“CSR and sustainability are not things you do after you make profits. The next generation of business opportunities will come from opportunities that draw from the very conception of the project” Anand Mahindra said. A policy paper of the Centre for Science and Environment says with the passenger-car market shifting towards "heavier and bigger vehicles (like SUVs) that guzzle fuel", India needs more stringent checks. It adds that the auto industry is unhappy with the recentlyapproved 'corporate average fuel consumption standards' for vehicles — a target of 18.15 km/litre or 129.8 gm of CO2/km in 2015, and 20.79 km/litre or 113 gm of CO2/km in 2020 — and is pushing for rollback. The paper also says companies want the implementation timeline postponed to 2018 and 2023, and the government to recalibrate the approved target of 20% CO2 reduction over 2010 levels in 2020, to 16% reduction by 2023. With a stable full of large vehicles, M&M is in the thick of things. Gazdar, however, says there is enough evidence to offset these claims. "Our new investments, like the Reva, Mahindra Solar and Mahindra Research Valley speak for themselves. They show people we are responsible," she says. Spreading the Philosophy About half of M&M's various stakeholders, including its supply chain, are aligned to the group's sustainability vision. Employee participation in the volunteering programme has increased by 7% over last year. M&M conducts independent audits of supply-chain contractors to ensure workmen are insured, there is women's sanitation and a creche on site, etc. Elsewhere, Mahindra Lifespace DevelopersBSE 0.91 % projects are designed as per the Centre's National Building Code regulations, to ensure health and safety of end-users and workers. How Mahindra & Mahindra is championing sustainability Practices like this may have led to several Mahindra buildings being pre-certified green by the CII's Indian Green Building Council. Its auto plant in ChakanBSE 0.00 %, near Pune, is a zerodischarge, water-balanced facility that has incorporated 147 initiatives for clean manufacturing, while the plant in Zaheerabad, in an arid part of Andhra Pradesh, has received awards for water management. "We believe businesses can transform society, and vice versa," says Naresh Patil, head of the corporate sustainability cell. The group also sets aside 1% of profit after tax for CSR activities. This year, it will be investing Rs 72 crore in CSR activities, for initiatives undertaken by its four foundations. A green consultant, speaking on condition of anonymity, says M&M still looks at sustainability with a "philanthropy mindset". "While they do a lot on the social side, I'm not sure how this gets linked to their core business," this consultant says. "Initiative can never be long term if there is no business connect. This will impede them from moving to the next level of sustainable practices." Anand Mahindra has a response to this. "Today, there is no distinction between what you do for profit and how you drive positive change," he says. "The more you drive positive change, the more enhanced your business model."