Noor Jehan is a beneficiary of PAVE project from Sheikhupura district. As an early adopter of best crop practices and seed processing techniques, she was selected as lead for village-based seed enterprise (VBSE) in 2020. From then till now, not only has she successfully run her own enterprise, but also created 2 more enterprises using the income from her VBSE. She extended the seed enterprise to include an ‘atta & condiments chakki’ (Grain Grinder), thereby increasing her consumers base and revenue streams.
In addition, she has also setup a small home-based clothes shop. She is also able to purchase livestock, and then sell them after 6 months on a profit basis. The unique thing about this VBSE is that not only is it women-led, but it also engages other women from the community in seed processing as a business, and women farmers as consumers as well. Noor Jehan was also trained as a Master Trainer; therefore she also continues to guide her village female farmers on several aspects of crop management, water conservation and seed processing.
A case study with regards to this initiative, and our objectives and achievements has also been published by Shared Value Australia on their website sharedvalue.org.au.
Saeeda Parveen was born in a small village named Gazi Chachar in the Katcha area in 2001.The district did not have a very good reputation and provided little to no opportunities for education, let alone for females. However, with Engro’s Katcha school intervention, she started her formal education in 2005 at the primary school established by the Engro Foundation and completed it in the next five years. In 2010, she had to discontinue her education due to non-availability of a higher school, the closest being 8 km away. She continued her usual routine of helping in household chores butt never loosing hope in her fate to be able to study again.
When I was 14, I was fixed to marry my cousin. When I became 17, my family started preparing for my wedding. It was at this time, that Engro started planning a middle school for girls in my village. I was ecstatic to find out and asked my parents’ permission to study further. They got upset and scolded me on even thinking about it. However, I kept on fighting and became resistant towards getting married without completing my education, stated Saeeda
It took another 8 years for Engro to establish a girls-only middle school at Ghazi Chachar and a lot of effort by the educational staff to convince parents to enroll females eligible for middle school.
‘So thankfully, after 8 years of finishing primary school, I started my middle schoole. I was super excited when I first went to the middle school. But then, I realized that a lot of time had passed, and I could not go further without revising my primary school education. I spent day and night trying to read textbooks from my primary school. It took me three months and after immense help from my teachers and my own hard work, I was finally able to enroll in class 6. This was like a dream come true.I had never thought I would be able to study further. ’ remarked Saeeda.
We are happy to share that Saeeda completed her middle school education in 2020, got married and managed to convince her husband to continue her high school education at a school outside ‘Katcha’.
‘Education has given me a better life. I feel more self-confident and independent, I am now 20 and happy. Engro’s contribution to the education of girls in our area has changed my life and of many others. I am grateful to Engro for transforming our lives for the better.’ said Saeeda.
In April 2019, Engro Foundation’s corporate impact venturing entity, Feedsol commenced its commercial operations after being incorporated in 2018 as a social enterprise and has managed to be a commercial success ever since. Feedsol essentially provides a product base of animal concentrate silage designed to cater to all aspects of the animal life cycle in 1 ton and 60 kg SKUs.
The silage business has proven to have great social impact especially for small and medium farmers. It has also resulted in improving milk quality, quantity and increasing farmer incomes. The business has seen great improvement in livestock nutrition and health of animals who have been provided with silage and animal concentrate, with increased milk yields of 1 litre/animal immediately within 2 weeks of use. Feedsol has sold 24% of its silage to small farmers, while 15% of it is sold to progressive farmers, with the remaining being sold to medium and large farmers, and the dealer network.
In 2020, FeedsSol has reached 74.5 million rupees in sales, in the period of June- December 2020 compared to 32.5 million rupees the same period in 2019 with forecasts of sales reaching up to 150 million rupees by June 2021.
Gul Bano, a 23 years old, was one of the women who participated in the 5 day cloth-stitching training initiative of SFEP (Phase II) which gave her the skills and resources she needed to stitch and sell clothes and earn enough money for her family, so that her children and extended family would not suffer from poverty due to the dwindling fish stocks in the coasts of Karachi.
