Corporate Social Responsibility

“At Apollo Tyres we believe in creating a brand that fosters social responsibility and goodwill amongst our key stakeholders and the community at large"

Apollo Tyres Ltd. firmly believes in undertaking activities that will directly make a difference in the lives of its key stakeholders. It is with this objective, that Apollo Tyres has undertaken various corporate social responsibility initiatives near its manufacturing facilities and in the community at large.

NACO estimates show that India has as many as 5.2 million HIV positive individuals. The trucking community, due to their nomadic lives, high-pressure job and long absence from their homes, a high risk group due to a lifestyle which exposes them to various sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Truckers form a enormous customer and thereby stakeholder base for the company.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. decided to partner with DIFD to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS and STD (sexually transmitted disease) by starting a pilot project in the form of a health care clinic in Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar (SGTN) in the year 2000 amongst the trucker community. SGTN is located right outside Delhi and is representative of the large transhipment hubs spread across India.

Pursuant to these objectives, in 2002, Apollo Tyres entered in to a partnership with CARE India. CARE brings to the table their expertise in the field of capacity building, staff training, designing behaviour change communication, MIS systems and best practices from across the world. Apollo Tyres on the other hand with its wide distribution/marketing network and communication expertise plays a pivotal role in bringing in an increasing number of stakeholders like transport unions and fleet owners into its education and prevention programmes.

In continuation with their objective of spreading the project on a pan-India level, Apollo Tyres entered into a partnership with TCIF, a social wing of the Transport Corporation of India. The Foundation is involved in implementing a large-scale HIV preventive intervention among Truckers along highways NH2 to NH9. Through this tie-up, Apollo and TCIF jointly manage three Clinics in trucking hubs in Hyderabad’s Autonagar, Nagpur and Pune.

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  Apollo Tyres has plans to spreading the project across India level. Four more clinics are expected to be up and running in various locations in the West, North and South of India.
  

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  Apollo Tyres is also open to partnerships with organisations with common goals and complimentary roles.
  

Like any other company, for Apollo Tyres Ltd. the manufacturing facilities are crucial to its well bring, as is the development of those who live nearby and actively support the company. While short-term projects have always taken place at Apollo Tyres’ manufacturing units, the company started a planned programme with its state-of-the-art facility in Limda (outside Baroda city), in the two villages of Limda and Ishwarpura that flank the factory.

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  Here support is extended to upgrade essential village infrastructure like water and roads.
  

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  The company supplements the local government healthcare facility with its own. A factory medical officer visits the village once a week to provide much-needed healthcare solutions and provide basic medicines. In-depth treatment is recommended at a subsidised cost at a nearby hospital.
  
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  In association with the local taluka’s development programme, Apollo has initiated adult literacy classes for over 60 women in the two villages. These are evening classes, held five days a week in the premises of the local school premises. The aim is to spread the programme to cover all adults in the two villages.
  

This independent Foundation’s aim is to enable soldiers handicapped in active duty to run profitable businesses. Apollo has tied up with the War Wounded Foundation to work with former soldiers and provides them with financial and non-financial expertise in setting up dealerships for Apollo Tyres.

Currently, as many as 50 former soldiers across the country are dealers of Apollo Tyres Ltd. And earn their livelihood through a viable business model.

The manufacturing unit in Limda is Apollo Tyres’ pride. Nearly all employees who work in Limda live in Baroda city. The city, its officials and all its inhabitants have always been very supportive of every initiative undertaken by Apollo Tyres. Therefore, to service their emergency health needs Apollo Tyres is supporting the creation of an emergency medical service for the city. The EMS programme is being implemented by a local NGO Lifeline Foudation, experts in highway rescue and run by a doctor trained in emergency rescue and care.

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  Under this initiative all city hospitals, ambulances, doctors and the police force have been trained for emergency preparedness.
  

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  Through a common four-digit phone number, 24-hour emergency help will soon be available to every Baroda resident cutting down on deaths and casualties due to delays in medical care to a patient.
  

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  Apollo Tyres is looking at ways in it can strengthen each of its stakeholders.
  
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  The company believes that any difference it can make in its battle with HIV/AIDS and the trucking community will go a long way in creating a strong Indian economy.
  
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  The company believes that all its initiatives need to be undertaken in a manner where each of its projects will have the ability to sustain themselves even without the company’s active support.
  
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  The dealership given to members of the Indian Armed Forces is a case in points.
  
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  As is its community activities in the local villages.