Though we’re a UK bank, that doesn’t stop us from making a difference around the world. We have multiple offices in India and share 1% of our group profits with charities around the country. One of our most recent charity sponsorships was to improve sanitation for two Gurgaon schools, and on a recent visit to our Gurugram offices, Director of ESG Strategy Matt Bullivant and Head of Regulatory and Government Affairs Nick Lee were able to see the impact of these efforts first-hand.
We partnered up with the Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE India), which focuses on new ways of thinking to completely change and improve the lives of low-income communities, both in big cities and more rural areas. The funding of this project was concentrated on improving the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) infrastructure for two government schools in Gurgaon.
Nick and Matt visited one of the two schools to see the impact of the building of a new toilet block that has been built in the school. Part of the funding also goes towards continuing to educate the children on the importance of keeping good hygiene both at school and at home. And with over 1000 children using this new toilet block, this funding is making a difference in many young lives.
Alongside the building of the toilet block, we helped the school with its ongoing journey to becoming zero waste. They have a composting system, which is used for plants around the school compound. We have also helped to install rooftop rainwater harvesting systems in the schools and set up Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) to recycle the water used in the school.
Nick was impressed with the difference we’re making, and being invited into the schools was a great chance to see the impact of the benefits we’re creating worldwide. “I got to see the difference our funding has made in improving sanitation and hygiene in schools. Meeting the children and their teachers directly, seeing their enthusiasm for learning and excitement at meeting us all was fantastic – a real highlight of my time working at OakNorth.”
On top of our work with CURE India, we’ve also been a part of other health and education-focused projects.
🔬We’ve funded OakNorth STEM Scholarships for merit to support 125 female students studying STEM subjects in India.
📚We supported ChildFund India to fund additional education equipment for 2000 children from 17 schools in rural Bangalore.
🍛We partnered with NGO Seva Mandir to transform local ICDS centres (government-run preschool education centres) and help children and parents fight malnutrition in 20 Udaipur villages.
🌱We celebrate our Indian employee’s work anniversaries by planting a tree in their name. And we’ve worked with the SankalpTaru Foundation to plant over 500 fruit trees in the last year. The trees planted also help local farmers boost their income.
In addition to our charity initiatives in India, we’ve also committed to supporting several projects in the UK. From football camps opening up the sport to children around London to bringing healthy eating options to more families at home, there are plenty of ways we’re working to make a difference with our charitable efforts. Alongside the charitable projects we’ve backed recently, we’re also committed to meeting our environmental goals and improving our sustainability efforts across all parts of our business. You can find out more about how we’re building a sustainable future here.
