CSR projects must be rooted in local realities for lasting impact: EESL CEO

New Delhi: Akhilesh Kumar Dixit, CEO of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), has emphasised that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects must be designed around local challenges and ground realities to deliver sustained outcomes, underlining that outcome-driven CSR is no longer optional.

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Speaking at a roundtable on ‘Emerging Accountability Imperatives in the Context of Social Investment and Sustained Impact in India’, Dixit highlighted that many CSR initiatives fall short due to inadequate planning and weak post-implementation monitoring. He noted that without continuous verification and accountability, even well-funded projects risk achieving only partial impact.

The roundtable also marked the launch of IMPETUS – the CSR Impact Assessment Initiative, a joint initiative of FICCI and APITCO, aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability and outcome-based reporting in CSR programmes. The initiative seeks to help organisations move beyond spend-based reporting to credible, impact-led CSR narratives aligned with regulatory and global sustainability frameworks.

Industry leaders at the event stressed that CSR in India has evolved from philanthropy to a strategic tool for sustainable development, governance and long-term value creation, with impact assessment emerging as a core requirement under the Companies Act framework. Senior representatives from PSUs and corporates participated in the discussion, reinforcing the need for robust impact measurement to ensure meaningful and measurable social outcomes.

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