entire Godrej industrial complex was declared a Non-smoking zone, aninitiative well ahead of others.

This issue of CHANGE also carries a forthright and insightful interview of George Menezes,CEO of the Appliance Division. The interview has many good lessons for fresh andexperienced Godrejites.

Our environmental expert Dr. Maya Mahajan has written on how caringly we look afterour Mangroves. Our archivists, Vrunda Pathare and Sanghamitra Sen, have traced thedevelopment of our Industrial Township. Both these pieces make interesting reading.

Our former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam recently handed over a replica of MobileAutonomous Launchers to General JJ Singh, the Chief of Army Staff. MALs are beingsupplied by our PES Division-this prestigious event is captured in the photo essay.

Mr. MD Morawalla, the founding father of our Toolroom Division, passed away sometime ago. We pay him a tribute underscoring his valuable contributions specially thoserelated to the shaping of unique work culture in our toolroom.

To get a flavour of things happening across the organisation do read our Home basesection.

The theme for the next issue of change is SPEED. Hope you will send us your contributionson the topics related to the theme.

Do send us write-ups, good quality photographs and feedback on what you like and whatyou don't about CHANGE.

A relief from the sweltering heat of summer, the monsoon creates an ideal setting toread and reflect. Do read CHANGE.

Indrapal Singh

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Editorial BoardAnil G VermaG SunderramanHarpreet KaurJui KarandikarMegha Moorthy

Co-ordinatorsAI Buvaneshwar (East)FK Khapoliwalla (West)Sushil Thariani (North)Vinod Kumar (South)

DistributorsNariman BachaSR Marolia

Consulting EditorIndrapal Singh

Designed byUday KamatC Karunaharan

Printed byGenius Printers Pvt. Ltd.

Edited and published byIndrapal Singh on behalf ofGodrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.,Mumbai-400 079.For private circulation only.

BETWEEN US

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COVER STORY

ur Pime Minister, Dr. ManmohanSingh, has been repeatedly urgingIndian business corporations to

pursue inclusive growth for theupliftment of millions of Indians livingin abject poverty.

Social responsibility of business is astrategic imperative, if adapted andpursued by businesses, can help societyat large and the poor of the countryin particular, to rise above pathetic,hopeless social milieu in which theymight spend rest of their lives.

Essentially, it is not a new concept forthe businesses but the visibility it hasreceived lately and the vigour by whichsome of the leading industrial housesof India have been pursuing it, is indeedsomething remarkable and new in ourcountry.

What is CSR?

Corporate Social Responsibilityrefers to making business decisionswhich are governed by compliance tolegal standards, values of businesswhich are essentially ethical in natureand a deep respect for citizens andcommunities as well as encompassingenvironment. It involves acomprehensive set of policies,practices and programmes that arehighly integrated with businessoperations and other strategic businessprocesses. The corporation whichclaims to be socially responsible mustmeet or exceed expectations of itsstakeholders in legal, commercial inthe domains of the law, ethics andgreater good.

Corporations execute their socialresponsibility in many ways. Some

incorporate it in their missionstatements, others set specif icperformance indices and yet othercorporations pursue CSR withoutany formal articulation. Regardless ofhow CSR gets executed, the keyfocus is always on the soundrelationship with all stakeholders andmeeting or exceeding theirexpectations in the domainsmentioned earlier.

CSR is good business

By no stretch of imagination it can besaid that social responsibility is out ofsync with good business practices. Infact they are mutually supportive andreinforcing as they jointly help buildand strengthen lasting relationshipswith the stakeholders of thecorporation.

Consumers, employees, investors andpublic at large are increasinglydemanding information on theperformance of a corporation on asocial dimension. Today no businesscan choose and do whatever it coulddo regardless of its impact on thesociety in general.

Investors are concerned about theeconomic performance of the businessbut are increasingly looking atperformance in the social sector asthey are aware that the long-termsustainability of the business dependsheavily on the performance in boththe spheres - economic and social.People are unwilling to turn a blindeye to socially insensitive acts of thebusinesses. In fact in the developingcountries shareholders punish severelythe businesses which act in a sociallyirresponsible way.

Social Responsibilityof Business

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Today no businesscan choose anddo whatever it

wants to doregardless of itsimpact on the

society in general

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Benefits of CSRMany benefits accrue to thestakeholders of the socially responsiblecorporations. Customers of sociallyresponsible corporations are assuredthat the products they purchase willnot only meet performance standardsbut will also be safe besides that theywill not hurt the public or in any waydamage the environment. They can beassured of an honest deal devoid ofhidden costs and not so noticeablemalpractices.

Investors of socially responsiblecorporations can be assured of thefact that they will not only get goodreturns but will contribute indirectlyto bring about a positive socialchange. Employees can look forwardto appropriate salaries and benefitsas well as healthy work-environmentwhere ample opportunities for doinggood work exists. Many studies haveshown that companies which aresocially responsible attract high-

calibre employees who as they workalong enjoy a more positive self-image as opposed to those whowork for the companies which arenot socially conscious.

Community, in general, is a beneficiary ofa socially responsible corporation in termsof employment, healthy environmentalimpact, charities and compliance with thelaw and regulatory framework.

Lastly, social and environmentalactivists also feel comfortable that

corporations increasingly aredischarging their socialresponsibi l it ies. They are restassured that the public in general isnot exposed to hazardous waste orenvironmentally damaging outcomes.Thus, it is a win-win situation for allstakeholders.

Models of CSR

Corporations fulfil l their socialresponsibility essentially following

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one of the three different models.

Corporate philanthropy -Activities in this model of CSR mayinclude social investments, causerelated activities, volunteering forsocial contributions, public interestadvertising. Corporations in thismodel tend to be essentially ‘givers’and they do help betterment ofsociety through their contributions.In India many corporations havedone a great deal of good work inthe area of promoting health,education, community development,helping the needy and donatingfunds for disaster relief. Benefits tosociety under this model do accruebut are not sustainable as theircontributions are not regenerativein nature.

Partnerships - Under this model ofCSR the companies generate resultsfor social action by deeply involvingthe beneficiaries. In the partnershipsthe company, social organisers andgovernment bodies carve out together,substantial benefits for both businessand society are realised. Some of theinitiatives such as welfare-to-work,school-to-work, reforms in educationsystem are outcomes of thepartnership model.

Strategic Business InterestActivities – Under this model ofCSR some of the corporations pursueonly those activities which will enablethem to meet the requirements ofstrategic business development. Atfirst glance, this model may sound abit mercenary; but in the long runpursuing such activities do yieldresults which are sustainable. In factpursuing CSR strategically helpsstrengthen all the three bottomlinesnamely; f inancial, social andenvironmental. Some examples of theactivities under this model are venturephilanthropy, talent development inpartnerships, skill development andadoption of newer technologies… ‘EChoupal’ a well known rural initiativeof ITC, is a good example of StrategicBusiness Interest (SBI) related CSRand so is Wipro’s entry into businessof processsing E-Waste.

As our economy develops, theemphasis is likely to shift towards

things which are envy of thecorporations in monopolisticeconomies.

In India Tata group is the unquestionedleader in the field, though their focusremains mainly philanthropic in nature.They are moving towards onesustainable model of Strategic BusinessInterest.

Third generation CSR

This model of CSR involvesdelivering sustainable developmentthrough the pursuit of business goals.As against philanthropy whichinvolves using one’s profits orpartnerships model which involvescollectively finding ways to deliversustainable value, this approachinvolves identifying such activites,which if pursued will result in greatersocietal and environmental good[such as reducing the consumptionof increasingly scarce naturalresources.] Existing initiatives suchas CII Godrej Green Business Centreprovides an example of thirdgeneration CSR. The vision of CIIand Sohrab Godrej Green BusinessCentre is to make India a leader ingreen business by 2015.

Conclusion

At the recently held CII summit onCSR, many outstanding cases/histories were showcased for thebenefit of participating companies. Itwas also demonstrated that CSR isnot only for the larger corporationsbut also for small and mediumenterprises as well.

Heightened social awareness, strongcommitment and expanded vision ofgreater India can only help us to movein the direction of inclusive growth.Only and only inclusive growth issustainable, as it will benefit millionsof underprivileged.

Unless the successful, fast growingcorporations contribute towardssocial development in significantway, the so ca l led ‘economicvictory’ could well be hollow andshortlived.

Prof. Harshada MulayVivekanand Education Society’s Institute ofManagement Studies & Research, Mumbai.

partnerships and SBI models ofCSR.

Communicating and ReportingCSR

It is essentially upto a corporationas to what it wishes to communicateand report about CSR activities. Itwill be a good idea to communicateand report performance on all thethree bottomlines - financial, socialand environmental. In fact, in thecoming years there might be aregulation in place which mightforce companies to be transparentabout its social responsibilities. Itis suggested that measuresundertaken for educat ion,workplace safety, child labour,protection of environment, skilldevelopment, etc., are some of theareas in which companiescommunicate their performance.

CSR in the Indian Context

JRD Tata had once remarked that “Nobusiness is worthwile unless it servesthe need of the country and itspeople.” This remark clarifies,brilliantly, the premise that ‘thebusiness of business is not onlybusiness but beyond business’. Tatas,Birlas, Godrej, Infosys, Wipro, Dr.Reddy’s Laboratories, Cipla are someof the major Indian corporations whichhave been delivering remarkably wellon the social dimension. Efforts aregenerally understated, unreported andunsung as they are driven by theirdeeply held values and beliefs, thesecompanies and others continue to do

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No business isworthwhile

unless it servesthe need of thecountry and its

people

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BEYOND BUSINESS

Udayachal, the school run by theGodrej group of companies,surrounded by gulmohars, copper pods,green lawns and cooing birds means“Eastern mountain, where the sun,moon and galaxies rise into the vastexpanse of the sky”. It symbolises theschools’ ideal - to help students fromeven the humblest origins to rise tothe heights of a fulfilled life.

The schools’ motto – “Tamaso MaJyotir Gamaya”, means “from darknessto light”. Education in the schoolsfocuses on total personalitydevelopment of the child, which isenhanced and strengthened throughjoyful learning. This takes into accountthe physical, socio-emotional, aesthetic,spiritual as well as mental growth,rather than merely academicprogress.

The need for a school atVikhroli arosewhen , 50

years ago, on his routine visits to thecompany, Pirojsha Godrej was greatlydisturbed by the plight of theemployees’ children who, havingnothing else to do, were just wastingtheir time roaming the factorysurroundings. Pirojsha’s youngest sonNaval, agreed with his father andenthusiastically pursued the project. Naval’s wife Soonu, affectionatelycalled Soonuben,suggested involvingCooverbai Vakil, an o t e deducationista n dproducto f

(Pic courtesy - Archives Dept.) Udayachal School at Pirojshanagar

The DNA of SocialConsciousness

Udayachal Schools: Providing Quality Care and Education

he founders of Godrejalways had a highlyd e v e l o p e d

consciousness, which drovethem to undertake initiativeswhich today can be said to befalling under the heading of‘Corporate Social Responsibility’.These socially relevant initiativesundertaken over the years arein several different areas likefamily planning, education,primary health, housing, skillbuilding and the like. Yet theone common theme runningacross the initiatives is makinghuman life better in its totality.In order to give you a larger,consolidated picture, we presentherewith a collage of ourinitiatives, which by no means isexhaustive. But, the fact remainsthat underneath every businessor non-business activityundertaken at Godrej, the DNAof social consciousness runsacross.

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Shanti-Niketan, in this endeavour.

Cooverbai together with her husbandhad, many years earlier, opened a smallschool in Pune, which was attendedby Soonu and the young Indira Gandhi.The love of nature and fine arts, sointrinsic to the philosophy of Shanti-Niketan was central to the teachingimparted at the Vakil School. Thisconcept appealed strongly to Pirojsha,himself a staunch Gandhian, who withthe help of Soonu, brought inCooverbai to start Udayachal.

The School began in 1955 in a smallgrain store, as a Bal Mandir. In thoseearly years, Soonu, together withCooverbai, Jyotsnaben, a teacher andnoted educationist who went on tobecome the first Principal of theschool, and Alooben Mowdawallaworked tirelessly to recruit students.They went from door to door in theGodrej Housing Colony, explaining thebenefits of education, almost beggingemployees to send their children tothe newly opened school! Initially, andvery reluctantly, their sons were sentto school, leaving out their daughterswho were traditionally restricted tobe housewives.

In those early days, as the olderteachers recall, they had to actuallybathe and groom some of the childrenbefore they entered the classroom! Even today, individual needs arecatered to and nutritional supplementsand medical services provided.

For the parents, years of constantexposure to cultural and educationalprogrammes including lectures byeminent personalities, helped lay thefoundation for a holistic educationalsystem.

Gradually, the school grew into a 3medium (Gujarati, Marathi and English),3000 students strong centre of pre-primary, primary and secondarylearning, with large airy classrooms andplaying fields. Despite a strong studentpopulation a healthy teacher child ratioof 1:30 ensures individual attentiongiven to each child.

There were no entrance tests, and nodivisions on the basis of status, religionor ethnic background. The onlycondition for admission was that the

first two children, regardless of gender,were accepted, the parents having tobe part of the programme of FamilyWelfare run by the Management. Anysubsequent offspring had to getadmission in another school.

The school being totally subsidisedproved to be a great incentive forkeeping families small. Today, so manyparents are thankful that due to thisscheme they have been able to provideso much more towards their children’sfuture. Currently, Udayachal School,caters to children other than those ofemployees. This change was broughtin when the Chairman and ManagingDirector of the company gave in torepeated requests from local residentswho wanted their children to get thequality education that the employees’children had enjoyed all these years.This promotes interaction amongstchildren of different castes, religionsand socio-economic milieu.

Right from the school’s inception, thefamily has had a hands-on approachto the school’s activities.Pirojsha’s daughter-in-law Jai – BurjorGodrej’s wife – herself a highlyqualified educationist, taught Englishand Mathematics in the High School.The strongly motivated teachers usedrevolutionary methods, making theschool a trail-blazer in the field ofeducation. Today, ongoing trainingprogrammes for teachers help keepthem up-to-date with the latesttheories and techniques. This equipsthem to face the challenges that thecontemporary education scenariopresents. However, the traditionalIndian values remain dear to thefounders even today.

A teacher here plays various roles –that of a facilitator, counsellor,guardian and is a learner herself.

Currently, with a greater demand forEnglish as the medium of instruction,the school is phasing out the otherlanguage sections. However, childrenlearn songs in the different Indianlanguages, and their assemblies andcultural programmes always reflect thevariety and richness of our culturalheritage. From Lezim toBharatanatyam, from Yoga totraditional Martial Arts, from Bhajans

to Ghazals, all these find a place in thecurriculum. It is this inclusion of a richvariety of co-curricular activities thathelp sculpt individuals with a strongpersonality.

Great emphasis is laid on creativity –in fact the school is pioneer in recyclingsuch waste material as paper, glass,metal, plastic etc in their art and craftclasses, also using them to maketeaching aids. Even computer paper istransformed into objects made ofpapier-mache. Udayachal School is alsoan ISO-14001 certified institution,which goes to show thatenvironmental issues are held dearhere.