When I was a child, casting a net in the sea would bring a good amount of fish. Fishers earned enough money by selling fish, and it was our main source of food. I never thought that one day, this sea would become polluted and fish stocks would reduce significantly.
While WWF Pakistan's project has taken steps towards sustainable fishing, it has also worked to provide alternate livelihood opportunities for many women who can no longer depend on their fishermen husbands or fathers for an income. The ability to work and generate income through alternate means has empowered the women mainly in Ibrahim Hyderi and Rehri to support their families and escape poverty.
I make different designs on clothes of various sizes and material. I can earn PKR 500-600 a day, which is enough to manage my daily expenses such as school fee of my children and medicines. From earning daily income of PKR 70-300 to PKR 500-600 now, this has not only changed my life but also improved my family's life.
WWF Pakistan's Sustainable Fisheries Entrepreneurship Project supported by Engro Foundation has provided training and resources for startups for various professions including stitching, cloth designs and marketing to more than 14 fishing families alongside Karachi’s coast. Gul Bano along with 13 other women from Rehri Goth and Ibrahim Hyderi were trained and provided with sewing machines to be able to earn a sufficient income to improve their lives. By giving the women of coastal areas alternate options of employment, this project succeeded in emancipating them as well as giving them the tools to support their families in the long run.
The 5-day training on stitching and designs turned out to be a life changer for me.
Muhammad Soomar, a local fishermen in his late 40’s, is one of the 20 fishermen who benefited from SFEP distributing 20 ice boxes to help fishermen preserve their catch in 2020. A total of 210 families have benefitted from this initiative under SFEP which commenced 4 years ago. The increase in income has helped improve livelihood and living standard such as health and education of fisher families located at the coast. Some of the families have also started investing in the purchase of new equipment from their increased income by selling better quality fish. This has also resulted in helping many fishers return loans they had taken from middlemen. Iceboxes are helping fishers to contribute towards the conservation of nature and generate better incomes.
There are many benefits of this icebox. It maintains the quality of fish for many days and reduces frequent market visits while fish kept in the icebox can be sold at a better price as well. This has not only increased our earning capacity but helped us save time and fuel, approximately 25 liters per month due to reducing timing of the fishing trip. Considering the benefits of the icebox, other fishermen have started to purchase them in different villages and surrounding areas.
This graph given shows the saving through fishing trip on monthly basis. Some expenses are fixed such as ice block and fuel consumption. It shows that due to improved quality of fish/shrimp Muhammad gets better catch price in the market.
The fishermen who were given iceboxes under Sustainable Fisheries Entrepreneurship Project supported by Engro Foundation consider it as an important fishing asset that has improved their income and reduced their fishing effort.
Each fisherman who has an icebox can sell his fish at PKR 400 to 500 per kilogram which earlier fetched only PKR 300.
Every year thousands of turtles, dolphins, whales, sharks and other such ecologically exotic but endangered species become entangled in fishing nets and eventually die. This is not only threatening the rich marine ecosystem but many unique species are becoming extinct. Experts are of the view that if certain modifications are made in the fishing gear and awareness is raised among fishers, the mortality of these animals can be reduced to a great extent while improving the overall ecosystem.
Introduction of innovative fishing methods and adaptation of technology in fishing has long term benefits such as improving fish stock and increasing the livelihood of the fishers. If fishers are adequately sensitized on these issues, they can readily make changes in their traditional fishing practices and minimize the ‘roadkill on ocean highways’ - a term used for killing of marine life in fishing nets in oceans. Considering the high mortality of endangered, threatened and protected species in marine waters of Pakistan, WWF-Pakistan with support of Engro Foundation developed a strategy to protect these ecologically important animals.
Through this Programme, fishers not only safely release the entangled animals but also collect important data. They record the location, size and other information about bycatch species which helps WWF Pakistan assess the frequency of bycatch of important species. From the last four years, the information about safe release of marine animals kept on pouring in through verbal descriptions and video clips taken by digital cameras or mobile phones, in which fishermen can be seen releasing turtles, sharks, fish or other animals in the best possible way. They are especially careful that these animals do not get injured in the process of disentanglement or during release. We are proud of these fishermen who learned so quickly and are saving many marine animals, often at the cost of cutting through their own nets to release these animals, which is a remarkable achievement.
