The Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) has won the ICC Social Impact Award for the fourth consecutive time. At the Social Impact Awards 2022 ceremony in Kolkata, the foundation won three awards for its contribution towards women empowerment, water resource management and rural health.
ACF Sankrail won an award for gender equality and women’s empowerment in the large industry category, while ACF Farakka won an award for water resource management and livelihoods and a jury award in the health category.
From almost 60 applications from various companies and NGOs, ACF emerged as the best organisation in the field of water, women’s empowerment and health. For the fourth time in a row, ACF Farakka and Sankrail won the ICC Social Impact Award for their work on rural community development initiatives. The award was presented by the Consul General of Australia, the Consul General of Japan and the Deputy High Commissioner for Calcutta.
Commenting on the achievement, Pearl Tiwari, Director and CEO of Ambuja Cement Foundation, said, “All credit goes to the hardworking and committed team of our Sankrail and Farakka, who work tirelessly to bring prosperity to our rural community.”
Sankrail is an industrial block with around 130 heavy industries.
ACF is working on gender sensitivity and women’s empowerment in 16 villages around the Ambuja Cement Factory area. As part of its women’s empowerment programme, focus has been on forming self-help groups, promoting credit planning, and integrating the programme with other priority areas such as agriculture, water resource management, health and skills development. The organisation encourages local women to participate in local development issues and in panchayat/community meetings.
Farakka is a block of West Bengal, located near the border with Bangladesh. It is considered to be one of the least developed blocks in the state. Health indicators were low in the villages, but with targeted interventions and community participation, behavioural changes in family planning, maternal and child health and anaemia prevention have been observed. The ACF team has also worked to improve the livelihoods of small land holders through water harvesting and irrigation systems that help them grow more crops, get better yields and earn more.
The ICC Social Impact Awards is an initiative of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in which the chamber engages with corporate entities, NGOs and implementing agencies to recognise their work in the area of social investment, corporate social responsibility and sustainability nationally.