Corporate Social Responsibility at Somnet

At Somnet, we believe that considering the interests of society and the environment is an integral part of good business practice. We look at the impact our business activities have on customers, employees, communities and the environment as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy.

Taking a wider view

Successful businesses have the power to make a real difference. Economic performance and social responsibility can go hand in hand, when there is a genuine consideration of our impact on the environment and communities in which we live and work.

While being green is a valid part of this philosophy, it’s just a tiny part of the bigger picture. At Somnet, we view Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a truly holistic challenge that embraces not just green issues, but ethics, attitudes and a response to genuine social needs.

This belief in positive behaviour – be it humanitarian aid and disaster relief, arts, culture,education, science or social welfare – has been embedded in the way we work for decades.

Somnet's Corporate Code of Conduct incorporates our guiding Three Selfs principles: Self Awareness, Self Management, and Self Motivation. We’re proud of our record as a responsible company and hope this information helps our customers make informed choices about the products they buy or services they use – and the company they get them from.

Lighting up lives

ANTYODAY ANATH ASHRAM, PAUSHI (Contai, East Midnapore)

Antyoday Anath Ashram is an orphanage run by a gentleman named Balaram Karan in a village named Paushi, about 18 kms ahead of Contai. Total distance from Kolkata is 143 kms (ex - Vidyasagar Setu).

Balaram is a man of limited means, whose resources have been all the more drained dry by the increasing number of children in his Ashram, which now houses 70 children (35 boys and 35 girls) between the age group of 4 and 19. The orphanage, formed in 1995, runs on the sporadic finances received from kind people all around. He and his wife are the "parents" to all these children. Balaram runs a primary school - "Paushi Khagendra Shishu Shiksha Kendra" - where these orphans as well as children from nearby villages attend Class 1 to Class 4.

As no mains power supply was available at the Ashram, the children used to study at night with kerosene lamps. Kerosene lamps don’t help much in providing the light people need to work, read or feel safe. The kerosene lamps were dirty and pollute the climate and affect the lungs of children. Moreover these lamps can cause serious fire hazards.

Somnet wanted to change this situation for small children. Somnet engineers under the guidance of their technical director Shantanu Som, planned to install a Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) system for the lighting requirement. A technical team assessed the need of the ashram, designed an off-grid system and portable solar lanterns. To keep the cost under control and to deliver maximum utility for every rupee spent, the design team of Somnet took a step further to design, manufacture and install the system in-house.

The technical team swiftly designed, produced and installed an off-grid SPV system and produced 10 nos. of Solar Lanterns and delivered them to Antyodoy.

To ensure sustainability and trouble free operation, Somnet trained two local technicians and developed their skills on the system and the solar lanterns. This ensured reliability and uninterrupted operation in years to come. The right for Education

SOS Children's Village-Kolkata

SOS Children's Villages is an international non-governmental social development organisation that has been active in the field of children's rights and committed to children's needs and concerns since 1949. In 132 countries and territories the activities focus on children without parental care and children of families in difficult circumstances. In India, SOS Children’s Villages works out of 40 locations, 122 allied and Community Projects, 11 publicity and fundraising offices. SOS Children's Villages focuses on family-based, long-term care of children who can no longer grow up with their biological families. At SOS Children's Villages and SOS Youth Facilities they experience reliable relationships and love once again, meaning that they can recover from what they have experienced, which has often been traumatic. They grow up in a stable family environment, and are supported individually until they become independent young adults. Somnet has been part of the endeavours of SOS Children’s Villages, Kolkata by sponsoring a child as a part of its CSR initiative.

Matrivani-CERN-COMPASS:

Matrivani Institute of Experimental Research and Education, Kolkata has been participating in experiments at CERN, Geneva since the 1970s with aid from government bodies, financial institutions and private organizations. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics, finding out what the Universe is made of and how it works. At CERN, the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments are used to study the basic constituents of matter — the fundamental particles. By studying what happens when these particles collide, physicists learn about the laws of Nature.

The institute took part in the Compass experiment at CERN and was represented by Suddhashankar Dasgupta, Sudebsankar Dasgupta, Soubarna Das, Lova Dhara, Sabyasachi Sarkar and Lily Sinha. The COMPASS (Common Muon and Proton Apparatus for Structure and Spectroscopy) experiment makes use of the CERN SPS high-intensity muon and hadron beams for the investigation of the nucleon spin structure and the spectroscopy of hadrons. Somnet has regularly contributed to the pool of this remarkable organization and part-sponsored the amount needed for conveyance and accommodation for some of the Scientists visiting CERN from Matrivani Institute of Experimental Research and Education.