This program has been incredibly successful and replicated by WWF teams in other countries. Our team has also received invaluable information and video clips of non-target animals being released by fishermen including baleen whales, dolphins, whale sharks, sunfish, sea snakes, marine birds, manta and mobulid rays.
Although the “accidents” on the “ocean highways” cannot be stopped and some of these have resulted in “roadkill,” but with more awareness and a system of “road safety” in place, many endangered species are saved and safely released.
social capital
social capital
social capital Value Creation Hussain Dawood Pledge sustainability goals Investment Footprint i am the change Key Thematic Areas livelihoods, environment and capacity building education and skills development health and infrastructure combatting covid-19 success stories pave katcha schools initiative sustainable fisheries entrepreneurship program (sfep) awardsAt Engro, we believe in creating a sustainable impact and value for the communities we work with through our many initiatives such as community investments, inclusive business projects and impact ventures.
Value Creation
At Engro, we strive to deliver shared value through our inclusive business model. This inclusive business model encompasses our complete value chain. We value and contribute the societal elements that influence our businesses both directly and indirectly. Engro Foundation has been at the forefront of these efforts. Our approach has constantly evolved towards the economic wellbeing and societal uplift of our value chain stakeholders while maintaining profitable operations. Our inclusive business model does not restrict itself to only community based social welfare programs, individual welfare within the society is also a key element to our overall value creation model. The model ensures that financial contributions from Engro Corporation and its subsidiaries, along with our external donors, are invested by Engro Foundation into our key thematic areas of livelihood, skills development, education, health, infrastructure and disaster relief.
hussain dawood pledge
We, as a family and as a Group, are committed to playing our part in helping solve the most pressing issues of our time by helping our country overcome this pandemic. I pray that this Pledge aids the relief efforts and helps to reverse the tide of this pandemic.
At the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, Mr. Hussain Dawood, Chairman Engro Corporation and Dawood Hercules Corporation committed to solving some of the most pressing issues faced by Pakistan and its people. Apart from the obvious impact on health and medical facilities, there were immense social & economic repercussions as a result of the pandemic. Mr. Hussain Dawood thus pledged PKR 1 billion on behalf of his Family and Group companies to support COVID-19 relief efforts across multiple fronts. Key focus areas were thus identified and strategized to channelize this generous support.
The implementation of this pledge is spearheaded and monitored by a ‘Steering Committee’ comprising of top leadership and decision-makers from across the Group, including Dawood Hercules Corporation and Engro Corporation. The Group firmly believes that success is only possible through inclusive initiatives. The Group-wide approach and close collaboration has helped it to leverage the diverse nature of businesses and combined expertise in philanthropic activities of Engro Foundation and The Dawood Foundation to maximize the impact of Hussain Dawood Pledge initiatives. Thus, several implementation partners have been taken onboard to carry out projects aimed at reducing the spread and social and economic impact of the pandemic.
disease prevention, with a major focus on testing and diagnostics
Engro Energy Limited made a PKR 50 million donation to the Government of Sindh Corona Emergency Fund to support the provincial government’s fight against the pandemic.
Engro Fertilizers provided PKR 95 million in financial assistance to The Indus Hospital for the “Sindh Screening Program – Free of Cost” campaign to expand COVID-19 testing capacity across rural Sindh, including Ghotki, Larkana, Nawabshah, Jamshoro, Sukkur, Tharparkar and Badin.
