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and communities where we operate. Our company's value lies in its ability to strengthen and enhance all of those relationships and try to reconnecting our company success with social progress. As Michael Porter also stated in Harvard's Business Review in 2011: "the solution of corporate social responsibility lies in the principle of shared value, which involves economic value that also creates value for society by addressing its needs and challenges.”
I also think faith shapes and informs our company's value system, ethics, character, leadership, and my attitude toward work and my people who work for me. It is about taking my responsibility in my current life and being committed to good citizenship- a dignified life for all. It was interesting for me to read about the "Evangelii Gaudium” (11), an important wake-up call from the Holy Father. He calls upon us all, including corporate leaders, to roll up our sleeves and begin the important work of making the resources for a better quality of life more accessible and available for the hundreds of millions currently living without life's basic necessities. This is neither capitalistic nor socialistic nor communistic. It is both a moral and spiritual call. I believe I need to take my part of that responsibility as I believe that this is part of my greater meaning in life. My father who co-founded the company also taught me this. So coming back to the question of de- fining CSR and connecting it to my faith, it's both actually about practicing Jain principles in my business life. Because that is what Jainism says, because Jainism is one of the few or maybe the only religion that does not actually have a conversion. Jainism is a lifestyle, every minute, you will come across a point where you will have to make a judgment call, what is right and what is wrong. In my business life and implementing CSR I also need to keep this in mind. That can be quite challenging.
Challenging? With the Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, endorsed by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2011, businesses are increasingly expected to measure and mitigate their social and environmental impact, tackle their supply chains and play a responsible role in society. What is your view on this role of business?
Yes challenging as the boundary between government and businesses remains important today but their interconnections are changing. Where governments fail, there is a need to engage private actors to set good examples or work more closely with governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to understand the real human rights issues out there and, more importantly, to find balanced, constructive solutions that make sense. Overregulation will not be sustainable but that does not mean companies should have a free ride. Governments can be "enablers” and “promoters” of sustainable growth but a pragmatic approach is needed. For business, understanding their human rights exposure and addressing potential human rights violations is an important responsibility. Taking Responsible seriously means that we can and should improve the quality of life for all communities wherever we operate across the value chain. Reality on the ground can be an eye-opener. As you can read in our CSR reports, we have had challenges however we wish to be honest about what went wrong, how we are establishing corrective actions and learning continuously along the way
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