All of ZEEL’s sustainability initiatives are covered under the philosophy of ‘Zee Is Green.’ They have a mission to raise awareness, build capacity, and enable widespread adoption of economically viable, environmentally restorative and socially constructive practices. We have been taking some key initiatives in this direction to create a more sustainable world.
Rooted in the company’s corporate brand philosophy of ‘Extraordinary Together,’ the Dibba Lautao campaign helped to restore life in the flood-affected state of Kerala by utilizing the strength of its network across television, digital and social media platforms. The campaign succeeded in sensitizing viewers towards the need to continue providing aid to the state as it began its rehabilitation process. The campaign was based around the Indian spirit of giving back. It encouraged people to donate to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) to help Kerala recuperate from the natural disaster.
In collaboration with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., ZEEL released a nationwide campaign on ‘Project Prerna’ on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Designed to highlight the challenges faced by women farmers and to empower them as change-makers in agriculture, the campaign was harped on the spirit of Prerna or inspiration.
Launched in March 2018, Project Prerna had the core objective of transforming the lives of women farmers and providing them with better social status and respect in society. So far, it has been activated in 60 villages in partnership with BAIF Institute for Sustainable Livelihoods and Development (BISLD). It aims to empower over 6,000 women farmers in these villages to herald major changes in agricultural practices.
ZEEL lends support to Subhash Chandra Foundation’s flagship program Sarthi, a platform to sensitize people and make them aware of their rights and duties along with government entitlements. Sarthi enables people to bridge the gap between the beneficiary and the solution provider. So far, the program has empowered 292k lives from the marginalized communities in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
Water scarcity remains the biggest problem in rural Maharashtra. To tackle perennial water scarcity, Zee Marathi aired Toofaan Aalaya, a show hosted by Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, which highlighted their organization, Paani Foundation’s work in rural Maharashtra to fight drought. The show aims to motivate, train and empower people to create drought-free Maharashtra. Zee Marathi, with the highest reach in Maharashtra, helped the show to reach a sizeable audience and encouraged countless volunteers to either join this cause or support it monetarily. The resulting movement is redefining the norms of water conservation and bringing a radical change in rural Maharashtra.
Zee Anmol provided relief to 240 of the most severely drought-affected villages in Maharashtra with its initiative ‘Khushi Ki Boondein.’ Launched in 2015, the fourth edition of this initiative had ‘Zee Anmol Khushi Ki Boondein’ tankers distributing 2.7 million liters of water to various districts, including Osmanabad, Latur, Nanded, Jalna, Jalgaon, Beed, Akola, and Buldhana. Through this initiative, Zee Anmol attempted to bring relief to some of the most water-deficient parts of the state.
For Zee Marathi, farmer community is one of the loyal audience segments and it takes pride in facilitating change in their lives. To enable farmers to get better prices for their produce, Zee Marathi launched a digital platform, ‘Kisaan Abhimaan.’ This free platform brings together all related stakeholders – farmers, wholesalers, retailers, and customers, and allows them to register as sellers or buyers. Besides facilitating better prices for farm produce, Kisaan Abhimaan also provides easy access to information from local to national markets. The platform is available in 10 regional languages, which helps people across India to benefit from it. The app now has a registered base of over 50,000 farmers.