Engro Foundation provided PKR 60 million in financial assistance to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre to expand COVID-19 testing capacity across Southern Punjab, including Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur, and Bahawalnagar.
protecting and enabling healthcare practitioners and other key workers
Engro Vopak and Engro Elengy Terminal teams committed a donation of 459,000 units of personal protective equipment (PPE) including face masks, coveralls, face shields, latex gloves, and intubation boxes worth PKR 100 million.
others - general
Engro Fertilizers, Engro Powergen Qadirpur, and Thar Foundation have also supported the district authorities and local communities through ration distribution and converting their facilities to quarantine centers.
enabling patient care and facilities
Engro Fertilizers also worked closely with Sehat Kahani, a leading e-health solution provider, to use its telemedicine platform to promote quality healthcare for all amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This purpose-driven partnership with Sehat Kahani aimed to benefit citizens by democratizing healthcare access through the integration of technology and innovative solutions, while also reducing the spread of COVID-19 due to no physical contact.
To enhance COVID-19 patient care and facilities, particularly for the underprivileged sections of society, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU)-High Dependency Unit (HDU) was established at Nishtar Medical University & Hospital, Multan a 16-bed, dedicated ICU-HDU facility with medical equipment. The project was implemented and monitored by Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO), a civil society organization with countrywide presence and outreach.
our sustainable impact - united nations sustainable
development goals (SDGs)
Putting our people and consumers first is at the core of what we do at Engro Corporation. Our commitment to improving lives and inspiring meaningful change is not just mere philanthropy but a well thought through strategy towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While the Company continues to grow and evolve with agility, the fundamental essence of the Company to contribute towards solving the pressing sustainable developmental challenges faced by Pakistan.
Our present stakeholders include a much broader audience than just our employees and financial investors. We continue to invest in long term impact oriented sustainable initiatives that impact the lives of communities we work with throughout our value chain, contributing to economic prosperity for the society at large. Engro Corporation aspires to achieve growth on the pillars of a sustainably inclusive business strategy and work with several social development partners on various issues to maximize our social impact for the bottom of the pyramid.
The Company continues to drive infrastructure support for economic development by producing low-cost electricity from flared gas for over 5 million people. With the world’s fastest LNG terminal at competitive rates in the region and developing indigenous power production from Thar coal, we are well placed to deliver on our vision of helping Pakistan to achieve energy security.
During the year, several challenges affected the economic, social, business, and environmental landscape of our country due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, Engro remained steadfast on its mission and continued to help the most vulnerable by pledging PKR 1 billion, to support the Government in its efforts to curb the impact of the virus and protect the people of Pakistan, under the commitment made by our chairman, Mr. Hussain Dawood.
Our vision to inspire change that can result in socio-economic development, and help those in need, led to the development of Engro Foundation . Founded in 2010, Engro Foundation is the dedicated CSR arm for all Engro companies which strives to improve the lives of people living in our communities. In congruence with our values, we have actively been aligning with the SDGs through several impactful initiatives.
our year in review - investment footprint
In the year 2020, our total contributions spent stood at about 1064 million rupees as compared to about 507 million rupees in 2019. This attributes to a net gain of about 110% of monetary spend in our total community investments, about 1059 million rupees were directly contributed by Engro Corporation and its associated subsidiaries and 5 million rupees were contributed by external donors and fund-raising partners. The significant increase mainly pertains to investment in health for COVID-19 amounting to 509 million rupees.
community investments
(rupees in million)by engro foundation
thematic investment
areas 2020
leading the way for social impact
i am the change impact award
I Am The Change (IATC) Impact Awards the flagship initiative of Engro Foundation, showed considerable enthusiasm in 2020 as well. The fundamental change for the year 2020 was that this award was dedicated to our collective struggle against COVID-19. Thus, we recognized the front-liners battling COVID-19 in Pakistan and concluded the awards in December 2020 with a digital closing ceremony. Over 100 applications were received under the 5 nominated categories that included Doctors, Healthcare Workers, Public Sector Health Professionals, NGO/Industry Field Worker and NGO/Industry staff.
These inspiring stories showcase how front-liners are assisting in medical camps, providing essential relief services, setting up emergency protocols, supporting families, unable to leave their homes, conducting information dissemination and awareness drives, fundraising for ration supplies and establishing free legal aid clinics.
