Learn how we’re making a difference in the lives of the communities we serve. Discover inspiring tales of empowerment, education, and sustainable change as we work hand-in-hand with local communities for a brighter future.
A background on CSR in India In 2013, India became the first country in the world to legally mandate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with the introduction of Section 135 of the Indian Companies Act, 2013. CSR was introduced to make…
Shahi is a lovely organization to work — professionally driven, wonderful work culture, respect for human values, and strong CSR initiatives.
Water Intensity:
We are researching, developing, and introducing new technologies to become more water efficient and reduce consumption. Some of our recent initiatives include:
Water Recycling:
Our ongoing commitment has been to consistently decrease our reliance on freshwater by implementing state-of-the-art effluent and sewage treatment technologies in our pursuit of self-sufficiency through:
Read about our water optimization measures in Denim washing and finishing.
Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC):
We have been active contributors to ZDHC since its inception in 2011 and follow the regularly updated AFIRM/AAFA RSL. Our facilities were the first in India to be ZDHC audited by two brands and a third party in 2012-13. We have also developed a single-window chemical purchase procedure to prevent the entry of restricted (priority) chemicals in our operations.
Alternative Dyes & Chemicals:
Our procedures for handling chemicals ensure the minimization of the use of hazardous chemicals and prevent them from entering our manufacturing process.
We are constantly researching and finding ways to reduce and substitute chemical use in washing.
Proper Storage and Handling:
Our Chemical Management Policy and Chemical Purchase Policy govern our effective chemical management. Our processes are in alignment with ZDHC TIG (Technical Industry Guidelines).
Sustainably sourced materials:
Our material sourcing strategy prioritizes acquiring raw materials from partners within sustainable supply chains, specifically considering environmental and social factors. We continuously work on testing newer sustainable alternatives to conventional materials and actively market them to our customers.
Read more about how we created India’s first woven Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold product.
Renewable Electricity:
We have set up solar power plants and windmills in Karnataka with total capacities of 92.5 MW.
These generate 70% of Shahi’s total electrical energy consumption. Know more about Shahi’s journey to 100% renewable energy.
Clean Energy:
In Shahi’s efforts to reduce carbon footprint, we have taken a bold step toward a greener and cleaner future by completely phasing coal out from our garmenting units.
Emissions:
Shahi is reducing carbon emissions by:
Energy Efficiency:
Our measures taken for reducing energy intensity include:
STITCH: Supervisors’ Transformation Into Change Holders
In 2016, Shahi partnered with Good Business Lab (GBL) to design a 6-month soft-skills program tailored for line-level supervisors, which encompasses sessions on topics ranging from problem-solving and coaching to gender sensitivity and improving workplace culture.
GBL’s research shows that STITCH enhances supervisors’ stock of soft skills, reduces turnover, and increases the workers’ productivity in their lines, thus raising incomes and the probability of receiving incentive bonuses. Know more about STITCH.
PULSE: Promoting Upcoming Leadership at Shahi Exports
An 8-month immersive curriculum in leadership through personal and interpersonal growth. This program equips participants to embody Shahi’s vision and cultivate a positive and productive work environment.
Captain Program:
An upskilling program designed to elevate the work environment by promoting holistic skills in candidates chosen to become Captains. Candidates undergo comprehensive training to manage sewing lines.
Gap Inc. P.A.C.E.:
A comprehensive life skills training crafted for female garment workers, encompassing communication, time, stress management, legal awareness, execution excellence, and more.
With the Good Business Lab, we studied the business impact and found a positive return on investment, which has created a powerful business case for extending the program to every worker:
GBL’s research shows P.A.C.E. beneficiaries are:
– 20% more productive
– Likely to get promoted up to three times quicker
– More likely to enroll in further skill development courses
– Increased confidence and self-esteem
– Stronger communication skills
– Greater financial awareness and goal-setting
– More likely to save for their children’s education
– More likely to take advantage of state-sponsored pension and health schemes
Training Centers
States
Skills for Employment:
Skill Development is a potent instrument for personal and societal advancement. As a project implementation partner since 2013 for the Government of India, we offer training programs to underprivileged youth and women.
Social and Labor Convergence Projects (SLCP):
Since 2019, we have proactively participated in the Social and Labor Convergence Projects (SLCP).This has mitigated audit fatigue by saving 1,728 hours while establishing a uniform assessment framework for our factories.
Read more about SLCP here.