On the technical side, subjects suchas carpentry, fitting, electronics,plumbing and computer skills areoffered for both boys and girls. Everychild is made aware of theenvironment – its nurture and itsproblems through programmesmarking World Wetlands Day. WorldPopulation Day, World Forestry Dayto name a few. This awareness extendsto the students’ immediateenvironment where they clean theirclassrooms. On a small plot of landnear the school, the children are taughthow to grow and take care of plantsfrom the sowing stage until it is a full-grown plant.

It is our constant endeavour to createa happy and fun-filled learningenvironment for children. Throughexperiential learning, we aim todevelop young inquiring minds.Children are given freedom todiscover, explore, question and makechoices. They are active initiators oftheir own learning process throughwhich they strive to reach their truepotential.

Each child leaves Udayachal with aneducation that provides knowledge,awareness and a value system thatsupports him/her through life. Inconclusion, at Pirojshanagar, thesymbiotic relationship between Plantsand Plants – industrial and natural,create the ideal environment forgrowth, and the perfect setting for aplace of learning. Growth, in the mostcomplete sense of the word, is whatwill take us into the India of tomorrow.

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Long term employment for the visually disabledThe activity of hardware packet making for chairs has beenoutsourced to National Association for Disabled Enterprises(NADE) for the last several years. The objective of this decisionwas to ensure continued occupation for the visually disabled.The activity began way back in 1996-97, where approximately8,000 to 10,000 hardware packets of 30 different kinds everymonth were made by them.

This activity continues till date. Only, the scope has increasedand NADE now provides us with 40,000 packets of 200 kinds.The type of hardware components has also increased from 20components then to 75 components now with the change inbusiness scenario & customer requirements.

The employment to the visually and physically disabled peoplehas also gone up from employing seven persons then toapproximately 18 people now.

In this period of about ten years, we have managed to getapproximately 3 million hardware packets from NADE. Andwhat is amazing is that the defects due to wrong packing wasobserved to be less then 2000 PPM which is really a commendableperformance by the people working on it.

The activity has also helped us learn that when a process is foolproofed and there is a level of dedication towards it, the outputcan be excellent.

Rahul K. BagayatkarInterio-Seating System

In the last ten years, Godrej has gotapproximately 3 million hardware packetsmade from NADE.

The process of screw packet making

The hospital provides high qualityhealth care at affordable prices

Godrej Memorial Hospital - striving to strike the right balance

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The Godrej Hospital was set up byGodrej Memorial Trust. The objectiveof the hospitals was to create a balancebetween the philanthropic hospitalsand the private hospitals in the city.For the same purpose, an alternatebusiness model was created whichwould emulate philanthropic hospitalsbut have high quality healthcareservices at an affordable cost in arational and ethical manner. To put it

simply, provide five starservices at three starprices.

The hospital has in factmanaged to implementthis unique businessmodel, and today eventhe highest rates in thestate-of-the–art hospitalare 40-60 percent lowerthan other privatehospitals. The model isinspired by the conceptof Sustainable

Philanthropy. This model was adoptedwit the belief that a whollyphilanthropic model would not besustainable and would grow only in avery limited sense.

It is interesting to know that thehospital does not advertise as theManagement believes that as a medicalservice provider, it is not ethical toadvertise. Also, advertising wouldinvolve large financial outlay, which will

Godrej Memorial Hospital

Common Effluent Treatment Plant - Capacity 1200 cubicmetres per day

Sewage Treatment and Recycling Plant -Capacity 500 Cubic metres per day

Godrej has always believed inprotecting and enhancing environment.In the year 1980, a survey wasconducted to understand statutoryrequirements as regards treatment ofeffluents, sewage etc. and it wasdecided to undertake measures, whichwent well beyond the mere statutorycompliance.

Effluent Treatment: In the year1986, the first Common EffluentTreatment Plant (CETP) of capacity

Managing effluents and waste water1,200 cubic metres a day wasestablished for treating waste watergenerated from manufacturing activitiesat Vikhroli.

In 1987, Electroplating EffluentTreatment Plant of capacity 400 cubicmetres per day for treatingpretreatment effluent generating frompretreatment processes wascommissioned.

All the liquid effluents from various

manufacturing divisions and the partiallytreated effluents from electroplatingwaste treatment plant and Chromiumtreatment plant are collected andtreated in the Common EffluentTreatment Plant (CETP). The plant hasa capacity to treat 1200 cubic metresper day effluent to the standardsprescribed by the Pollution ControlBoard. A part of the effluent is recycled/recovered for the operation of CETPand gardening purpose.

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upset the attractive value for costequation.

What’s special: To makehealthcare available at affordableprices, the OPD is divided into threetypes- OPD for poor patients isbetween 9 and 10 am, where thepatients are charged only Rs.10 perconsultation. The concessional OPDis between 10 am and 4 pm, whereRs.100 is charged for generalspeciality and Rs. 150 for superiorspeciality consultations. The patientcan see the doctor for the sameailment free for another nine daysafter the first visit and then 50percent as follow up charges fromthe 14th to the 30th day. The hospitalalso takes pride in being one of theonly hospitals in the city that doesnot insist on an advance.

The hospital building is well designed:where the bed moves with the patientas required. All modern biomedicalequipment is available, such as CTscans, advanced operatingmicroscopes, equipment for key-hole

surgeries, life support equipment aswell as ICUs for adults and new bornbabies (neonates).

The hospital has around 80 honouraryconsultants attached to it. Themisalignment between the interest ofthe hospital and those of consultantsis prevented through innovativelydesigned fee structure.

To help the needy patients, a networkof trusts and charitable institutions isput in place and is activated readily ifthe need arises.

The hospital provides free emergencymedical service through its cardiacambulance with a well-trained medicalteam in the radius of 10 km aroundthe hospital. The pharmacy, diagnosticand casualty services are availableround the clock.

Reaching out: The hospital does freecleft surgeries in association with SmileTrain Project and have completed 100surgeries till date. The hospital alsoorganises free medical camps,especially on cataracts. Taking the

educative philosophy of the hospitalseriously, the hospital has alsoorganises lecture series for generalpractitioners and the doctors at thehospital.

For the convenience of patients whocannot make it to the hospital, an outdoor collection service has started inVikhroli, Powai, Kanjumarg andChembur area.

The hospital is planning to go forNational Accreditation for thelaboratory at the hospital. The Hospitalalso intends to put up an ART centreto support the government to tackleHIV in he near future.

The hospital, in its efforts to besustainable in its growth model andaffordable has now created a cultureof ‘need based philanthropy’ that hascertainly come to stay. We believe thismodel should be mutated on a largescale to provide high quality healthcare at affordable prices for thegrowing middle class.

Dr. AM Joglekar

Sewage Treatment: In 1989, thefirst Sewage Treatment and RecyclingPlant of capacity 500 cubic metres perday commissioned for recycling sewagewater from industrial premises. Againa voluntary initiative to reduce thesewage load and reduce dependenceon Municipal water supply.

Again in 1996, the second sewagetreatment plant was commissioned ofthe same capacity for treatment ofsewage water. The treated wastewater is used for gardening purposesacross the Industrial township.

Godrej also reuses a part of the sewage

certified by M/s. TUV India Pvt. Ltd.for Integrated Management Systemconforming to ISO 9001:2000, ISO14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:1999,International Management Systemstandards for Quality, Environment andOccupation Health and Safety.

Rainwater harvesting: Rooftop RainWater Harvesting is the techniquethrough which rainwater is capturedfrom the roof catchments and storedin reservoirs. Harvested rainwater canbe stored in sub-surface ground waterreservoir by adopting artificial rechargetechniques to meet the householdneeds through storage in tanks.

For the residential project of GodrejGarden Enclave Project, company hasdecided to impement a comprehensiverainwater harvesting scheme with apurpose of utilising this abundantnatural source of water for flushingrequirement of the residential buildingsand recharging the ground waterthrough borewell and openwell for theduration it is available.

Switching to cleaner process, recyclingof materials and water, efficient resourcemanagement, waste minimisation, is allpart of the strategy to minimise thedamage to the environment.

Tejashree JoshiConstruction Division

Sewage Treatment and recycling Plant at the Godrej Garden Enclave Complex - Capacity 650 Cubicmetres per day

water coming from the industrial andresidential establishments for gardening,landscaping and/or flushing applications.Domestic sewage is treated in 2 Nos.of SBR based tertiary sewage treatmentplants each with a capacity of 500 cubicmetres per day. The treated water fromthis plant is used for horticulturepurposes in the industrial complex.

The Environment department ofConstruction Division; which operatesall the Common Wastewatertreatment and recycling facilities atGodrej manages the Hazardous wastesgenerated for all the divisions has been

The Godrej canteen, like all othercanteens generates two kinds ofleftovers. However, what makes itunique is the use these leftoversare put to:

The first type is untouched food.Untouched food is the food thathas not reached people’s plates.Every afternoon workers from

The Manager’s canteen at Godrej & Boyce

Making use of every morsel

Outside view of canteen

to ensure that the reach is aswidespread as possible.

The second type is food left onpeople’s plates. This leftover is sentto the Garden department to makefertilizers/compost.

DD Amrute

Good Samaritan, an organisation inVikhroli for destitute children,come to take the remaining foodto d istr ibute i t to theunderprivileged.

However, every year, the organisationthat the food is provided to is reviewed

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Employees of Godrej are providedhousing facility in Company’sresidential complex located atPirojshanagar, Vikhroli. As thiscomplex has preserved its greeneryand natural beauty it is also known as“Garden Township of Godrej”.

This complex is among first fewresidential complexes, which has beenawarded ISO-14000:2004 and EN-14001:2004 certification because of itsbest practices towards preserving andmaintaining healthy, green and cleanenvironment.

An ariel view of Hillside colonyPic by Nariman Bacha

The Godrej housing colonies: idyllic retreats in the heart of the suburb of Vikhroli

developed geometrically in alldirections. Presently it providesaccommodation to over 4,900employees.

The residents can also avail theservices provided in the form of theschool, dispensary, post office, hospitaland provision stores among manyothers. They can also enjoy thefacilities at the club house like thegymnasium, the swimming pool, lawntennis and table tennis, etc. Theresidents can also join variousworkshops organised by the club fromtime to time.

Facilities like pipe-gas, cable television(through CAS), Internet and the likeare also made available to residents.

The employees living here cut acrossreligious and cultural barriers. All theresidents come together to celebrateDiwali, New year, Navratri, GaneshChaturthi, Id and Christmas.

Once in every year a get-togethercalled Anand Mela is organised for the

Jogging track at Godrej Hillside Club

Navratri celebrations in the colony

Godrej Creekside colony

Godrej Hillside colony

The colony is divided into Hillsidecolony, which is easily accessible fromLal Bahadur Shastri Marg andCreekside colony, which is easilyaccessible from the Eastern ExpressHighway.

Way back in year 1950, a few chawlswere built in Kendraside colony foremployees, who were transferred fromthe Lalbaug factory to the Vikhrolifactory. Since then the colony has

residents. The young and the old,both enjoy all the cultural and regionalflavors at the food stalls put up bythe residents themselves. They alsoenjoy the music and danceperformances, joy-rides, and thegames at the mela.

Annual sports, cricket matches andfootball tournaments keep sportsenthusiasts busy throughout theyear.

Residents who have moved away fromthe colony never forget theirmemorable times here.

Ashok ChhichhiaHousing Department

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The Energy Conservation Act (Encon)came into effect from 2001. The act hasbeen promulgated by the Bureau ofEnergy Efficiency, Govt. of India. Theact has identified “Designated” Energyintensive Industries viz. Cement,Fertilizer, Chlor-alkali, Petrochemicalsand the like for mandatory compliancewith the Encon Act. Additionally, anycommercial building with a connectedload that is greater than 500kw / 600kva,is in the ambit of the Encon Act, 2001.

Godrej & Boyce, being a lightengineering company, does not fall inthe designated industries category.

However, at Godrej voluntarycompliance of Encon systems is in

With the booming ManufacturingSector recording a hefty 14%growth for the year 2006-07, thereis a great demand for skilledworkmen.

To impart skills which make youngpersons employable, Godrejintroduced ‘Employees ChildrenTraining Scheme’ for the childrenof employees – serving as well asretired.

This generated an enthusiasticresponse from the workmen. Over100 employees sent in applicatiosfor their sons out of which 76candidates were selected and havestarted attending the TrainingSessions.

Skills like Welding, Fabricating,Fitting will be taught during theTraining period which is for oneyear. There will be class-roomsessions to make the concepts andtheory clear accompanied by hand-on training in the CorporateTraining Centre Workshop. Afterthis, they will go to the Divisionswhere they will be given on-the-job training. Trainees are givenstipend of Rs. 3000/- per monthduring the training period.

PM BhosekarCorporate Training Centre

Making the youth employable

Conserving for a brighter tomorrow

Central Air conditioning system(HVAC): Used for Comfort andmachine shop application. HighEfficiency Chillers are expensive butpays for itself.

Usage of Thermal Equipments likeHot water Generators and Ovens andregular tuning of Burners etc.results in efficiency improvement.

Reduction in speed of Pumps,Fans & Blowers: Reduction in speedof Pumps, Fans & Blowers by 10%results in energy reduction by 30%.

Lighting: Energy Efficient lamps + theLuminaries results high lumensoutput.

The effect of Metal Halide Lamps on the Shop floor

place for the last two decades.Investment to the tune of 8-10% ofthe Annual Electricity Bill is made everyyear with attractive payback.

Inspired by the adage, ‘One cannotmanage what one does not measure’,Godrej believes Measurement/Monitoring and Verification of past v/spresent data gives an insight and pavesa roadmap for Energy ConservationMeasures (ECM) to be taken up.

At Godrej, Energy audits areconducted at regular intervals and alltechno-economically viable suggestionsare implemented.

Energy Conservation begins right from

the design stage, extends all the wayto Operations and ends with propermaintenance.

The following are the areas Godrejfocuses on:

Process: Selection for a particularapplication has to be done keepingmind the Energy efficiency, ease ofoperation and maintenance.

Minimising Compressed Airutilisation: Compressed Air is themost expensive form of energy. 6Units of Electrical Energy gives OneUnit of Compressed Air. A process ofswitching over from Compressed airgrinding to Electrical High FrequencyGrinding has been initiated in severalshopfloors.

At the moment a unique project hasbeen taken up which involvesrecovering waste heat from CentralAir conditioning and re-utilising thesame in Surface Treatment Plants.

Spearheading the GreenRevolution: The Green BusinessCentre, Hyderabad

The idea of Green Business Centrewas conceived by the house of Godrejand the CII, in partnership with theAndhra Pradesh Government and wastechnically assisted by USAID. GreenBusiness Centre is the first building inthe world to receive the PlatinumLEED award, making it one of the mostenvironmentally advanced buildings inthe world.