Following an extensive review of applications by the external jury and IATC team at Engro Foundation, eight recipients were chosen from diverse backgrounds. This year’s IATC award recipients include Dr. Sonia Qureshi, Dr. Osama Hussain, Dr. Syed Ghazanfar Saleem, Bilqees Abdul Shakoor, Asif Abul Hasan, Raja Muhammad Iqbal, Naveed Pervez and Sana Sharif. Each recipient will be given a cash award of PKR 500,000 in recognition of their efforts.
valuing our communities - key thematic areas
livelihoods, environment and capacity building
In the year 2020, Engro Foundation through the commitment from its external and internal donors and hard work of its implementation partners continued to leverage its efforts in inclusive livelihoods and capacity development initiatives. Our total monetary spend was 47.3 million rupees. This includes our livelihoods program in Daharki, sustainable fisheries program and restoration of mangroves in Karachi, and projects like PAVE, Tech Karo and FeedSol as prominent initiatives.
inputs
total investments amounted to
Rs.
47.3million
thematic initiatives
outputs
key successful outcomes
introduced younger generation to opportunities in field of self-employment and entrepreneurship
trained over 10,000 farmers including 4,000+ females
developed sustainable fishing and ancillary industry
restoration of over 500 hectares of mangrove forests at port qasim
distributed 20 ice boxes and 10 tool kits to help fishermen preserve their catch.
developed an android based app for digitizing data collection for fishermen
PAVE focuses on seed value chain in order to enhance crop capacity and create market linkages for farmers
installed 33 water filters to improve access to clean water
trained 150+ students in coding and digital skills
education and skills development
In the year 2020, Engro foundation continued its support for education in respective communities. It is our standardized practice to adopt schools, through funding, capacity and infrastructure development, ensuring healthy enrollment in lower, middle and high schools. We support more than 42 schools with a total enrollment of more than 8,500 students and teachers in 7 different geographical locations. Our trade-based skills training interventions have resulted in increased incentives for finding decent work and increased employability within our value chains and beyond, while our Technical Training Center in Daharki continues to award technical skills through its Diploma in Associate Engineering, Vocational Training Programs and Trade Apprentice program. In the year 2020, we invested about 133.27 million rupees in this key thematic area. A major share of this investment of about 70.25 million rupees was spent on our school adoption program.
inputs
total investments amounted to
Rs.
133.27million
thematic initiatives
outputs
key successful outcomes
successfully running 42+ adopted schools
started 2 new additional TCF campuses in ghaggar phattak area
around 8,500+ students and teachers enrolled
more than 450+ students enrolled in higher education and specialized trainings
over 245+ students graduated with diploma in associate engineering and specialized vocational trainings
additions of 20+ high end computers at sahiwal
successful adaptation of covid-19 restrictions by complying with sops and introducing blended learning techniques
health and infrastructure
In the year 2020, together with our partners, Engro has invested about 67 million rupees in running healthcare facilities and infrastructure development to facilitate basic and quality health services in our neighboring communities. We currently operate 7 health centers and clinics along with health programs and medical camps; in the year ending 2020, approximately 41,000 patients were treated. In addition to our health centres, we also have setup 5 water purification plants providing an average of 3,000 liters per day of clean water to local inhabitants of Ghaggar Phattak and Razzakabad.
inputs
total investments amounted to
Rs.
67million
thematic initiatives
outputs
key successful outcomes
provided 7.3 million litres of clean water in 2020
over 5,477 patients were vaccinated for hepatitis C
conducted health awareness and counselling session to over 9,840 individuals
more than 41,000 treated and under treatment in 2020
promoted quality healthcare and safety to remote and under privileged areas such as daharki, qadirpur , ghotki and sukkur
combatting covid-19
Engro Corporation, along with its subsidiaries, deployed all the necessary resources to boost the public health sector under the Hussain Dawood pledge and contributed about 509.3 million rupees to construct basic healthcare facilities such as testing and isolation centers. We have also always supported the public administration by providing basic human necessities such as food and shelter, and conducted various disinfection drives to break the chain of the spread.
inputs
total investments amounted to
Rs.