Empowering Worker Voice:
Worker voice is indispensable at Shahi. The key drivers of effective worker voice are
Building our ability to listen through a variety of channels and enabling workers to transparently utilize channels and witness the journey that their participation takes.
In 2013, India became the first country in the world to legally mandate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with the introduction of Section 135 of the Indian Companies Act, 2013. CSR was introduced to make businesses pay more attention to ways they can positively impact society and the environment. The law requires companies with a certain turnover and profitability to spend 2% of their average net profit for the past three years on CSR. The CSR budget can be invested in specified areas such as promoting education, eradicating hunger, promoting gender equality, and environmental sustainability. Due to its mandatory nature, the CSR regime in India has the potential to greatly support more capital infusion into the social and environmental sector, thus supporting the country in achieving national and global development goals. However some have criticized this mandate, claiming that CSR must be voluntary or else it is effectively a corporate tax. Nonetheless, eight years since it was first introduced, the CSR mandate remains in place and has been further fine tuned and optimized to ensure companies invest in positive impact.
One of the ways the CSR mandate has been updated is to encourage companies to support their communities through the COVID-19 pandemic. India is currently recovering from a devastating second wave of COVID-19, as the spread continues to have a damaging impact on the health and livelihoods of millions of people across the country. At Shahi, we are leveraging our CSR funds to support our communities by providing ration kits to migrant workers infected with COVID-19 through our Migration Support Center (MSC), donating medical equipment to local hospitals, and other community relief activities based on needs assessments.
Shahi was established in 1974 by a visionary female entrepreneur Mrs. Sarla Ahuja who started her journey as a sewing machine operator in a local apparel factory in New Delhi. For over 45 years now, we have been serving the communities in which we operate with a special focus on the employment and empowerment of women from low-income backgrounds. Working within the Government guidelines on CSR, our initiatives are guided by the following core commitments:
Our initiatives are based on needs assessment and consultation with communities and local governments. We implement our initiatives directly through our internal teams and also partner with expert organizations, specialized non-government organizations, and local implementation agencies.
Our CSR policy has been recently revised as per the provisions of the January 2021 amendment in the Companies Act. This amendment lays greater emphasis on compliance with the law and deeper involvement of businesses in CSR initiatives. Our policy includes the scope and applicability of our CSR initiatives, governance structure, guiding principles of selection, implementation, and monitoring, and expenditure, along with a detailed Annual Action Plan for all the projects undertaken by the company.
Based on the need assessment, we have identified the following focus areas to implement our CSR initiatives:
Education – Good school infrastructure improves the quality of education and the experiences of school learning. We support education in Government schools by focused interventions on infrastructure development, provision for drinking water and sanitation, and repair and renovation of school buildings. Also support undergraduate scholarship programs for students from low-income backgrounds.
“We are thankful to Shahi Exports for providing desks, benches, and sports equipment to our school. Our students are happy with comfortable sitting arrangements, and they are really enjoying their Physical Education classes with new equipment. Many new learning opportunities will also come up with a beautifully created Science Lab under Shahi’s CSR initiatives for our students from Grade 3 to 10.” Mr. Shivappa, Head Master, Government Primary School, Hootagali, Mysore, Karnataka
Community infrastructure – We support community infrastructure development such as public toilets, and bus shelters, etc. As road safety is crucial to saving lives and preventing injuries, our initiatives also focus on tilling roads, construction of skywalks, provision of traffic safety equipment such as barricades, and construction of bus shelters, etc.
Drinking Water – Water is a fundamental human need, yet many people lack access to safe drinking water leading to several water-related ailments. Understanding this need, we provide RO water filtration plants, water coolers, and storage tanks at public places, migrant worker hostels, police stations, and government dispensaries.
The welfare of migrant workers – Migrant workers in urban areas face several challenges. We have partnered with Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society to implement a Migration Support Center project in Bengaluru, Karnataka. H&M and Good Business Lab have extended their support as design partners on this project which aims to support migrant workers with psychological, social, and informational services to help them settle in new urban environments.
Environmental protection – We strive to grow our business whilst reducing the environmental impacts of our operations. Under this focus area, we prioritize efforts such as tree plantation and spreading environmental awareness.
Health – Women from low-income backgrounds often lack access to basic health information and services that affect their overall wellbeing. In partnership with not-for-profit organizations such as Good Business Lab, Family Planning Association of India, Samwada, and Basic Needs India, our community health interventions focus on providing women’s health information and services, including sexual and reproductive health, and psychological wellbeing services.