12

The Green Building is a symbol ofEnvironmental Sustainability. ForEnvironmental Sustainability, one hasto adapt a holistic approach whilstconstructing a building and also ensure

The Horticulture Department atGodrej was started in 1951 primarilyto facilitate the greening of thedeveloping Industrial Township ofPirojshanagar at Vikhroli. Sprawlingover 3000 acres, the Township soonbecame an oasis in the midst of theconcrete jungle that Mumbai was fast-becoming. Very quickly the Townshipwas referred to as, the GodrejIndustrial Garden Township.Thousands of trees, tens of thousandsof shrubs and herbs and creepers ofhundreds of species and sub-species

A Green Genetic Code

are prominently found in this vast mixof factories and verdant countryside.The Godrej Township and companypremises are dotted with woods, butthis did not come about instantly. Ithas taken several years of determinedeffort and dedication by our founders,namely, Pirojsha Godrej, SohrabGodrej and Naval Godrej, totransform the area into the green bowlthat we are fortunate to enjoy today.

The Construction Division wascertified for Environmental

Management System (ISO 14001) inOctober, 1997. Being a part of theDivision, the Garden Department haschannelised all its activities through thesystematic procedures thatstandardisation calls for. Similarly, theTownship was also certified under ISO14001 in 2001, This added a furtherdimension to the activities, mainly bycreating awareness and impartingnature education, through the system,to the residents and UdayachalSchools.Landscape garden opposite to Plant 11 Showroom

The Cactarium nurtured by the Garden Division

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One of the green building projects commissioned by Godrej

that thisapproach isintegrated in itss u b s e q u e n toperation.

A GreenBuilding keepsEnvironmentalconcerns infocus in thefollowing areas –a) selection ofsite for thebuilding b)a rch i tec tura l

features c) water and energy efficiencyd) energy efficiency of equipments inthe buildings e) selection and usageof materials f) Indoor Air Qualityg) Occupant Thermal Comfort

Also, of optimum importance is Safetyduring Construction and postOccupancy.

A Green building and a conventionalbuilding would visually not look verydifferent, but the difference really liesin the design, the construction andoperational aspects.

MNCs, corporate houses and the retailsector have reacted positively to theGreen building concept and in a veryshort span over 100 projects havebeen registered in India.

The E&E Division is into business ofconsultancy on Commissioning of GreenBuildings. More than 25 Projects are beinghandled as of today for commissioning.

Rumy EngineerEnergy Conservation Department, E&E

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The Garden Department, as a serviceand support department, has the majorresponsibility of nurturing the gardensand the plantation in the Pirojshanagarpremises. Handling living creatures,who do not visibly respond, requiresmuch patience, love and care and thiswould not have been possible withoutthe nimble fingers of the numerousgardeners and workers, who care forthe greenery with so much of affection.Hundreds of tree species of bothindigenous and exotic nature havebeen planted and are now flourishingover the years. A vibrant descriptionis recorded in the much-appreciatedbook, “Godrej: ‘A symbiosis ofIndustry and Nature”, published by theBombay Natural History Society andthe Soonabai Pirojsha GodrejFoundation.

Green CoverAvenues lined with Peltophorum,Royal Palm, the Benjamina (Ficus) andmany other appropriate species set theplace apart. Flowering trees likeLaburnum, Gulmohur Kanchan andTacoma add splashes of brilliant huesof colour that change with the seasons.The trees were planted and gardensdeveloped in co-ordination with theconstruction activities. The extensivefoliage patches act as carbon sinks andmake the micro-climate of the area anumber of times better as comparedto the other parts in Mumbai. To caterto the continuous requirement of thetree and plant species, we are

propagating and growing plants in twowell-equipped nurseries.

Initiatives

The development of gardens is notonly restricted to Pirojshanagar.‘Godrej’, in keeping with its practiceof Corporate Social Responsibility, hasadopted and developed traffic islandgardens at several places in Mumbai.Many of these gardens have beenawarded prizes. Under the guidanceand advice of Mrs. Pheroza Godrej,President of the National Society forthe Friends of the Trees, the Gardendepartment is nurturing tree saplingsat the SP Godrej Tree Bank. Thesaplings are distributed through theNational Society for the Friends of theTrees to various NGOs, Schools,Colleges, Lions Club Rotary Clubs,Housing Societies and individuals. Overthe years we have progressed todistributing well-developed 1m to1.25m tall saplings, to ensure a highersurvival rate. We are also involved incarrying out plantations of indigenous

Terrace garden at Godrej Bhavan

Dahlia flower

tree species at the Tower of Silence(Doongarwadi). We assist theirhorticulture team whenever requiredand guide them regarding the care andmaintenance of the large number oftree species present in its vicinity.

Creating awareness

To create awareness amongst thePirojshanagar residents and the schoolchildren we organise the annual‘Vanamahotsava’, tree-planting festival,during the first week of July. Variousactivities like tree plantation, seminarson varied environment topics, includingcare and maintenance of indoor plantsand the flora of Pirojshananagar, areorganised during this celebration. In fact,whenever we have a choice we giftpotted plants as gifts to our guests andprize winners rather than cut-flowers!!

Water conservation

To conserve water which is a preciousresource, watering for the extensivegardens is predominantly usingrecycled water. Water conservationis a major goal for the garden teamand we are continually in the processof adopting water conservationtechniques like adjusting wateringtimings, mulching, making dykes insummer and many others.

Waste management

One of the major output of the gardenmaintenance activities like hedge-trimming, lawn mowing and pruning isa large amount of green waste, all ofwhich, combined with kitchen wastefrom the canteen is deposited invermicomposting pits.Vermicomposting allows us to reap thebenefits of utilising rich organic manurein our gardens.

We can conclude that Pirojshanagar istruly a symbiosis of nature andindustry. We are blessed with anenvironment which is markedlypleasant and pure as compared to theother parts of Mumbai. It is ourendeavour to ensure that ourenvironmentally friendly activitiescontinue so that the next generationcan reap rich benefits and perpetuatethe same for posterity.

Aarti Kishore BhamboreGarden Department

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ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

he corporate world is striving toachieve excellence in all aspectsof their operations. This

has resulted in various positiveinitiatives in multiple fields includingthe environmental and social services.Broadly, such positive steps taken bycorporates which are beyond merelyto fulfilling any statutory requirementare termed as Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR). Although, theconcept of CSR has been developingsince the early 1970s, there is nosingle, commonly accepted definitionof “Corporate Social Responsibility”(CSR). However, in general, CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR) is acceptedas a concept which states thatorganizations, especially corporations,have an obligation to consider theinterests of customers, employees,shareholders, communities, andecological considerations in all aspectsof their operations. This obligationextends beyond their statutoryobligation to comply with legislation.

As a result, organisations worldwideare now entering into areas that werefor years considered to be theresponsibility of Governments alone.The private sector is becoming anactive partner in environmentalprotection. It is widely recognisedtoday, that environmental protectionand economic growth need notnecessarily be in conflict, and oftencan be complimentary to each other.

New Obligations: Today, manycompanies recognise theirresponsibility to minimise the

environmental damages arising out oftheir actions. An earlier regime withemphasis on strict governmentalregulations has ceded ground tocorporate self-regulation and voluntaryinitiatives. The environmental aspectof CSR is crucial and is defined as theduty to counter-balance theenvironmental costs of the company’soperations, products and facilitiesthrough minimising consumption,wastes and emissions; and maximisingthe efficiency and productivity of itsresources. It is the duty of everyresponsible citizen and institutions aliketo minimise practices that mightadversely affect the country’sresources, which would in turn affectour future generations far moreseverely.

CSR is closely linked with theprinciples of Sustainable Development,which argue that enterprises shouldnot only be concerned about financialfactors such as profits or dividends,but also the immediate and long-termsocial and environmental consequencesof their activities.

In the emerging global scenario ofinformation explosion, companies aremore often judged on the basis of theirsocio-environmental stewardship.Quality standards (such as ISOcertification) of the company are alsoadjudged based on various parametersincluding their social andenvironmental performance. Thistransparency of business practicesmeans that for many companies CSRis no longer a luxury but a

requirement. Global partners inbusiness and consumers want to knowwhat is inside a company. They preferassociating with companies with higherethical standards and socio-environmental performance over andabove the physical quality of theirproducts.

Godrej – The leader of CSR:Undoubtedly, the Godrej name standshead and shoulders above its peerswhen it comes to the CSR. The vasttract of 1750 acres of uniqueMangrove forests conserved andprotected by Godrej on its land inVikhroli stands testimony to Godrej’sefforts towards fulfilling their CSR inan exemplary manner demonstratinghow industry and nature could wellbe in harmony with each other. Godrejhas been honoured with nationalGreen Governance award in 2005,which recognised our efforts.

Symbiosis of Industry and Nature

It was 12.40 pm on November 10,2005 in Hall No. 5 of Vigyan Bhavanin New Delhi. After the initialspeeches, Mr. Vijay Crishna, Masterof Ceremony, announced the winnerof the BNHS Green GovernanceAward: 2005 for the Category–Conservation & Restoration of Habitat.Mr. Jamshyd Godrej received theaward on behalf of Godrej & BoyceMfg. Co. Ltd., from the hands of thehonourable Prime Minister of India Dr.Manmohan Singh for theirConservation and Restoration of aHabitat project, for its commitment

Protection andCorporate Responsibility

EnvironmentDr. Maya Mahajan explains the criticality

of Corporate Environmental Responsibility

as a part of Social Responsibility and the

role Godrej has performed in the area so far

T

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to the global community to protectthe mangroves and promote theirconservation through extensiveenvironmental education campaign.

It was indeed a proud moment ofrecognition for every Godrejite,especially the Soonabai Pirojsha GodrejMarine Ecology Centre (mangroveproject) team as well as the efforts ofentire Godrej team in keeping theenvironment clean green and safe. Itwas a salute by a 122 year old researchoriented institute (BNHS) to a 108year old (or rather young) commercialorganisation. Moreover, it was arecognition for the scientific efforts atGodrej in striking an exemplarybalance between industry and naturethrough environment friendlypractices.

The preservation of open spaces andespecially green open spaces such asmangroves has always been a priorityfor the Godrej family. The entirecampus of the Company is anindustrial garden township known asPirojshanagar and is a living testimonyof this commendable priority.Pirojshanagar, in fact, is a green oasissituated within urban Mumbai. Thecompany strongly believes that thisgreen environment enhancesproductivity and quality. Conservationof the greenery and mangroves areone of the many aspects of CorporateSocial Responsibility shown byGodrej.

The Mangrove Conservation Projectand its efforts is a pioneeringendeavour in the context of CorporateEnvironmental Responsibility, which isin its fledgling state in the country eventoday. Organisations being committedto the environment shatters thepopular myth that Industries are anti-environment.

Mangrove Conservation Project

Mangrove Project, proudly describedas the apex of environmentconservation activities initiated byGodrej successfully completed 12 yearsin 2007. The project acquired itsformal structure with set up of‘Soonabai Pirojsha Godrej MarineEcology Centre’ under the guidanceof Dr. Salim Ali, Dr. AK Ganguly andDr. HN Sethna in 1985. The projectis indeed unique in having ISO 14001certificate, which is generally allottedto human establishments such asindustries, housing colonies etc. In fact,mangrove forest in Pirojsha Nagar isprobably the only forest maintainedby a corporate house having ISOcertificate as per our knowledge.

Approximately, 1,750 acres of the landwith mangrove cover has beenconserved by Soonabai Pirojsha GodrejMarine Ecology Centre. Welldiversified and well protected, theseare the last- quality mangroves in thecity. The vast expanse of thesemangroves serve as a second lung ofthe city only after the Sanjay GandhiNational Park which is under immenseenvironmental pressures.

The mangrove flora of Pirojshanagaris well diversified. There are 13 speciesof mangroves and mangrove associates.The faunal composition in the area isalso equally diverse. Apart from 185species of birds, 30 species of reptiles,13 species of crabs, 7 species ofprawns and 20 species of fish havebeen identified so far in the area.Mammals like jackals and mongoosealso were sited many a times.

Every year during winter thousands offlamingos visit this area.

The SPGMEC has taken severalmeasures to protect these mangroves

in Pirojshanagar as a part ofenvironmental and socialresponsibility. Major objectives of thecentre are conservation of the marinediversity (mangrove ecosystem)through research, education/awareness building and regularmonitoring. Simultaneously, thecentre is engaged in the propagationof various species of mangroves,developing theme parks on medicinalplants and rare endemic plant species,palms amongst others.

Enhancing awareness about mangroveecosystem and natural resources ingeneral is one of the prime objectivesof the Centre. Every year, around10,000 visitors learn about bio-diversity in mangroves, its importanceand threats for its survival throughnature trails, slide shows, film shows,awareness campaigns, visits toMangrove Interpretation Centre andarticles in newsletters. We try to findinnovative methods to take this naturalheritage to maximum number ofpeople in Godrej establishments andcitizens of Mumbai

Some of the Eco-restorationprogrammes undertaken by SPGMECare:

Regular monitoring/ patrolling in thecreek side mangrove area conservedby SPG Marine Ecology Centre tocheck possible destruction of existingmangroves and protecting rare speciesof mangroves.

Ecological restoration of degradedmangroves by raising nurseries andreplenishing degraded mangrove areasthrough artificial regeneration indifferent areas.

The vast patch of mangroves alsoserves as a source of livelihood ofneighbouring fishermen community.

Mr. Jamshyd Godrej receiving the award.

The mangroves at Pirojshanagar

The flamingos at the Mangroves

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Nature trailMangrove tour

Mangrove interpretation centre. A theory lesson on the mangrove

l It is one of the major privately managedwetlands in Asia.

l It is probably the first wetland management projectin the world to achieve ISO 14001 Certificate forEnvironment Management System.

l Successful plantation of Mangroves on sterile saltlands covering hundreds of acres of area.

l An Interpretation Centre to impart environmentaleducation by using mangroves as a platform. Thecentre has facilities for a nature trail, theme parks,small marine aquariums, information throughposters, presentations, film shows, books etc.

l Research guidance has been provided for graduateand post graduate students from differentorganisations.

l Conducted National and International seminarsfor bringing the people’s attention and participationtowards the conservation of mangroves.

l Over 500 wild animals have been rescued andrehabilitated in the wild since 1994.

l People’s attention has been drawn towards theissue of conservation of Mumbai Mangrovesthrough newspapers, magazines and television.

l Played a key role in getting the status of “ImportantBird Area of India” for the Thane Creek. Workingas a facilitator to get the status of “Ramsar Site”or the “Wetland of International Importance” forthe Thane Creek.

l Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. received BNHSGreen Governance Award 2005 in the hands ofHonorable Prime Minister of India forconservation and restoration of Mangrove habitatat Vikhroli.

l Participated in the First Asia Wetland Symposiumheld in Hong Kong. SPGMEC is a part of globalnetwork called Wetland-Link International.

Some of the significant achievements of the project are:

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New Focus: Now, the focus of SPGMEC has shiftedfrom conservation of mangroves to “Better EnvironmentalPerformance using mangrove as a platform”. With thischange of focus, we are now using mangroves as anecological indicator of the Industry’s ecological performance.We do not want to just protect the mangroves, butimprove our every activity that puts burden on theenvironment around us. The betterment of environmentalperformance is not only limited to the industrial activitiesbut also, at the personal levels.