509.3million
thematic initiatives
outputs
key successful outcomes
established 3 hdu facilities and 1 isolation center with over 200 beds
more than 200 million rupees were provided as financial assistance for testing and diagnostic
distributed ration bags to 1,500+ families
disinfected daharki town and surrounding villages with bowser sprays
distributed 5000 pamphlets to public for spreading awareness about safety measures for covid-19
supported minority community emergency situations by providing basic utilities
over 353,500 ppe units delivered to 31 medical frontline facilities
over 100 specialists engaged through telemedicine application “sehat kahani” for virtual consultations
enhancing livelihoods in our value chains-success stories
partnerships and value expansion for inclusive seed systems (PAVE)
In 2017, Partnerships and Value Expansion for Inclusive Seed Systems (PAVE) project was launched as a business inclusive intervention, jointly funded by DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) Australia and Engro Fertilizers. It aims at developing an all-inclusive seed value chain of rice, wheat and vegetables in Pakistan, making it more inclusive for smallholder farmers by building on their capacities and creating market linkages for them. PAVE has turned out to be a resounding success story for us and our value chain stakeholders, as it builds on the concept of inclusivity and shared value creation. It has positively impacted our agricultural value chain as it has not only increased the crop yields but determined pathways to get maximum profits from their produce by capitalizing on the opportunities provided for market linkages. One of its key inclusive value pointers is the dissemination of much needed awareness and necessary skills for smallholder farmers for better crop yields, less input costs and technology centric agricultural practices and have invigorated the entrepreneurial ecosystem within its geographical area of focus.
Katcha Schools initiative
Engro Foundation under the Katcha Schools initiative runs 10 primary schools and 3 middle schools in Katcha (riverine) belt of Ghotki district. A fully functional exclusive girls’ middle school is part of this initiative that has brought about a fundamental change in the mindset of the community at Ghazi Chachar towards female literacy, empowerment, and inclusion. We showcase the story of one such young female.
sustainable fisheries entrepreneurship program (sfep)
The ‘Sustainable Fisheries Entrepreneurship Program’ (SFEP) is the result of partnership between Engro and WWF Pakistan. The project aims to bring in sustained improvements in fishing knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the fishermen and improved livelihoods (via markets) and fisher-folk households' health conditions in Ibrahim Hyderi and Rehri villages. The program aims to increase capacities of fishermen, reduce harmful fishing practices, provide alternative livelihoods through skills transfer to reduce pressure on marine fisheries resources, raise awareness regarding marine resources and support the study of the impacts of large-scale fishing and industrial activities on Pakistani waters. Under the alternative livelihood component, SFEP conducted 5-day training on candle-making for 6 female fishers, 5-day training on cloth-stitching for 14 female fishers and 6-day training beautician skills for 18 female fishers of the community.
awards and achievement
In recognition of promoting UNGC Principles and Sustainable Development Goals, Engro Corporation won the “Living the UN Global Compact Business Sustainability Award” for 2020 in the Large National Category. After receiving the award for a third year consecutively, Engro Foundation’s General Manager, Favad Soomro stated the following “We are humbled to be recognized with the UNGC Sustainability award for the third consecutive year, which is a testament to our commitment of upholding the UNGC principles. In the post-COVID world, we pledge more than ever to create a long-lasting socio-economic impact in the communities with our inclusive business model approach”.
Our flagship Project PAVE was awarded the “Rushlight Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry & Biodiversity Award” held in UK. This is the third global recognition for Project PAVE (Partnerships and Value Expansion for Inclusive Seed Systems in Pakistan) a remarkable feat of continued success, as it has already been named a recipient of the “Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) 2019” in Taipei, Taiwan, and “Best Shared Value Project Through Cross-Sector Partnership” in Melbourne, Australia, at the 2019 Asia Pacific Shared Value Awards.
Congratulating the Engro team on winning the accolade, the Rushlight organizers remarked Engro Corporation was the first entry ever from Pakistan thus the win in the second most popular category was highly impressive, especially considering that it was Pakistan and Engro’s maiden year. Engro Corporation managed to win amongst stiff competition from countries, including the UK, US, Italy, Switzerland, Brazil, India and Taiwan.