Supporting Research and Development Projects – Through collaboration with academic institutions such as the National Institute of Fashion Technology and not-for-profit organizations such as Good Business Lab, we support research on technology development under Industry 4.0 and the wellbeing of low-income workers in labor-intensive industries.
As a responsible and progressive organization, we will continue to strategically develop our CSR initiatives to benefit the community and the environment. We are open to collaboration with like-minded organizations to scale up our initiatives and add new projects to scale impact.
“ As a leading apparel exporter, our core principles of sustainable business will continue to drive us. Along with exporting apparel, we also intend to export our learnings and ideas from our work in CSR.” Anant Ahuja, Head – Organizational Development, and CSR Committee Member, Shahi Exports
For more information and collaboration on CSR initiatives, you can reach out to us at od@shahi.co.in
In 2013, India became the first country in the world to legally mandate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with the introduction of Section 135 of the Indian Companies Act, 2013. CSR was introduced to make businesses pay more attention to ways they can positively impact society and the environment. The law requires companies with a certain turnover and profitability to spend 2% of their average net profit for the past three years on CSR. The CSR budget can be invested in specified areas such as promoting education, eradicating hunger, promoting gender equality, and environmental sustainability. Due to its mandatory nature, the CSR regime in India has the potential to greatly support more capital infusion into the social and environmental sector, thus supporting the country in achieving national and global development goals. However some have criticized this mandate, claiming that CSR must be voluntary or else it is effectively a corporate tax. Nonetheless, eight years since it was first introduced, the CSR mandate remains in place and has been further fine tuned and optimized to ensure companies invest in positive impact.
One of the ways the CSR mandate has been updated is to encourage companies to support their communities through the COVID-19 pandemic. India is currently recovering from a devastating second wave of COVID-19, as the spread continues to have a damaging impact on the health and livelihoods of millions of people across the country. At Shahi, we are leveraging our CSR funds to support our communities by providing ration kits to migrant workers infected with COVID-19 through our Migration Support Center (MSC), donating medical equipment to local hospitals, and other community relief activities based on needs assessments.
Shahi was established in 1974 by a visionary female entrepreneur Mrs. Sarla Ahuja who started her journey as a sewing machine operator in a local apparel factory in New Delhi. For over 45 years now, we have been serving the communities in which we operate with a special focus on the employment and empowerment of women from low-income backgrounds. Working within the Government guidelines on CSR, our initiatives are guided by the following core commitments:
Our initiatives are based on needs assessment and consultation with communities and local governments. We implement our initiatives directly through our internal teams and also partner with expert organizations, specialized non-government organizations, and local implementation agencies.
Our CSR policy has been recently revised as per the provisions of the January 2021 amendment in the Companies Act. This amendment lays greater emphasis on compliance with the law and deeper involvement of businesses in CSR initiatives. Our policy includes the scope and applicability of our CSR initiatives, governance structure, guiding principles of selection, implementation, and monitoring, and expenditure, along with a detailed Annual Action Plan for all the projects undertaken by the company.
Based on the need assessment, we have identified the following focus areas to implement our CSR initiatives:
Education – Good school infrastructure improves the quality of education and the experiences of school learning. We support education in Government schools by focused interventions on infrastructure development, provision for drinking water and sanitation, and repair and renovation of school buildings. Also support undergraduate scholarship programs for students from low-income backgrounds.
“We are thankful to Shahi Exports for providing desks, benches, and sports equipment to our school. Our students are happy with comfortable sitting arrangements, and they are really enjoying their Physical Education classes with new equipment. Many new learning opportunities will also come up with a beautifully created Science Lab under Shahi’s CSR initiatives for our students from Grade 3 to 10.” Mr. Shivappa, Head Master, Government Primary School, Hootagali, Mysore, Karnataka
Community infrastructure – We support community infrastructure development such as public toilets, and bus shelters, etc. As road safety is crucial to saving lives and preventing injuries, our initiatives also focus on tilling roads, construction of skywalks, provision of traffic safety equipment such as barricades, and construction of bus shelters, etc.
Drinking Water – Water is a fundamental human need, yet many people lack access to safe drinking water leading to several water-related ailments. Understanding this need, we provide RO water filtration plants, water coolers, and storage tanks at public places, migrant worker hostels, police stations, and government dispensaries.
The welfare of migrant workers – Migrant workers in urban areas face several challenges. We have partnered with Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society to implement a Migration Support Center project in Bengaluru, Karnataka. H&M and Good Business Lab have extended their support as design partners on this project which aims to support migrant workers with psychological, social, and informational services to help them settle in new urban environments.
