Blue Dart & DHL lead the Corporate Responsibility thrust in India

Mumbai, February 20, 2013:

Blue Dart Express Limited, South Asia's premier courier and integrated express package distribution Company, and part of the DPDHL Group presented the 2nd Blue Dart Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Awards at a glittering function at the Taj Lands End, Mumbai on February 18, 2013. The awards recognized corporate social responsibility and sustainability champions across various industries. Sustainability champions from over 50 companies were awarded by the Chief Guest, Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, Director General & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs.

Part of the Blue Dart World CSR Day, the 2nd Blue Dart Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Awards were in conjunction with DHL's Corporate Responsibility Day in India and comprised of two CEO panel discussions - 'Mandatory 2% spend on CSR: Will it be just compliance or a trajectory for meaningful CSR?' and 'Changing Businesses from Inside Out'. Both the intellectually stimulating panel discussions focussed on awareness of corporate responsibility within the private sector and were well attended by leaders in both the government as well as the corporate sector. Some of the panel members included: Yogesh Dhingra, COO & FD, Blue Dart Express Ltd., Gayatri Nair Lobo, Senior Director, Strategy and Development, Teach For India, Suhas Tuljapurkar, Managing Partner, Legasis Service Pvt. Ltd., Akhtar Badshah, Senior Director, Citizenship and Public Affairs and Head of Corporate Philanthropy, Microsoft Corporation, Emily Harrison, Executive Vice President, Innovaid, Vikas Puthran, Vice President - Alliances and Operations, Give India, Betsy Vincent, Vice President, General Carbon Advisory Services and Animesh Kumar, Group Head, HR & Corporate Services & Co CEO, IDFC Foundation.

Malcolm Monteiro, SVP & Area Director - South Asia, DHL Express, said, "We not only believe in creating a fine balance between economic success and social objectives but also in spearheading activities that would result in making the planet a better place to live in. We follow Deutsche Post DHL group's sustainability strategy - 'Living Responsibility' which includes the 3 pillars of GoGreen, GoHelp and GoTeach. The Group has also been offering environmentally friendly logistics solutions to our customers, thereby making them co-stakeholders in our efforts to minimize the impact of our business on the environment. Going by the tremendous response to the 1st World CSR Day, this year too, we are happy to observe that sustainability amongst corporations is gaining momentum in India."

The day culminated with the 2nd Blue Dart Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Awards which recognized contribution across categories such as Best Corporate Social Responsibility Practices, Support and Improvement in Quality of Education, Diversity and Human Resource, Concern for Health, Poverty Alleviation, Accounting for Climate Change, Carbon Footprint Accounting, Community Development, Regulation of Corporate Social and Environmental Behaviour, Social Entrepreneurship.

Anil Khanna, Managing Director, Blue Dart Express Ltd. added, "The inaugural edition of World CSR Day was a huge success and like last year, this year too we are proud to be presenting the 2nd Blue Dart Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Awards. It is indeed commendable to see corporates converge, discuss & debate issues pertaining to sustainability and also share practical views and insights in terms of their organisations. While Blue Dart has a strong sustainability programme working towards making the communities and environment a better place for future generations, another way of keeping the momentum going is recognising those efforts. We have taken up the mantle of recognising corporates & individuals who have championed causes in the best of their capacity and brought about a change in the environment we live in."

The 2nd Blue Dart Global CSR Excellence & Leadership Awards advisory council included Bhaskar Chatterjee (Director General & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs), Dr. Huzaifa Khorakiwala (Executive Director, Wockhardt Ltd.), Mohini Daljeet Singh (Chief Executive, Max India Foundation), Vijay Kalantri (Chairman & Managing Director, Dighi Port Ltd.), Herman Mulder (Chairman, Global Reporting Initiative) and Harsha Mukherjee (Founder & MD, Editor, Ekjaa and IndiaCSR) to name a few.

For further information contact :

marketing@bluedart.com
Dated : February, 2013