With the same intention, our residential colonies haveadopted the Environmental Management System and theyare ISO 14000 certified housing colonies. The mangroveprotection and environmental safety can be seen in everyaspect of these colonies and festivals like Ganpati and Holicelebrations show remarkable efforts put in by employeesand their families.

During last year (April 2006 to April 2007) we couldsuccessfully conduct around 150 comprehensive educationprograms comprising nature trails, slide shows/ film shows,poster presentation and lectures Around 10,000 visitorsincluding different school children, college students, teachersand citizens groups visited our centre, and explored theMangroves in Pirojsha Nagar.

We also celebrated different events such as WorldEnvironment Day (5th June), Vana Mahotsava (July 1 to 7),Mangrove Action Day, Wildlife Week (October 1-7),International Biodiversity Day, World Wetland Day etc withactive participation of different School children includingUdayachal Primary School and High School, College students,Godrej employees, colony residents etc. Environmentalawareness programs were also conducted duringGaneshotsava and Anand Mela in Godrej Colonies. Researchstudents from different colleges and post graduatedepartments are enjoying the benefit of our library and alsogetting guidance from the experts in our department. This

year four postgraduate students andtwo groups of collegestudents fromMumbai and Punecould successfullycomplete theirresearch projectunder the guidance ofe n v i r o n m e n t a lexperts at our centre.

Mangrove Conservation project is now being looked at asa success story and people from Mumbai are interested insaving the mangroves all over the city.

The Soonabai Pirojsha Godrej Marine Ecology Centre ismainly responsible for bringing the fact to people’s noticethat mangroves are a lifeline for Mumbai and also hastaken up the responsibility for keeping this lifeline intactfor the sake of our future generations.

Dr. Maya Mahajan

Students on a plantation drive

Research students on a field trip

Garden department at Godrej & Boyce

A creakside view of the Mangroves

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REFLECT. RESTORE . RE IMAGINE

Mumbai - A civic nightmare:Recently the rains have once againexposed our inabilities to combat thecivic problems in our cities. For allthese years, the influx of people tothe city has paralysed theinfrastructure to the extent of turningour cities into a ‘civic nightmare’.Housing is one such problem that hascrippled our civic administration rightfrom the time of independence.

Origins of housing shortage: Thegenesis of the housing problem inMumbai dates back to the mid-nineteenth century, the period thatsaw the increase in population. Theurban growth due to the flourishingoverseas trade especially the bloomingcotton trade was one of the reasonsfor the transformation of Mumbai intothe commercial capital of the countrythat in turn attracted people from allover India to try their fortunes in thismetropolis. Despite the efforts of themunicipal administration, the problemsof the city aggravated with this risingpopulation.

Government Action: Independenceand self rule pushed the then Bombaygovernment into finding feasibleremedies to end the crisis for its

people. British Building experts wereconsulted by the Housing Minister whohad set off for Europe with this inmind. Their slum clearance site in Yorkwas an example to be followed. (Fromthe special issue of India NationalPictorial News Weekly of August 31,1947)

Around the same time even theMadras Government sketched a planfor ‘Cheap and healthy homes forworkers’. Madras Engineers after muchinvestigation came up with a ModelHouse Plan for building houses to suitthe needs of poor man/ middle class.However we do not know whetherthis plan was implemented by theGovernment or any private employeras was intended by the planners.

Realising the urgency to meet thehousing problem, in the First Five YearPlan (1951-56), the Governmentemphasised on institution-building andon construction of homes forGovernment employees and theweaker sections of society. AnIndustrial Housing Scheme was alsoinitiated during the plan period.

Despite of all these initiatives,problems seized the IndianGovernment who in turn goaded the

Vrunda Pathare and Sanghamitra Sen trace

the origins of the Industrial township in India

and the story behind the transformation of

the marshlands in Vikhroli to the Pirojsha

Nagar Industrial township

Birth Industrial TownshipThe of the

Industrial TownshipBirth

19

state authorities to tackle the problemon war footing. Speaking on theoccasion of inauguration of Air IndiaInternational’s modern housing colonyat Santa Cruz on December 14, 1957,Mr. YB Chavan, the then ChiefMinister of Bombay emphasised theneed ‘to build industrial colonies inorder to solve one of Bombay’s acutestproblems – housing’ and hoped theinitiative on the part of private sector.(Special supplement of Times of Indiaon Air-India International HousingColony dated December 30, 1957)

Private sector rising to theoccasion: However, initiatives on thepart of the private sector were alsonot unknown. Early in the twentiethcentury, Tatas showed the way bybuilding the Industrial Township atJamshedpur. Commissioned by theTata family in 1920, Lawrence SamuelDurrell was responsible for building atinplate mill, a brick-making plant, anoffice building, a hospital and over fourhundred workers’ houses atJamshedpur.

Around 1943, reported India NationalPictorial News Weekly of August 31,1947, Messers. Janda Mfg. Co. Ltd.,

Lahore also set an example ofcoordinated planning of an industrialunit comprising production buildings,housing for the employees and all thenecessary provisions for education,

shopping, recreation, entertainment andadministration. AB Schwarz was thearchitect. On the 64 acres of land werebuilt 10 factory buildings and thenecessary housing accommodation for3000 persons including workmen andmanagement. Every factory building wasprovided with a tiffin and rest room,washing place and changing room.

The Godrej story: Much before Mr.YB Chavan reiterated the need ofIndustrial housing in Bombay, PirojshaGodrej dreamt of Industrial Townshipat Vikhroli. Deeply concerned with theproblem of industrial slums and thesubsequent degradation, he decided toremedy the situation by buildingsanitary houses at subsidized, low rentsfor the workers. Mr. Thanewallaremembered, “One of his (Pirojsha’s)workers was sick one day and so hewent to see him. And when he sawwhere his ‘Mistry’ stayed, he decidedto build (decent) houses for them inVikhroli.”

Vikhroli was envisaged to be a newmodern garden township that wascreated keeping ‘Welfare’ of workmenin mind. The construction of the giantfactories and housing was executed

along with land development andlandscaping, including quarrying anddrainage. By 1953, 90 tenements wereready along with two factory sheds(Plant One and Plant Two).

One of the first houses that were built for workers

Handwritten note by Mr[1]. Vinod arelaying out lawns near Plant 1 and 2.07.12

Proposed plantation 1954

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A ‘Garden and Farm Committee’ wasformed for planning gardens and lawnsaround the factory area to create apollution free environment forworkers. Mr. Vinod was appointed asthe first horticulturist. The committeeconsisted of B Desai, HM Engineer,NB Vinod, KN Mowdawalla and Mr.SP Godrej in the chair. In the meetingof this committee held on February23, 1954, it was unanimously decidedto grow lawns near the factory sheds.It was decided that on both the sidesof the roads between the two shedslawn should be raised. As for trees tobe planted between thetwo sheds it was agreedthat Pink Catias shouldbe planted. Every treeto be planted waspredefined.

As the company desiredto develop the gardentownship on scientificlines, a team from theTata Institute of Social Sciences wasspecially invited to guide and assist inplanning out the garden at factory andgive their suggestions forimprovements in the year 1955. Dr.MV Moorthy and Mr. Kaikobad whovisited the Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co.Ltd. on May 8,1955, were impressedby the layout and the space provided

in the housing colony for workers.

The next fifty years witnessed thetransformation of Vikhroli frommarshy lands into a green industrialtownship serving as a striking examplefor other entrepreneurs who care fortheir people and the environment. Itwould be apt to conclude withremarks of Meena Nemivant, the staffreporter for Industrial Times who inthe issue of January 3, 1977 writes:

“I can vividly recollect the first pleasantimpression as I entered the precinctsof the Godrej Works. Imagine my

surprise as my eyestraveled over thepanoramic view of theplants and the housingcolony and wasrewarded by thesoothing landscape ingreen – all shades ofgreen from lush velvetygreen to deep burnt

green to mellow olive green. It wasonly sound of the machines thatdeclared that this was a factory andnot a huge nursery… Besides giving atouch of glory to the normally draband dull factory atmosphere, theattention paid to the environment hasalso paid dividends by combatingpollution and increasing workerproductivity.”

Aerial view of the Godrej Industrial Township 1958

Divisions are requested tocontact the Archives beforedisposing off any records. Getin touch with Vrunda Pathareat vrunda@godrej.com (6796-4124).

Note by Mr. Vinod for the lawnbehind Pragati Kendra

We express our sincere thanks tothe PCS Division for allowing usto survey their non-currentrecords last year (July-Sept 2006)and for transferring to Archives700+ non-current files of archivalimportance identified during thesurvey. We would also like tothank the Appliances Division forsending 433 video cassettes to theArchives.

We would like to express ourgratitude to individuals like Mr.Ashok Palande and Mr. ManishVyas for their contribution to theGodrej Archives in the form ofrecords and photographs fromtheir personal collection.

“Save ourrecords, saveour corporateheritage.”

“Save ourrecords, saveour corporateheritage.”

21

KNOW YOUR DIV IS IONAL HEAD

n a rainy Saturdaymorning, a day whenthe entire city was

thrown out of gear, wehad this interviewscheduled with GeorgeMenezes. But at 10 am,when we walked into hisroom, he seemedunperturbed with theimpending mayhem of theoutside world. He wasprepared – work asideand eager to listen. Thatis probably the first thingthat strikes you aboutGeorge Menezes. The factthat he really listens whenyou talk and that he doesit with complete humility.But when it is his turn totalk, we see a differentside. Fiercely passionate,enthusiastic and hugelyoptimistic, he looks youstraight in the eye as hespeaks about thesuccesses and failures ofhis division withobjectivity. Straightquestions get straightanswers. It does not comeas a surprise that it wasunder his leadership thatthe imminent change infortune in the Appliancebusiness was scripted.

Ch: How long haveyou been in Godrej?

GMM: I joined thecompany in 1981. So it ismore than two and a halfdecades with theorganisation.

Ch: And how has thejourney been so far?

GMM: The journey so farhas been very eventful withlots of learning. I joined theorganisation in ourTypewriter Service sectionwhich was then one of theverticals in the CentralService organisationoperating from our Lalbaugpremises. During thosedays divisionalisation hadnot happened and we hadvarious product groups andcorporate departments.After-sales-service functionof all product groups of thecompany was clubbedunder the Central ServiceDepartment. I was thenlooking after a section ofaround 25-30 typewritermechanics who wereinvolved in overhauling/repairing/renovating ofused typewriters.

From there on I movedinto the Systems arena byjoining our EDP (ElectronicData Processing)Department which washeaded by EJ Kalwachia andis today called GodrejInfotech Ltd. (GIL). ThereI worked both inOperations and SoftwareDevelopment. Along theway having done my MBAfrom Narsee MonjeeInstitute, I moved onfurther to join Dr. KRHathi, the overall Head ofMarketing for the

“ If you care you can ”

My qualifications: Science Graduate, Postgraduate inManagement from Narsee Monjee, Mechanical Engineeringfrom Somaiya College pursued while working for Godrej& Boyce to ensure Engineering Orientation.

I head: Appliance Division

My family background: My wife Nalini, works for IDBI.She has done her post graduation in Commerce. She is aManager. My daughter, Sharon, is studying Engineering –specialising in Information Technology. I have two brothersand a sister.

Strengths: As a person I am very strongly result orientedand people oriented at the same time. I value integrity, notin the narrow sense of honesty, but in anything andeverything I do, I believe one should be true to our roles.

Weaknesses: I’m not as diplomatic as I should be. I discussissues very openly and a lot of people find that embarrassing.Also, I am a little impatient, maybe even impulsive at times.

I dislike: I abhor sycophancy. I never encourage a cultureof people coming and telling me anything behind anyone’sback.

Books I read: Anything. Right from business reading tomy daughter’s comic books. The last book I really enjoyedreading was The Toyota Way by Jeffery Liker.

My brand of humour: I enjoy spontaneous wit verymuch.

Hobbies: I love playing chess.

Pets: I’ve never had any pets and I don’t think I would betoo comfortable having any.

Subject I loved studying in school: Maths

Key lessons in life so far: Be true to your self, respectpeople and question the status quo.

George Menezes

O

22

company, as his Executive Assistantresponsible for the ‘Marketing Services’function. There I got an opportunityto handle a gamut of functions, rightfrom managing Branch infrastructures,setting up the Information Systems andprocesses, to getting involved in theSummer Trainee and ManagementTrainee recruitments, as during thosedays all recruitments of MBAs andSummer Trainees were not handledby HR but by G&B’s MarketingDepartment, headed by Dr. Hathi.

Thereafter, there was a restructuringwithin the company anddivisionalisation happened. PD Lam,our current President, took over asthe Head of OCP (Office andConsumer Products) and IP (IndustrialProducts) group of products. For abrief stint I worked under BNDoongaji who was the Marketing Headfor OCP products andthen joined Mr. Lam as hisExecutive Assistant. Therewas an immense amountof learning there as itenabled me to getexposure to the variousdivisions overall headed byMr. Lam. After a few years,it was again time to moveon and I moved to theFurniture division andworked in variouscapacities handlingMarketing, Exports andlater moved on into Salesas Head of BombayBranch, responsible for theFurniture, Storwel,Security and Storage Solutionsproducts. After a two years’ stintthere, the Management deputed meto manufacturing and this was a 180degrees change. There was a lot ofskepticism internally too, as withouthaving had any exposure tomanufacturing, a person from sales wasbeing straightaway deputed to headthe manufacturing operations of aplant! I worked under the guidance ofMr. Prakash Kulkarni, the then Headof Plant-14 to whom I was anunderstudy. Two years later myresponsibilities widened with additionalcharge of Plant-4 as well. Thereafter,when the erstwhile Furniture and

Storwel Divisions got merged, I waspromoted to the position of VicePresident (Product Supply) whichincidentally happened to be the firsttime when the position was createdin the organisation. My responsibilitiesincluded managing the entire supplychain for the FIG Division (today’sInterio Division). It had under its ambitfour manufacturing plants – Plant 4for Desking and OPOS, Plant 14 forSeating, Plant 13 for Storwel and Plant-1 for Steel Processing and I wasresponsible for all functions related toManufacturing, Sourcing, Trading andQuality.

Two years down the line when thedecision was taken to create theCommercial organisation to handle theCommercial and Supply Chainactivities, I was deputed to head thesame and entrusted with the

responsibility of setting up theCommercial division. Having done that,a year later, I was asked to take upthe responsibility of Appliance Division.

So you will see I have been one of thefortunate people in the company whogot an opportunity to get rotatedacross such diverse functions –Manufacturing, Sales, Service,Commercial, Operations, etc.

Ch: What were the challenges ofhaving to set up the Commercialdivision from the scratch?