Environmental protection – We strive to grow our business whilst reducing the environmental impacts of our operations. Under this focus area, we prioritize efforts such as tree plantation and spreading environmental awareness.
Health – Women from low-income backgrounds often lack access to basic health information and services that affect their overall wellbeing. In partnership with not-for-profit organizations such as Good Business Lab, Family Planning Association of India, Samwada, and Basic Needs India, our community health interventions focus on providing women’s health information and services, including sexual and reproductive health, and psychological wellbeing services.
Supporting Research and Development Projects – Through collaboration with academic institutions such as the National Institute of Fashion Technology and not-for-profit organizations such as Good Business Lab, we support research on technology development under Industry 4.0 and the wellbeing of low-income workers in labor-intensive industries.
As a responsible and progressive organization, we will continue to strategically develop our CSR initiatives to benefit the community and the environment. We are open to collaboration with like-minded organizations to scale up our initiatives and add new projects to scale impact.
“ As a leading apparel exporter, our core principles of sustainable business will continue to drive us. Along with exporting apparel, we also intend to export our learnings and ideas from our work in CSR.” Anant Ahuja, Head – Organizational Development, and CSR Committee Member, Shahi Exports
For more information and collaboration on CSR initiatives, you can reach out to us at od@shahi.co.in
Prioritizing Employee Safety at the Workplace:
Our organization has a well-defined occupational health and safety management (OHSM) system per the Factories Act of 1948. The OHSMS is based on the standards prescribed by the International Labour Organization. Safety and Well-being Officers at each unit ensure these standards are upheld, and all safety measures are followed without compromise.
We have established our goals and are dedicated to:
– Complying with all relevant safety laws, regulations, and requirements
– Implementing process safety and management strategies, including safety committees, audits, risk assessments, and documenting safety-related data
– Creating a workplace free from injuries by fostering strong employee engagement
Training and Awareness:
We conduct extensive safety training, health camps, and awareness sessions to empower our workforce with the knowledge necessary to minimize risks. We reduce the likelihood of workplace fatalities by raising consciousness among our employees.
Employee Health:
Within all our facilities, we have established fully equipped medical centers with skilled medical teams comprising nurses and doctors to address primary injuries and provide direct medical care. Furthermore, our employees and workers benefit from coverage under the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI). We organize several camps such as
– Anemia Detection Camps
– Audiometry Camps
– Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Camp,
– Eye Health
Post-Natal Care, and Creche Facilities:
We understand the challenges associated with balancing professional responsibilities and parenting duties. Our crèche care has been crafted to offer a secure and nurturing environment for the children of our employees aged below six years. We ensure that the crèche meets the highest hygiene and child development standards.
| Environmental Area | Goal | Target Year | FY 2021 Performance | Baseline Year Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Baseline year (2018-19) | To have 100% renewable electricity | FY 2026 | 68% | 47% |
| To have 50% energy consumption from carbon-neutral sources | FY 2026 | 35% | 31% |
At Shahi, we recognize the significance of energy's dire impact on climate change. Investing in Green Building principles minimizes our energy consumption significantly in the long run. Green Building Design.
| Environmental Area | Goal | Target Year | FY 2021 Performance | Baseline Year Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water and Wastewater Baseline year (2021-22) | To have 85% recycled water used for industrial purposes in garment units | FY 2024 | 80% | 2021-22 is the baseline year |
| To have 75% recycled water used for industrial purposes in textile mills | FY 2024 | 80% | 2021-22 is the baseline year |
Read more on our water efficiency in our Denim Operations.
A strong focus on sustainable material sourcing has enabled Shahi to achieve (FY 2021)
Read more about how we created India’s first woven Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold product.
Sr. GM – Operations
Shahi provides a great platform for learning and induces a sense of process ownership in all its employees.
Assistant GM – Human Resources
Shahi offers me complete autonomy in doing my job and achieving the targets set. The company has always appreciated my good performance and at the same time stood by me during tough times.
Chief Medical Officer
Shahi provides a great platform for learning and induces a sense of process ownership in all its employees.
Deputy GM – Organizational Development
Working with an organization which is founded by a lady and employing more than 70% females, is a real contribution to society — and I feel proud to be a part of it.
GM – Administration
Shahi has given me freedom to experiment with my creativity and has welcomed my new project ideas, which are now helping workers grow professionally and personally.
Budgeting
Savings
Responsible borrowing
Family discussion on finances
Links to local financial services
