This week, I accepted a challenge from Patrick Decker of Xylem to discuss Wipro’s commitment to communities and the environment.  This is part of the Business Roundtable’s Sustainability Challenge #EmbracingSustainability.

We all know Wipro as a leading global information technology company that works on cutting-edge and emerging technologies that help our clients adapt to the digital world.  However, we are also a company that believes that corporations are an integral part of society that must give back to the communities they operate in. Why? Very simply – because we believe “it’s the right thing to do.”

As part of the challenge, I decided to focus on Wipro’s work in the US, and specifically our commitment to building stronger communities through improving public school education.  I highlighted two of the great programs we are supporting – Wipro Science Education Fellowship and our partnership with First Book:   

We believe that teachers are one of the key backbones to a strong and vibrant society. Through the Wipro Science Education Fellowship (or Wipro SEF) we are funding professional development fellowships for K-12 public school teachers in urban and rural school districts.  The goal is to make our public school teachers stronger STEM educators and enable them to make sustainable change for students in their communities. This rigorous and selective fellowship is a two-year, 225-hour commitment that will enable participating teachers to not only become stronger teachers and leaders in the classroom, but in their school districts as well.  Today, Wipro SEF has more than 400 teachers in the program, covering 35 school districts, each supported by a local university, impacting tens of thousands of students.

In many communities, books and educational resources are scarce. Inadequate resources will inevitably lead to poor educational outcomes. To empower students and help them overcome some of these obstacles, Wipro has committed to injecting new books and educational supplies into the communities in which we operate. Since 2015, in collaboration with our nonprofit partner, First Book, Wipro has donated more than 215,000 books to at-risk children in the US and Canada, impacting over 100,000 students. In addition, hundreds of my colleagues at Wipro have fundraised, and started reading and science clubs, with the intent of providing support and encouragement to children who desperately need it.

Globally, Wipro’s commitment to the environment is substantial and enduring. We began implementing ecological sustainability initiatives in 2006, focused on four broad areas:

1. cutting carbon emissions,
2. conserving water,
3. reducing landfills, and
4. regenerating biodiversity.

And our environmental sustainability efforts have yielded outstanding results:

• Wipro experienced a 25% reduction in energy consumption on a per capita basis over the last three years.
• Nearly one-third of our energy is from renewable sources
• Today, 41% of water on Wipro campuses is recycled

I’m humbled to share that these efforts have not gone unnoticed.

Wipro was recognized as a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the 9th year in a row and named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute for an 8th successive year.

For decades, we have remained focused on giving back to communities through values which are defined through “The Spirit of Wipro” – four principles that represent who we are and who we want to be.  They are the touchstone for all that we do in the US and throughout the world. These values are so important to us that we articulate them on the back of our business cards.  

As we approach 2019, there is no slowing us down.  We remain committed to high ethical standards and promoting support for communities and the environment through every action.  To learn more about this work and the Spirit of Wipro values, please watch the video below or visit https://www.wipro.com/sustainability/.