GMM: The biggest challenge for mewas to build the organisation fromscratch and get competent people to

head the branches and the regionalstructures. I say this because, whenthe organisation got created, theexisting branch managers were pickedup by the various divisions as heads ofSales and I had to scout for a newteam. Moreover, there was a high levelof anxiety among the existing branchmanagers as they saw a dilution ofresponsibilities happening with theCommercial set up coming in. Earlier,the Branch Manager was responsiblefor multiple businesses and the entirebranch infrastructure and back endactivities. With Commercial coming in,we segregated these two functions.Sales was one vertical and the restwhich were branch infrastructure,Logistics, Order management,Accounts, Administration, HR etc.were under the Commercial. So, toput it honestly, there was a resistance

to this change and we hadto overcome the same bywinning the confidence ofthe divisions. Other thanthis, the bigger challengewas to ensure that theCommercial organisationwas able to effectivelydischarge its role as thatof a service provider tothe businesses and that ofa controller of theorganisation – namely,custodian of thecompany’s assets whowould ensure allcompliances and controlswith respect to internal,regulatory and statutory

aspects. This is a tight rope walk –you treat the Division as yourcustomer while also exercisingregulation and compliances.

Ch: When you were told that youwere going to be headingAppliances, what was your firstreaction?

GMM: To be frank, I was quite takenaback by the announcement. The factthat I had so many job rotations beforethis, notwithstanding, I expected thatwhile selecting somebody forAppliances which was a business goingthrough a turbulent time; they wouldlook for a seasoned head who camefrom that space and not an outsider

22

George Menezes with wife, Nalini and daughter, Sharon

23

from another division. Nevertheless,it was a great responsibility that themanagement had bestowed on me andI took that up in all earnest. I had toget into the groove from day one -there was no time to learn. I wasexpected to just get into the act.

Ch: How has the last one yearbeen for you and Appliances?

GMM: Among all businesses in Godrej,this business has experienced the mostdifficult times, with its fair share oftrials and tribulations. So, it was verysatisfying to see that now after eightlong years, we not only met our planbut surpassed it. This gave us theconfidence that, yes, the division washeaded in the right direction and weneeded to further build on thismomentum.

Apart from an encouraging return togrowth in top line, our financials weremuch better. Compared to themounting losses of the past, we hadshown a significant positive swing overthe previous year. This meant theturnaround march of the division washappening and our path to recoverywas destined.

The strengthening position of thedivision is also reflected in our marketperformance. The division bagged aseries of consumer awards insuccession - The Most Trusted Brandaward from Reader’s Digest, the MostPreferred Brand award from CNBC.These awards are a vindication of thetrust and faith that consumers reposedin our brand. Consumers got to votefor the best brand and they voted forGodrej Appliance which meant a lotto all of us. And it fostered a greatsense of responsibility on each one ofus to live up to this expectation.

While we did well on the financialsand market position, the real icing onthe cake was our EON refrigeratorswinning the ‘Best Design ConsumerDurable’ award for the year fromBusiness World. An international juryrecognised Godrej for its innovativeuse of cooling technology inrefrigerators whilst pitted against theSamsungs, LGs and Whirlpools of theworld. This indeed was a greatmoment for all of us.

All in all, the year has been extremelyeventful, fulfilling and gratifying andhas now set the stage for a quantumjump that we are aiming in the ensuingyear.

Ch: What are the challenges ofworking in the Appliance sector?How did you overcome thesechallenges?

GMM: The biggest challenge not onlyfor Godrej but for the entireindustry is to make sufficient moneyin this business. I say this as thisindustry has one of the most adversecost structures. We all know thecrippling effect of commodityincreases. Prices of steel, copper,aluminium, chemicals, plastics, keyingredients in appliance are just goingthrough the roof. Therefore, ourpressing need is to optimise on ourcost structures and maximise ourrealisations. The second challenge forus is competing in the market placewith MNCs who are many moretimes our size due to which we areat a constant disadvantage on scale,especial ly when it comes toeconomies of buy, technologyinvestments, etc. So, strategically wedecided that to take on the goliathswe at Godrej needed to do thingsdifferently - whether it was with ourproducts, channel or our service. Wesaid, let us create a value propositionwhich none of these brands canmatch. It was not enough to rideon the legacy of a brand which wasmore than 100 years old. Ourconsumers had to see us asdelivering on the promise. To beginwith, we had to work on ourproduct portfolio and revamp it.EON refrigerator was a classicexample of the same. Wesimultaneously worked on our tradechannels to move away from thedistributor led operation to more ofa dealer based operation whilefocusing on development of newemerging channels like modern trade.The network correction was takenup in right earnest by scientificallymapping the markets on dimensionof Potential, Addressability andExtraction identifying the gaps. Wealso worked on our after-sales-service network to make service as

a key differentiator. And above all,we focused on repositioning theGodrej Appliances brand, as a brandwhich would appeal to today’sgeneration, a brand which was seenas progressive, modern and techie.

Ch: The newly launched EONbrand has been a success story.In general, what did you do rightwith EON?

GMM: That’s right. EON was a hit.And one of the reasons EON hassucceeded is because we have triedto give in EON what no othercompetition has ever given. Forinstance take the cooling of EON.We have delivered cooling in therefrigerator in a very, very innovativemanner, which is relevant to theconsumer’s needs. We are deliveringcooling through the shelves.Typically, most refrigerators coolthrough the sides or the back andthe problem with that kind of designis the way one stuffs refrigerators,one could have a food packet orutensil blocking the cooling. So wetried to build a refrigerator wherecooling would be absolutely‘foolproof’. So we have this designwhere every shelf docks into themain cooling tower and air isshowered through fine nozzles ineach shelf. We called it Cool Showertechnology from Godrej. And thejury recognised this as a very, veryinnovative feature. Everyone coolsbut Godrej cools differently. Wehave applied for a global patent onthis technology.

Likewise we tried to create relevantproduct differentiation in each of ourother categories.

Our washing machines comeequipped not only with a hand brushlike feature but a very innovativefeature which creates a water punchon the clothes – I call it ‘Dhobi kapunch’. It was necessary to comeout with a product which appeals toIndian sensibilities and Indian needs.A housewife always doubts whethera washing machine washes as well asthe maid and we kept that in mindand invented this technology toensure that godrej washing machinesurpasses the maid!

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In microwaves, we were the first onesto bring the steam microwave in thecountry. This product addresses amajor limitation of microwavetechnology, namely, while microwaving,the moisture content in food gets lostand that is something which manyconsumers don’t relish. The steammicrowave addresses this issue. A finejet of superheated steam is sprayed inthe food compartment whilemicrowaving is going on which helpsretain its nutrients and its juices.

Similarly in air conditioners, webrought the I-Trec AC which delivers50 per cent more cooling at 30 percent reduced electricity consumptionand the state-of-art I-Sense technologywith dual sensors where the ACsenses the temperature around theremote/user and cools accordingly.

Similarly in DVDs which is practicallya commodity today, Godrej DVDswere positioned differently from therest. Ours were the only DVDs in themarket to come with built in amplifiercircuits. So we have a Godrej DVDwhich is ‘small in size and big onsound’. It was well accepted by Indianconsumers who are crazy about bigsound.

Therefore, you see that our productstrategy has been to create productswith technology that matters, andtechnology that Indian consumer isable to connect to. We have not takenthe route adopted by other brands ofpsyching the consumer with highsounding buzz words. We giveproducts which they are able to touch,feel and experience the joy of use.

We are also grading our products intwo categories – the premium rangewill be branded as EON. So we haveEON running across categories and notlimited only to refrigerators and ourentire brand communication will be ledthrough EON to uplift the imagerythrough products which are aestheticallydesigned to deliver superiorperformance and look real smart!

Ch: Apart from the productportfolio, what were the otherareas that needed to be workedon?

GMM: To be a successful business, you

need to fire on all cylinders. You needto work on your Products, Processes,Brand, Channel and most important,you need to work on your People.And we at Appliances have recognisedthis. Each of our product categorieshas gone for a complete overhaul,proof of which you have seen in EONrefrigerators, I-Sense ACs, Microsteamovens etc. Other than that, we havealso made a bold colour statement inthe market place with the pioneeringlaunch of bright pastel shades inrefrigerators which have spruced upthe display at the retail points. Wenow own this colour platform andintend to extend to all othercategories.

We have also worked on nurturingour channel and getting them back onour fold. Earlier on when we did nothave a vibrant product portfolio, ourchannel partners were lured away bycompetition and honestly, that wasinevitable as all trade outlets today aremulti brand outlets and they will beassociated with a Brand as long as theysee merit in it. Today with a vibrantproduct portfolio the trade wantsGodrej back. They want to proudlydisplay our products as they want tobe associated with us.

We are also on our brand positioningexercise for GAD to appeal to today’syouth. Godrej Appliance has to beseen not only as a strong, dependable

and durable brand but moreimportant, as a trendy, technologysavvy and young brand. With thelaunch of EON, as I have mentioned,we have created a premium imagefor our products. To make this brandappealing to the younger generation,we signed in Preity Zinta as our brandambassador as she in a way embodiesthe qualities of youthfulness,exuberance and vibrancy which willpresent a young image to the brandand take it to an aspirational level.Style and performance will be thecore product positioning which isencapsulated in the tagline which weuse for our EON refrigerators –‘Stylish Outside, Smart Inside’.

Ch: You work with amanufacturing setup outsideMumbai.

GMM: Yes we do.

Ch: What are the challenges youface in having a manufacturing setup outside Mumbai?

GMM: We were one of the firstdivisions to move out of Mumbai,when we set up the Mohali plant in1995-96. We had moved themanufacturing of our Direct Coolrefrigerators to Mohali and one of theprime reasons, apart from the taxbenefits and logistic convenience ofbeing closer to the main markets, wasthe wage advantage. All said and doneBombay is a high wage cost island, sothere we could substantially bringdown our cost of conversion.Thereafter in 1996 we startedoperations at Shirwal setting up a newWashers plant which was furtherextended to include Frost Freerefrigerators two and half years back.A year and a half back we also movedour Compressor plant to Mohali.

One major challenge for us at theselocations had been training anddeveloping the work force to bringthem to a level of capability which wehad at Vikhroli. This was no easy taskas unlike Vikhroli where we had ahighly skilled work force, at theselocations, we had to depend oncontracted work force which had ahigh rate of churn. Our teams workedon our processes to deskill the

‘

‘

Style andperformance will

be the coreproduct

positioning whichis reflected in ourtagline – StylishOutside, Smart

Inside

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operation to the extent possible whilealso focusing on a sustained trainingand development process.

Other than that, getting ourmanagement staff relocated to theseplaces was difficult. But we successfullymanaged that by motivating them,creating and enriching their roleprofile, where they see a good careerprogression.

Ch: If three years down the line,you were to move to anotherdivision in another position, whatwould you like to be rememberedfor in your stint here?GMM: I would like to be rememberedfor two things. One, having managedto turnaround the Appliance Divisionand two, perhaps more importantly,for developing a sustainable businessmodel that will continue to give uscompetitive advantage in the marketplace. This is an absolute imperative ifwe have to take Godrej Appliances toa position of market leadership.

Ch: What is your style ofmanagement? What kind of aleader are you perceived as byyour subordinates and colleagues?

GMM: We all know that the successof any enterprise depends not onsingular excellence but on collectivedelivery of the team. Therefore, myemphasis has always been on gettingthe best out of my team and thathappens when you empower them andrecognise them. And I do it inabundance. However, at the sametime, I put a high demand onperformance which means a very hightask orientation as well. So PeopleOrientation and Task Orientationthough seemingly conflicting areactually complementing as people aremotivated deliver to their fullestpotential. My subordinates thereforesee me as a difficult boss but as onewho also cares for them and standsby them.

Ch: Team building is one thing.But how do you keep your teammotivated?

GMM: The best way to motivatepeople is to empower them and alsocommunicate with them as one ofthem. I keep myself accessible to all

my people at all times. This is onelearning which I imbibed in Godrejthat unless a connect is establishedat the grass root level we will neverknow the real issues. Therefore, Iencourage a very open andtransparent way of communicationwhich people appreciate, value andimbibe to propagate likewise downthe line.

Ch: Were you always clear youwanted to work in the Corporatesector?

GMM: To be honest, when I joinedthe organisation, I did not have thefaintest idea of where I was going toland. It is only as I moved within theorganisation these things got evolved.When I had graduated out of college,I always wanted to be in software andsystems as that was where my interestlay. I used to love subjects like mathsand statistics and I wanted to make acareer in systems. Even after doingmy MBA I was a little hesitant toswitch over to the business side. Butthen fate had destined otherwise andhere I am.

Ch: Who is really your supportsystem?

GMM: My wife has been a majorsource of strength. A lot of mylearnings on life, both professional andpersonal, have been at home. I don’tknow if a lot of people do this, but Ihave a habit of reflecting with thefamily on the experience – good andbad both. And it leads to wonderfulinsights. For example, I remember,once, a few years back, I had to askan officer of the company to leave onan integrity matter – a few hundredswhich were in question. And thatevening when I was discussing that withmy family, my daughter was so shellshocked and she said, “Daddy, for sucha small amount, you asked him to go?”And I said “Yes, I had to”. And shesaid, “What about his family?” All herempathy was with that man and painat, how brutal her dad was to takesuch an action. Then I had to tell herthat it wasn’t my money, but was thecompany’s money and I had no rightto pardon somebody who hadmisappropriated the same. But it alsogives us a learning – that when we

take action we don’t see the otherside of it.

In the past I used to be intolerant andunforgiving but I have toned that downquite a bit as I have seen how forgivingmy bosses have been when I mademistakes.

Ch: You are obviously very busy,so how do you balance your workand your personal life?

GMM: In our case, my wife is also aworking lady and is also very careeroriented. She also continues to studytill date. So we really don’t have anycomplaints with each other about ourwork schedules, but our daughter hascomplaints with both of us. And wedo try to make amends for that.

Ch: Is there any social cause youbelieve in?

GMM: I strongly believe that we shouldgive back to society what we get fromit and in our own small way all in ourfamily do our bit for the same. Forinstance, we have been associated withthe development and education ofunder-privileged children throughsome of the NGOs.

Ch: What is your stress buster?

GMM: One thing which I quiteregularly do, is getting on to my jogger.Going to the gym is too painful so Ihave bought a treadmill. So everydayfor half an hour, I get on to mytreadmill. Helps me burn my caloriesas well as release the stress.

Ch: What is happiness for you?

GMM: The quality time I spend withmy family. It’s a kind of routine for usto have one dinner out every weekand that’s the time when the three ofus are the most happy.

Ch: What are the values that youstand for?

GMM: Respect people, learn from yourmistakes and be true to yourself.

Ch: If GMM were a brand, whatwould his brand statement be?

GMM: (Thinks) Though this is a clichédline, but I think it would apply to me andwhat I profess – “If you care, you can.”

Indrapal SinghMegha Moorthy

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26

IN MEMORIUM

D Morawalla was born onMay 1, 1916. At a young ageof 23, he joined Godrej and

was asked to work in the Tool Room,which was functioning at Lalbaug since1935. Godrej Tool Room was shiftedin 1953 to Vikhroli – and so didMorawalla. It’s in the same year hewas appointed as its Plant Manager,the role that he continued to performwith great distinction for the nextthirty-three years until 1986. Hecontinued to serve the company inadvisory capacity till 1990.Morawalla passed away on January 23,2007 at the ripe age of ninety. He issurvived by his wife – Zarin, and histwo sons – Ardish and Daraius.Morawalla was unique in more waysthan one. But if one were to narrowdown on two strikingly significantqualities in him – those were, his‘unquenchable passion for work’, andhis ‘absolute straight–forwardness’. Allthose who knew Morawalla personally,as also those who had worked withhim, are unanimous in bringing to thefore these two qualities of his.A man having absolute faith in theAlmighty – Morawalla was veryconscientious. He was honest to thecore – Integrity was his second nature.He was a very strict disciplinarian anda hard task–master. He had a verysound technical knowledge, and wasregarded as an authority in his field oftool–making. He was very meticulousin his work, and had a penchant forperfection – he would focus on andattend to even the minutest detail inan assignment He was a man of few

words - but great deeds. Essentiallyreserved but spoke his mind in aforthright manner without any fearwhen the need arose. He always meantwhat he said and said what he meant.Morawalla was very tenacious, and hada tremendous capacity to work for anylength of hours at a stretch – never ina hurry to go home. He wouldpersonally spend long hours in themachine shop and assemblydepartments, supervising ongoing workand guiding his team of workmen &supervisors. There have been quitemany occasions when during criticalareas of tool–making, he would ask histeam of supervisors and workmen tostand aside and observe, whenMorawalla himself would actually workon the tool with his own hands. Thisspoke clearly of his in–depth knowledgeof tool–making, and his deep personalinvolvement in work. At the same time,set an example to his supervisors, tonot just stand aside and get work done,but involve themselves in actual workas much as they can.Mr. NP Godrej would visit the plantpractically every day & spend longhours with Morawalla, chalking outstrategies for the growth of ToolRoom, to eventually realize his dreamof having a world class Tool Room atGodrej. Morawalla was instrumentalin many ways in developing andgrowing the Tool Room, to aninternational level.Morawalla was outstandinglycustomer–oriented. He always placedthe customers and their requirements,on top priority, and would

A tribute to the Legend,who pioneered the art of Tool–making at Godrej

M

Meherjibhai D Morawalla:

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manufacture and deliver tooling asexactly as the customers wanted –with absolutely ‘no compromise’ onquality. Likewise, whenever a toolsuffered a breakdown and wasreturned to Tool Room for repairs,Morawalla would initially get upset –but would promise his customer aquick solution. He would then take itup on priority and would personallygo out of the way to set right theproblem and restore production in theend–user’s plant within the shortestspan. This also shows that he neverswerved from his word, and failed inhis commitments.Now, this brings us to one more qualityof Morawalla – his innovativeness. Hewould never be afraid of trying outnewer ways to solve any problem.Though his team of supervisors wouldtake a back–foot, Morawalla wouldmarch ahead with his innovative ideas,and emerge successful in solving theproblem at hand.Though famous for being very strictand firm with his team (as he wasapparently seen being so), Morawallawas also extremely loyal to his people– especially those he liked. Accordingto KR Thanewalla his relationshipsweren’t one–sided! The staff andworkmen of Tool Room too wereequally loyal to Morawalla, andextended their whole–hearted supportin every endeavor of his.Such was this great personality –MD Morawalla – a man of true spirits,a technocrat to the core, an ableadministrator, a born leader, and aliving legend of his times – who servedthe organisation for a golden periodof five decades.I do remember the day Tool Roomwas first accredited with the prestigiousISO–9000 Award, way back in 1994 –when Mr. Morawalla was kind enoughto accept our invitation, and graced theoccasion with his presence. I still recallhis face glowing with pride, as hewitnessed – sitting in the front row –“his own Tool Room” receiving such aprestigious award, from TUV (theCertifying Agency).We pray to the Almighty to rest hissoul in peace.

G RamakrishnanTooling Division

KR Thanewalla reminisces…“When the first ever Jig Boring machine wasbought for the Tool Room, Morawalla wasthrilled. His joy knew no bounds. He wasemotionally attached, as one would be withones’ own child. He would stand near themachine for hours at length, supervising everyaspect of installation

Morawalla did not like casual discussions orchatting on common matters but with meMorawalla would chat and discuss anythingunder the sun.

Not an easy man to get along with but he wasa man who could be trusted and dependedupon”

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Udaan - The Flight to SuccessInterio Division

HOME BASE

Employees of the Interio Division pose outside the Taj Mahal on their visit to Agra for the AnnualSales Conference.

Annual sales conference at Agra

It was that time of the year when Interiowas firing all cylinders and gearing upfor the grand finale in March. It was alsothe time when we set our dreams forthe next year and this was flagged offwith our Annual Sales Conference.

We all met to celebrate ourachievements and successes, learn fromour mistakes and failures, understandour strategic directions and rebuild oursense of camaraderie and solidarity.

The baton of playing host was handedover to the North zone team. With thenewly launched Interio brand workingwonders for us, it was befitting that wecelebrate this conference near one ofthe Seven Wonders of the World, TheTaj Mahal in the historic city of Agra.

This event was not only a memorableand fun-filled experience, but also putinto perspective our plans and strategiestowards our future growth.

The theme for the event this year was“Udaan - the flight to success”. UsingUdaan as the backdrop, the productline-wise ABP (Annual Business Plan)along with new product introductionplan & strategic initiatives were sharedwith our sales team. The heavy

information download during the daywas balanced with theme basedentertainment evenings and a tour ofthis historic city. The high point of theevent was the awards night where theachievements and the efforts of the starperformers were acknowledged.

Godrej Interio – India’s largest furnituremanufacturing company now has a newtask at hand - the target of Rs. 1,000+

crores. The message given was very clear- charge forward and rise to the challenge,because for Interio, sky is no limit.

Annual day celebrations at theHead Office

On April 20, 2007 all of us at the HeadOffice came together to join hands andrededicate ourselves to the task of putting in our best efforts together toensure that Interio reaches greatheights in the nest financial year.

The occasion was graced by Jamshydand Pheroza Godrej, invited dignitariesand members of the Godrej & BoyceShramik Sangh. The Interio team put up

Pheroza Godrej lights the lamp. Also seen isAnil Mathur

Mr. JN Godrej addresses employees of Interio Division

29

a play echoing the sentiments of Udaan.This was followed by an awardceremony and addresses by AnilMathur, Anil Verma, members of the

GBSS and Mr JN Godrej. Mr JN Godrejin his address mentioned that ‘there isa lot of future for furniture’. He wenton to say that competition will alwaysbe there and that we have to make ourproducts better than the competition. Whilst congratulating all of us on ourperformance in the year gone by, MrGodrej also felt and stated that he wassure that whatever target we would set,we would achieve! These encouragingwords indeed endorsed our flight tosuccess!

Finally, the evening ended with anaudio-visual on Udaan, an

entertainment programmme and abuffet dinner.

Udaan celebrations with channel partners

The message of Udaan as well as theABP (Annual Business Plan) wasconveyed to all our channel partnersby organising dealers’ meet at differentlocales so that along with the message,the dealers also could get recharged andrejuvenated in the scenic environs ofnature and put plans into action.

- Doreen Rosario, Jasmin Patel,Parag Shastry & Carlton Pereira

Interio Division

Delhi Interio Dealers’ Meet 2007

On June 6 and 7, 2007, Interio,Chandigarh organised the AnnualWholesale Dealers’ Meet at TimberTrail Resort, which was attended byover thirty dealers from Chandigarhand upcountry locations. SushilThariani, GM Sales (North) addressedthe meet. GA Khan also promised thechannel partners that they would beextended all the required support.

Anil Munjal, Head – Interio,Chandigarh Branch shared the uniquegrowth story of Chandigarh Branchfrom 14 Cr to 30 Cr during the lastthree years. A unique exercise ofSWOT analysis of the WDs and theirrespective markets by the branch teamwas shared by the Interio Head. Hepromised that this will not only helpus in understanding the market better

Godrej Delhi had conducted an InterioDealers’ Meet during the last week ofMay 2007 at Timber Trial, Parwanoo,Himachal Pradesh.

The programme began with a powerpoint presentation on Interio and itsproducts . The group was thendivided into seven teams andparticipated in various quizzes, teambuilding games.

On the second day the service, thehome and the institutional team, made

presentations wherein overallperformance of Interio Division, newinitiatives taken by various departmentsand the new products introduced werediscussed. There were quizzes based onproduct knowledge, and Jumble WordQuiz based on service components. Wewere joined by Naresh Tahiliani fromHO Mktg., and Sushil Thariani, GM(Sales) - North, along with theCommercial team members. Wellperforming dealers were felicitated fortheir valuable contribution during the

last year to both, Interio office andhome business. A special recognitionaward was given for the Best CustomerService.

The third day was for fun and gamesand the whole ground was convertedinto a carnival spot with lots of stallsand play stations. Finally, one of theteams was awarded the Best teamaward.

Maninder Singh AhujaInterio Head, Delhi Branch

Annual Wholesale Dealers Meet – Interio, Chandigarhbut will also help in implementing theaction plan prepared for the threestates falling under the ChandigarhBranch. Presentations were made byChandigarh & Shimla dealers about thenew practices and techniquesundertaken by them. This wasfollowed by an award ceremony. Overtwenty channel partners wererewarded for their splendidperformances in different categories.M/s Handa & Chopra was given aspecial felicitation for surpassing 5 Crbilled sales and joining the ‘5 CroreClub’.

Rejuvenated and confident thechannel partners embarked the flightto success – UDAAN.

Anil MunjalInterio Head, Chandigarh Branch

Godrej Interio recently got an orderfor conferencing hall and auditoriumchairs for the Kaifi Azmi Academy atLucknow. What made it special was thefact that we got to interact with JavedAkhtar and Shabana Azmi for the same.Finally, the PCH 7004 chair withdesklet was finalised for the Conferencehall and the Jupiter mid-back for theauditorium by Azmi.We requested both of them to visit ourKnowledge Centre at Mumbai to whichthey have agreed. It was really nice tointeract with these warm and talentedpersonalities.

Manoj SadavarteInterio Head, Lucknow Branch

Seating for the Kaifi Azmi auditorium

Mr. JN Godrej presents ‘Best Innovation’ award toKantilal Panchal

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As an organization, we have beencontinuously participating in the

Supporting the KEM Blood Donation initiative

Precision Engineering Systems Division

PES team won the first prize in the Best Kaizen Competition conducted byCII at Nashik this year. A team of 13 members presented three Kaizensfrom different areas in manufacturing viz. Quality Assurance, Machine shopand Assembly represented our division. Other participants in thecompetition included companies like Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra,Johnson & Johnson, Gabriel, MICO, etc., Our operators who implementedthese Kaizens were required to present them to the jury. Presentationsincluded different Quality Control Tools used to logically achieve the desiredresult in Productivity, Quality & Delivery. It also included horizontaldeployment of Kaizen ideas to solve other similar problems and steps takenfor holding the gains. All three Kaizen presentations were of award-winninglevel, but competition policy of one award to one organisation has given usone prize.PES started Kaizen activities in 2003-04 to develop an improvement culturein the division by involving employees across all the functions, at all levels.In the first year 25 Kaizens, second year 147 Kaizens, third year 215 Kaizensand this year so far 373 implemented Kaizen ideas are reported.We have trained all our employees on developing Kaizen ideas. Afteridentifying the problem in their own work area, a team is formed fordeveloping & implementing ideasand monitoring the results. Afterachieving the results, these ideas are puton the Kaizen idea sheets which arethen evaluated in 3 levels on pre-decided criterion of results, effortstaken, originality of idea, root causeidentification, etc. All Kaizen ideas area p p r e c i a t e d , depending on thelevel of kaizen, by way of a certificate to every Kaizen team member andconsumer society gift coupon. All Kaizen idea sheets are put on the noticeboard for the benefit of other employees. Names and photographs ofselective Kaizen members are published in divisional bi-monthly newsletterUdaan. Certificates are awarded by departmental heads and senior membersof management to workmen on the shopfloor.We believe that the Best Kaizen Award by CII is only the beginning of thejourney. The recognition will further motivate us to constantly improve bychallenging every activity. Participating in this competition also gave ourmembers a feel of the large scale improvement initiative undertaken in awide cross section of the industry. It also is in a way, an acknowledgement,that we are on the right track.

DD Chogle

PES team wins Kaizen Award

BrahMos missile system comprising of MobileAutonomous Launchers (MALs), manufacturedby Godrej and Mobile Command Post is beinginducted into the Indian Army in its endeavourto modernise itself.The Induction of BrahMos Missiles in the IndianArmy was marked with a glittering functionheld at BrahMos Head Quarters, New Delhion June 21, 2007. At this function, Presidentof India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam handed overa replica of a MAL to the Chief of the ArmyStaff, General JJ Singh. The Defense Minister,AK Anthony, Dr. S Pillai, CEO of BrahMos,Kaustubh Shukla COO of industrialproducts Group and other dignitaries werepresent at this landmark event.Godrej has been associated with themanufacturing of BrahMos Missile andlaunchers since the year 2000 when theprogamme for developing BrahMos MissileSystem in India started. Godrej hasmanufactured MALs based on the Designs &Technical specifications developed byResearch and Development Establishment(Engineers), Pune. The communicationsmodule is being supplied by ECIL, Hyderabad.This indeed is a great example of successfulpartnership between DRDO, DPSUs andGodrej- a private sector company.Congratulations PES and PED teams.

GR Kulkarni

BrahMos Missile Systemsinducted into the Indian army

Blood Donation initiative undertakenby KEM Hospita l Blood BankDepartment. To further thisinitiative, we at Interio, donated 12customised blood donor beds whichare mobile and ensure the comfortof the donors.In May 2007, Dr Jayashree Sharma,Blood Bank in-charge, KEM, HospitalBlood Bank accepted the same at the

hands of our COO, Anil S Mathur. Alsopresent were Milind Ingle, socialworker, Anil Lingayat, Vice President(Product Supply), Sarosh Patel,Divisional Personnel Head, BalchandraJoshi, President, GBSS, Vijay Salaskar,Vice President, GBSS, other membersof the GBSS & Team Interio.

- Doreen Rosario Interio Division

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam handing over a replica of a MALto the Chief of the Army Staff, General JJ Singh.

Anil Mathur, Anil Lingayat, Balchandra Joshi andother members of the GBBS handing over the SEDs

The award winning PES team

31

GODREJ EON – Connecting with the ConsumerAppliance Division

The first half of the year has seen a lot ofactivity in the Godrej Appliances Division.Cooling wherever you are: The yearkicked off with a new campaign for EonAir Conditioners. Built on a newplatform of I-Sense Technology – apath-breaking dual sensor technology,the Eon AC promises cooling whereveryou are and not just near the AC. In aregular Air Conditioner, the sensor islocated in the AC unit – thetemperature near the AC is invariablycooler than the rest of the room andhence when it shows 22 degrees – itmay very well be 24 degrees where you

are. Godrej Eon AC with anothersensor in the remote – ensures that thetemperature near the remote is also22 degrees. And hence, the promise of‘Cooling where you are’. The sameproposition was put forth in ahumorous way with a TVC featuringPreity Zinta – the brand ambassador.The joke is on a young guy who livesnext door to Preity. Called home byPreity, he expects a nice evening.Instead, Preity asks him to shift her bedclose to the AC, thanks him and wisheshim good night. All she wanted was tobe closer to the AC to get the right

cooling. Hence the advice – switch toGodrej Eon AC so you don’t have tomove the bed around! Instead get thecooling wherever you are!In addition to the TV commercial, thecampaign also included print ads toreach out further.Cooling all over: The months of April– May saw a new campaign from theGodrej Appliances stable. Built aroundthe single minded proposition – thepower of 35 vent cooling provided byEon Refrigerators with its Cool ShowerTechnology, the campaign wasimplemented on TV and Print.

PES Vendor Meet 2007-Partnering For SuccessPartnering with one’s vendors for mutualgrowth is a key ingredient for progressiveand successful businesses. PES Division,since its inception has recognizedimportance of sound businessrelationships with its vendors. As we takerapid strides in our business developmentefforts, we organised Vendor Meet -2007 to take stock of the situation, shareeach other’s expectations and agree onbroad understanding while going forward.The theme of the meet was “Partneringfor Success” as mentioned above. Vendormeet was organised from April 19 to 31,2007.The meet was organised over threedays – each day specific for a group ofvendors namely 1 Raw Materials, Bought Outs.2 Machine Tool Service Business and

Indirect Materials.3 SubcontractingA total of 92 prominent vendorsattended the meet. This platform wasused to share the Division’s growthplans, achievements, requirements, andexpectations. We also stressed on theimportance the division lays on quality,delivery and processes.Kaustubh Shukla, COO of IndustrialProduct Group, inaugurated the meet.In his keynote address, he enumeratedthe positive trends so far and elaboratedon all around changes in divisionalstrategic directions, customers andbusiness profiles, approaches. Hestressed on the importance of workingtogether as partners for the growth ofPES business, making it sustainable,profitable High Tech Business.

MS Mahajani spoke in detail about theincreasing trends of the Machine ToolService business with the support of thesuppliers. He outlined the future plansin each of the lines – spares supply,remanufacturing, and labour services.He also stressed upon importance ofconcept “Right Quality First Time”.PS Mahimkar recounted recent successstories of the Division and elaborated thestrategy and approach for execution ofthe projects in the coming years. Heexplained the logic behind some of thedecisions with respect to material releasecontrol, first piece prototypemanufacturing. He stressed onimportance of supplier’s involvement rightfrom the stage of quotations, freezingquality requirement jointly with customer,capacity planning and execution.PES has taken many improvementinitiatives. Some of the initiatives are IMS,E-buy, and NEFT (National ElectronicFund Transfer). DD Chogle explained theimportance, benefits of IMS and so alsothe requirements to be fulfilled bysuppliers. Yogesh Paramar explainedprocess and benefits of NEFT. MMMoledina elaborated on various featuresof E-buy and its benefits for suppliers. Weutilized this occasion to presentEncompass – ERP for small and mediumenterprises to suppliers. Presentation wasmade by Ashwin Mistry from GIL.Anand Bagdre explained how the qualityrelated requirements from the customersget translated into our expectations forthe suppliers. To enrich quality of supplies,he explained to use our services forcalibration of instruments & machines,

trainings on inspection methods & NDT.Atul Dharmadhikari, Nilesh Mandlik &Sanjay Sawant presented on feedbackand action taken report on last vendormeet, acknowledgement of specificachievements of suppliers, businesstrends and opportunities in the comingyear for suppliers and our expectations.On the occasion of this meet a revisedmanual were distributed for eachcategory of vendors. It contained usefulguidelines on communication channels,division’s policies, process of evaluation& selection of suppliers, processes forsupplying material and tips forimproving quality of products.We had many enthusiastic supplierscoming forward to share theirexperience while executing orders andhow mutual co-operation benefitedthem. There was time for an interactivesession where suppliers / vendorsoffered suggestions for improvement.Uday Mehendale who conducted themeet recapitulated the proceedings andpresentations during the meet. Herecognized suppliers as Pillars ofDivision.Supplier feedback wasalso obtained by benchmarking PESdivision with their other customers onimportant business parameters Kaustubh Shukla presented certificatesfor participation to each supplier.Meet was concluded with vote of thanksby Uday Mehendale and was followedby Lunch. It ended on a happy note withpartners reiterating their commitmentto work together and pursue success.

PES Materials Team

32

The 35 vents ensure uniform coolingin the refrigerator so that all the foodgets sufficient cold air. This propositionwas put forth in a humourous mannerto strike a chord with the audience.The story revolves around a timid manwho suffers a strict ill temperedmother in law. His neighbour – PreityZinta – has a Godrej Eon refrigerator.The joke is that the man wishes tokeep his mother in law in the Eonrefrigerator to keep her cool fromhead to toe! Conveyed in a humourousway – the joke brings forth the benefitof the Cool Shower technology andthe advantage of 35 vents. And withPreity Zinta’s amused looks, the adensures brand connect with theaudience in a memorable fashion.Both campaigns employ humour toengage the audience and drive home thetechnology advantage of Godrej Eon ina simple manner.There is a lot more on the cards to excitethe consumers in the coming seasons.

…. and GodrejAppliance does it again!The consumers onceagain voted us as theMost Trusted Brand. Wewon the Reader’sDigest Gold award forRefrigerators for thesecond year in a row!and that’s no mean feat.

This is a reaffirmation ofthe trust and faith thatthe consumers havereposed in our brand. What isextremely gratifying is the fact that thiscomes close on the heels of our recenttriumphs- we won the coveted BestDesign Consumer Durables award fromBusiness World and National Instituteof Design, while being pitted against the

Godrej wins the Readers Digest Gold ‘Most TrustedBrand’ award for the second year in a row

might of the MNCs;this was followed by arepeat accolade in theform of the MostP r e f e r r e dRefrigerator Brandaward from CNBCAwaaz. Theseachievements are avindication of theefforts that theDivision has put onthe brand and product

front which has not only strengthenedits position in the market place but alsohelped it establish a strong connect withthe consumers and the trade whilegiving the competition enough to worryabout!

Team Appliances

33

Banking on SecuritySecurity Equipment Division

Event: Considering the increasingsecurity threat banks are facing thesedays, we, at Godrej SecurityEquipment Division Pune Branch helda Bankers Meet on June 16, 2007,Saturday, at Hotel Aurora Towers inorder to address this issue.

Proceedings: Neville Irani, Head, PuneBranch welcomed the guests and gavea brief introduction to a total of 38bankers who attended the meet withtheir families. Vinay Salastekar, RegionalHead, West briefed them on thepresent and future plans for thecompany and the region.

Bankers watch the presentation on latest productsand security features.

Last word: Kudos to the entire SEDTeam – Pune Branch.

Team SEDPune

An interactive session was held by VinitKarde from the Marketing team at theHead Office. He made a presentationon the modern day threats that are beingfaced constantly and how the latestproducts with higher security featuresoffered by us would help them improvetheir security measures. Later on a voteof thanks was proposed by Amitav Rout,Deputy Manager, Pune Branch.

What’s more: To top it all a large numberof enquires were generated for all ourproducts especially for Higher Grade Safes.Bankers were indeed impressed by Godrej’snew product portfolio

Word power at Lifespace storesRetailing

Event: The Dombivli store, along withsome other stores in the westernregion conducted a crosswordcompetition, called Fun ‘n’ Win, for VIII,IX and X standard students.

What’s special: The contest receivedan overwhelming response and a totalof 350 entries were received atDombivli store.

Proceedings: The lucky winnerswere given the prizes at the hands of

Retailing Division. UE Tare, StoreChief welcomed the gathering andproposed the vote of thanks. Theparents appreciated the efforts ofGodrej for the educational,entertaining and exciting crosswordFun’n Win contest.

Last word: This innovative concept helpedthe Store to increase their walk-ins.

Ulhas TareStore Chief, Dombivili

Event: Godrej Lifespace recentlyconducted a ta lent huntcompetition in 25 stores across thecountry for children between theage group of 5-15. The week-longcontest saw a lot of action in allthese stores with a hunt for the‘Coolest Storywriter’ and ‘CoolestPainter’ in the city.

Proceedings: The activity began withthe distribution of attractive leafletsencouraging children to write a shortstory or do a small painting on thetheme of the event which was ‘CoolZone’. The idea behind this theme wasto promote the category of appliancesin summers.

It’s the age of the ‘Cool Kids’ at Lifespace StoresThe contest was held in Mumbai, Pune,Ahmedabad, Raipur, Indore, Delhi,Kanpur, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar,Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Vizag

the Chief Guest Deepak Goswami,Regional Head, Western Region,

Cool Zone at Godrej Lifespace Store in Chennai and Raipur

and Coimbatore and received anexcellent response. There were morethan 4,000 entries and nearly 2,500families in the stores on the final

awards day.

The Awards Day was anexciting and fun filledevening with magicians,cartoon characters andgames for the childrenwhich the families in thestore truly enjoyed.

The winners werefelicitated with attractiveprizes and certificates.

Suruchi Trivedi

Winners of the crossword & fun n win contestwith retailing division staff (L-R) Ulhas Tare,Vinayak Pratap, Deepak Goswami

34

Locks Division

As a token of appreciation, BK Rajkumar, Vice President andBusiness Head, Locks division and Jessie Corderio, DivisionalPersonnel Head, Locks Division handed over letters ofappreciation to the Telecommunications team for facilitatingbetter communication and silently supporting the divisionbehind the scenes.

(l to r) Freddy Tavadia, Pradnya Gangal, Ashok Palande, Cyril Lobo, Anupama Kadwadwith Jessie Corderio, BK Rajkumar and Umesh Shah.

Event: On June 27,a press conferencewas organised bythe RetailingDivision at ourAPM LifespaceStore atAhmedabad.

What’s special: Itwas conducted byShyam Motwani, Vice President andBusiness Head, Retailing Division alongwith Atul Natu, Assistant GeneralManager and KR Dordi, Regional Head.Various other Function Heads of theBranch were also present at the meet.The conference was covered by about40 press reporters from variousNewspapers and T.V. Channels.

Proceedings: Shyam Motwaniinformed the Press that the Retailingdivision through its LifespaceStores caters to home and officefurniture, home appliances, locks

and security products and other homeaccessories and lifestyle orientedproducts under one roof at goodprices.

Encouraged by the market research andseeing the huge growth potential fromthe state, Godrej Lifespace has dynamicexpansion plans to open 5 new Storesin Gujarat namely Ahmedabad, Surat,Vadodra, Rajkot and Kutch and expects20 crore turnover by 2010 for theRetailing Division in Gujarat.

Mr Motwani also introduced to thePress the Virtual Store Kiosk

instal led at theStore and briefedthem regarding“eMall”, an onlineshopping portalthrough which onecan have a look atthe entire range ofour products andplace an order

from anywhere in the world to gift aGodrej product to their dear onesin Gujarat.

Last word: The response of thepress meet was evident the next daywith a l l lead ing newspapersin English and vernacular languagescovering the event with extensivewrite-ups and photographs onbusiness news pages. The event wasalso covered on the In Cable newschannel.

Sarosh D Karkaria.Mumbai Branch

Scaling heights in Gujarat

35

April 12 was celebrated as SafetyDepartment Foundation Day by theOccupational Health and SafetydepartmentOn April 11, 1990, AK Kulkarni, NKJoish, VD Sathe and Late Mr. Pradhanmade a presentation to Mr. JN Godrejand all the Senior Managers on the statusof Occupational Health and Safety in theGodrej. An immediate outcome was Mr.Godrej asking all the Divisional Headsto prepare an action plan to reduceaccidents by 50% in the next three years.All Divisional Heads expressed theircommitment towards safety and a needto have a separate OHS Department wasfelt. Hence, OHS Department came intoexistence on April 12, 1990.At Godrej we believe that ‘Awarenessis the heart of Safety’. A continuouseffort is made to create and maintainawareness about safety and involvepeople at all levels in the organization.For this purpose, Corporate OHSDepartment has planned to conductdifferent activities through out theyear. One of the activities is the annualcelebration of Occupational Health &Safety Department Foundation Dayon April 12.A brief function was organised byCorporate OHS Department on April 11and 12, 2007 to mark this occasion.On April 11, the Foundation Day wascelebrated at the corporate level. All theVice Presidents & Business Heads fromvarious businesses were invited along with

Administering safety pledge on the occasion ofOHSE Foundation Day

Building safe foundationsSafety Department

for a meaningful engagement.a) 100% PPE Compliance Day - The

monitoring responsibility was assignedto Safety Committee Members,

b) Hazard Identification Day - Identifyingcritical hazards, implementingcorrective and preventive actionsand walk through survey by theInjured Person along with OHS Headto identify existing hazards in theplant. It was also emphasised that allconcerned efforts to bes u i t a b l y r e c o g n i z e d a f t e rimplementation of correctiveand preventive action.

c) Various contests and prizedistribution.

d) Presentation to DMC/SafetyCouncil/Works Committeemembers by OHS Head about thedivision’s plans for 2006-07 and hathas been achieved so far. This wasfollowed by a cake cutting and prizedistribution ceremony.

Our efforts to bring in the awarenessrequired for safety at workplace andgeneral safety about various day to daysituations will continue with the samededication. We all believe that Safety isa journey and zero accident is our goal.In this continued journey we requireall the participation and support fromone and all to make it a grand success.Our sincere thanks to all concernedwho have directly or indirectly helpedus in making this event successful.

RA Bagi

Students visit Godrej CampusPersonnel & Administration Department

175 students visited Godrej & BoyceCampus on May 24, 2007 as a part theHoliday Programme for Youthorganised by the Bombay ParsiPanchayet. The students who took partin the programme were awaiting theStandard X results.A full day visit was organised for them.The programme began with the students’arrival at 9 am at Pragati Kendra. Thestudents were welcomed by RohintonPatel, Divisional Personnel Head,Appliance Division and thereafter served

Dr. Maya Mahajan educates the students on theMangroves in Godrej.

breakfast. After which, a corporatepresentation was made by Faarah Dordyfrom the Training & Development team.The students were educated on theimportance of Mangroves by Dr. MayaMahajan. They were also shown an audio-visual and taken for a Mangrove visit andnature trail.They were served a scrumptious lunchorganised by the Canteen, and weretaken to the corporate showroom andthe shop floors of Locks, SED, MHE,and Interio divisions. The students were

all appreciative of the productsdisplayed at the showroom.Rohinton Patel and Faarah Dordyconcluded the visit with a feedback session.

Swedal Pinto

Personnel and Safety Council Members.The function commenced withadministration of the Safety Oathfollowed by an executive address byAnil Verma, Executive Vice Presidentand Head, Personnel andAdministration. He conveyed his bestwishes to all and appreciated the effortsput in by the OHS dept on imbibing asafety culture and improving the safetyrecords in the organisation over theyears. He also said that the OHS groupis a self motivated group and that theyhave been working hard to achieve thislevel. He requested the group to put intheir dedicated efforts to sustain theexisting level. Mr. Verma also was of theopinion that at divisional level also,foundation day should be celebrated.Mr. Verma, the Divisional Heads andUnion Representative jointly cut afoundation day cake.On April 12, 2007, the celebration wasdone at individual divisions throughoutthe organization. It was decided touniformly carry out following activities

36

Every year the first week of July isobserved as Vanamahotsav, tospread awareness about natureconservation by the Garden &Mangrove Departments.

This year, we organised Poetry andDrawing competitions on variousenvironmental themes such asNature/Forest Conservation, Globalwarming and Mangroves for studentsof Udayachal High School (UHS) andPrimary School (UPS) on July 2 and3. There was overwhelming responsefrom the children of both theschools. 86 students from UHS and

Ladies from the Creekside colony participating in the plantation drive

Vanamahotsav in Vikhroli

Vanamahotsav celebrations across Godrej

Tree planting campaign at Godrej Hillside Club

School were the guests of honour.

The prize-winning poems were readout aloud by the students and werehighly appreciated by the audience.

On July 4, a slide show on TreeIdentification was presented by Dr.Ogale for UHS students and teachers.The plants including medicinal specieswere arranged outside the hall, whereDr. Ogale took a practical session onplant identification for school teachersand the staff of Garden and MangroveDepartment.

Around 30 ladies from GodrejCreekside and Hillside coloniesparticipated in the plantationprogrammes in the CreeksideMangrove area and near the HillsideClubhouse on July 5 and 7 July.The weeklong programs duringVanamahotsava served to spread themessage of Nature Conservationamong the people of Vikhroli,especially Udayachal School students,G&B employees and residents ofGodrej colonies

Dr. Maya Mahajan

On July 7, 2007, the concluding day of‘Vanamahotsav’, our Gardendepartment in association with theGodrej Hillside Club organised a masstree planting campaign at the Clubpremises and the surrounding areasat the Hillside Colony. The membersof the Inner Club of ladies and thestudents of Udayachal Primary Schoolactively participated in the plantation.The involvement of school childrenmay go a long way in creating the

much needed awareness among themembers of our society at large.The lady members of our InnerClub, by spreading out theircommendable activities beyond theprecincts of the Club, set a goodexample for others to emulate. Adedicated Garden department teamled by Ms Arati Kishore facilitatedthe programme.

Maroli DasanGodrej Hillside Club

Dr. Ogale takes a practical session on plantidentification for school teachers and the staffof Garden and Mangrove Department

77 from UPS participated in thedrawing competition and 35 studentsfrom UHS participated in poetrycompetition.

The prize distribution for thewinners was held on July 6. RameshBhandarkar, Deputy Manager,Construction Division and BinaiferChhoga, Principal, Udayachal High

Udayachal Primary School Children participate inthe Tree plantation campaign at the Hillside Club

37

Following the tradition, this year too, June 5 wascelebrated as World Environment Day at Mohali.Our sprawling campus has over 3,500 full growntrees, with an equal number of small plants &flower beds. So every year, Environment Day iscelebrated with great enthusiasm in Mohali.

The day began with a plantation drive in themorning. It was initiated by G Yugandar, VicePresident, Manufacturing, Appliance Division, whoplanted the first sapling. Rajeev Gupta and Mr. S.N.Jha also encouraged the initiative. Then the otheremployees from both the plants and theChandigarh branch, together planted 30 saplingsall over the campus.

G Yugandar, Vice President - Manufacturing, Mohali, plantsa sapling on World Environment Day.

Mohali – going green againOn July 26, 2005, Godrejwitnessed one of its worstcatastrophes in the lasthundred years when therewas 36’’ of rainfall in 24 hrsat Vikhroli, Mumbai. TheGodrej establishment was

badly affected by the monsoon fury leading to acatastrophic situation for all the employees of G&B, theirfamilies including the students and staff of UdayachalSchools. All movement by road and rail came to a grindinghalt due to the flood like situation and devastation of theinfrastructure caused by heavy rains.

Realising the need to be prepared to render all possiblehelp in times of natural calamities, Godrej formed a‘Monsoon Emergency Team (GMET)’ in 2006, as part ofDisaster Management. This team comprised membersfrom E&E, Construction, Safety, Housing, Administrationand Security Department. Based on the previousexperience of July 26, 2005, a detailed emergency planwas prepared by the team members. To face suchcalamities, the team had established the control rooms atthree different locations i.e. Plant-11 Security/HousingDepartment, Plant-1 Security control Room at West andPragati Kendra at East from where the team caouldoperate. All three points were well equipped with lifesaving equipments as well as all possible medical aid whichcan be rendered in such emergencies. All Plant Headsand employees were informed about the overall situationand actions initiated through intranet and e-mail.

Facing it up

On June 30, 2007, a similar emergency occurred whenthe factory premises and the area around was submergeddue to water logging as a result of incessant rains for fourhours. The heavy rains also flooded the area around ourschools and the subway whereby the children and theschool staff were stranded. The Disaster Managementteams of GMET was activated, who successfully evacuatedschool children including staff to the safety of their homesagainst all odds. Employees stranded in the companypremises were provided with all the assistance includingfood, shelter and safe return once the water receded.The E&E team successfully cut off power supply to avoidany damages due to short circuits.

The entire planning and execution was done by theDisaster Management cell established at securitydepartment. The Disaster Management cell is now planningto expand the scope and area of responsibility to includeits functioning and to act as a nerve centre for allcommunication within Godrej and with outside agencies.

Col. PB Dalvi

Getting organised to manage disaster

Security Department

Later in the day, there was a session onEnvironmental Awareness. This was more ofan in format ion shar ing exerc ise withworkmen, technica l assoc iates andsupervisors and was received very well. Thevisual aids also added to the information givenby the EHS Staff.

The day ended with a quiz conducted by the EHSstaff, where the five participating teams werequizzed on environmental awareness and also onthe endeavors of the Management in maintaininga clean and green environment. It was a goodlearning experience, the fun way. The quiz judgedby four senior staff members from the two plants.Trophies were given to the three winning teamsby G Yugandar.

A general pledge was also taken and it was declaredthat starting from that very day, we would notencourage the use of disposables that would harmthe Environment.

Cyrus R BharuchaRefrigerator Assembly Plant. Mohali

38

CMM Section has added one morename in the list of machineries andequipments developed in-house. Themachine developed is known asPneumatic Cement Loading system.

This machine is used in the RMC Plantfor loading cement into the cementsilos. The machine consists of aCompressor blower, a screw, a hopper,and a Control Panel. Cement bags arecut and cement is put into the hopper.When the machine starts the cementfrom the cement hopper is pushed intothe receiver tank with the help of screwdriven by an electric motor. At the

Shriprakash Dubey , VV Vijayan, Deepak Panchal,Shivraj Ghone, Manohar Jagtap.

In-house development of machines

Construction Division

bottom of the receiver tankdelivery pipe of the blower isfixed. The blower delivers largevolume of air to the receiver tank,which pushes the cement into thecement silo. Air cement mixtureenters into the silo from the top.Here the cement falls into the silodue to gravity and airflows outthrough the dust filter.

The first machine is installed atORU Plant, Vikhroli. Aftersuccessful trials second machinewas developed and installed at the PuneRMC plant. Two additional machines

Specifications

Sr.No. Des.cription. DETAILS.

1 Cement Loading Capacity. 25 Tonnes / hr. (500 bags).2 Total Conveying Distance. 25 meters.3 Height of Discharge. 20 meters.4 Pipe Size 100 NB.5 Compressor. Twin Lobe Compressor, Single Stage.

1000m3/hr. 1.0 kg/cm2.5 Motor. 60HP, 1450rpm, 3Ph, 50Hz, TEFC,

Sq. Cage, IP-55, 415v-AC.

are under production for new RMCPlant at Pune and Byculla. The costincurred in fabrication of this machinewas less than half the cost of the similarmachine available in the market.

We take this opportunity tocongratulate VV Vijayan and his teamof workmen for their efforts. We arealso thankful to MR Patil of E&EServices, for his support and technicalguidance.

Congratulations!Team CMMS

Construction Division

A host of activities in the HillsideClub kept children as well asadults engaged, specially duringthe summer vacations.

Children’s Party: The themeparty organised for children inApril, was a hit. A large numberof enthusiastic children came toattend the party in the bestparty clothes.

Personality developmentcamp and Swimmingcoaching camp: Both thesesessions generated very goodresponse. As a matter of fact,the Club had to organise extrasessions due to an increased demand.The camp was followed by swimmingcompetitions for junior and sub-junior levels in which the winners and

It was vocation time, this summer vacationGodrej Hillside Club

workshops were received withenthusiasm and the potdecoration workshop sawchildren at their innovativebest.

The workshops and classesare not only for children,adults could also choose fromWestern Dance, Aerobics,Guitar, Yoga, Swimming,Tennis and Badmintonclasses.

The ‘Inner Club’, the ladieswing of the club organisesvisits, exhibitions and otherconstructive and creative

activities and the women members arehaving a great time indeed.

Maroli Dasan

Some of the participants of the workshop 'Earth Shapes' with theircreations. Seated in the middle is trainer Jayshri Sathyanarayan.

runners up were awarded the ClubPresident’s certificates.

The Badminton camp and Potdecoration workshop: Both these

39

OUR ACHIEVERS

39

Son of:B Helegaonkar,Interio Division

Achievements:Has won the Goldmedal in Yachtingat the Youth Na-tional SailingChamp ionsh i p ,2006 at Hawaii

Beach in Goa. There were a series ofnine races, and he finished first in allthe nine races. He was also awarded acrystal plate for winning the first prizein the 420 class race. He was felicitatedby the Directorate of Sports Authorityof Goa. (SAG)

He also won the Navy Day Regatta,2006 organised by the Navy in Mumbai.He won the 420 Class in which therewere 17 boats in all. The chief guestwas the flag officer of the WesternNaval Command (WNC), where hewas awarded a crystal plate.

Trunal Helegaonkar

Son of:Ankush Mundhe, Appliance Division

Achievements:Secured First class in his MBBS final examination from Mumbai University heldin February 2007 and is currently doing his Internship at Navi Mumbai Muncipalgeneral hospital, Vashi.

In Standard IX, he successfully reached the state level in the National Scienceproject competition. After his HSC, he successfully bagged a 2.5 Lacs highereducation scholarship from Rotary club of Mumbai – Nariman point.

Vikas dreams of opening a hospital in his village near the highway, owing to theincreasing number of accidents on highways that result in a loss of severallives.

Dr. Vikas Mundhe

Daughter of:Santosh Chalke, Process EquipmentDivn., Column Dept.

Student of:Vikas High School,Vikhroli

Achievement:Stood 42nd out of 908 students, in theMaharashtra State High School Schol-arship Examination 2007, securing 234/300.

Samidha Chalke

Daughter of:Prashant Chawan, Process EquipmentDivision

Achievement:She was awarded State Level Scholarship in the year 2005-06under the Sports Talent Scholarship Scheme for school stu-dents by the Sports Authority of India for teakwondo training.She has also appeared for Black Belt Exam at the WorldTeakwondo Association, Chiplun, in Ratnagiri.

Karishma Chawan

Age:10

Son of:Pinaz Mahuvawala, Mumbai Branch

Student of:Udayachal Primary School – Std. IV

Huvakhsh R. Mahuvawala

Sketch by:Noel Nadar

Sketch by:Noel Nadar

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Son of:Mahendra Patil

Student of:Vikas High School

Achievements:Tanmay stood 36th in the HighSchool Scholarship Examination,2007, by securing 80%. He alsostood first in the English

Elementary Examination conducted by Tilak MaharashtraVidyapeeth.

Tanmay Patil

Son of:Milind Chavan

Student of:Vikas High School

Achievements:Neeraj scored 70.67% and stood64th in the High SchoolScholarship Examination, 2007.He also stood tenth in the

Primary Scholarship Exam held in 2004 and scored 280/300. He has also been felicitated by the Shramik Sangha.

Neeraj Chavan

Daughters of:Chetna and SG Pandit, PCS Division.

Students of:Air Force School, Bangalore.

Achievement:Both Praseeda and Prajwala scored above 95%in the Standard X, CBSE board exams. Praseedascored 97.2% and Prajwala scored 96%.

Praseeda & Prajwala Pandit

Daughter of:Rizwan Kazi, Tooling Division

Student of:Udayachal High School

Achievements:Bushra stood 13th in Primary School Scholarship Exam,2007 and scored 89.33%.

Bushra KaziSketch by:Noel Nadar

Son of:Balasaheb Hinge, IMD Dept.

Student of:Zilla Parishad Primary School, Shirwal

Achievement:Scored 93.2% in his Standard II exams.

Prathamesh Hinge

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CREAT IVE CORNER

Eons ago fought the land and sea,“On earth for you there is no room”Said the sea “ Admit defeat, or soon, you’ll meet yourdoom”

“Help Lord! Help! Cried the land“Save me from the ocean’s ambush” said the soil andsaid the sandReplied God, “I’ll do what I can”

He send someone Special to calm the ocean’sbehaviour, He sent the Mangroves – Mother earth’ssaviour.

Landed the mangroves, from heaven onto land;To prevent the big fight,Formed a green barrier in sand

Attacked the tides in a grumpy rageBut broke and had a mighty fallLaughed the strong mangrove, and said “My dearfriend, is that all?”

From that day on till today,The mangroves acted like a wall.Kept the seas at arms reach,And saved the lives of one and all.

Time flew before anyone knew,And the seas accepted their folly.All turned back to normal,And one and all were jolly

Mangroves sheltered the birds and beasts,Gave them food and water.For our eyes they are such feasts.Being a home to crabs and others.

Tigers, flamingoes, storks and cranes,All these are residents of mangroves,Trees – tall, short and thin,Form a splendid treasure trove.

Not only do they keep us cool,They also bring rain-A drink that soothes the scratchy throatThat relives us from our strain

Man fells, Man kills,Which he isn’t supposed to do,He has to protect the mangroves,Like from the seas, to us they do.

It’s not too lateTo know our faultLet mangroves liveBring destruction to halt

Preserve Mangroves,Mother earth’s saviour,Live and let live,And make the world greener and happier.

- Mukund JoshiVIII Eng D.

MangrovesMother Earth’s Saviour

KNOW YOUR MANGROVES

This is the most common mangrove tree along the westcoast of Maharashtra and is capable of growing inconditions such as high salinity and polluted waterswhich are highly unfavourable for other plants. Underfavourable conditions, it grows to be a medium sizedtree. Around Mumbai they remain stunted trees. Theleaves of this tree are oval with a pointed tip and areshiny green above and pale silvery grey below. Thebark of this tree also is greyish, hence the commonname ‘grey mangrove’. The leaves of this tree havespecial type of glands (salt glands) to excrete excesssalt. Flowers are small, yellowish to orange in colour.

Propagules (fruits) are small, pale green andalmond-shaped. Large spreading roots (Cableroots) of this tree give rise to upwardly growingroots into the air known as Pneumatophores(breathing roots). This is a favourite alternate hostplant of the caterpillar of a moth Hyblaea puera.

Timber of this tree is used as fuel wood, fruits forpickle and stem extracts for the treatment ofRheumatism, small pox and ulcers.

– Dr. Maya Mahajan

Please visit www.mangroves.godrej.com to know more about mangroves & activities of the mangrove section

Avicennia marina (Grey mangrove)

Pic: Dr. Maya Mahajan