Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Along with delivering outstanding business performance, MOL Pakistan strives achieve positive change in society through the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and social welfare projects based on our social investment strategy and corporate giving principles that illustrate how investing in people benefits both business and society.Through our CSR initiatives and social welfare projects engaging both internal and external stakeholders, we also illustrate how people come first at MOL Pakistan. People are MOL Pakistan’s most valuable asset, including those who work with and for the company, such as our colleagues and peers, as well as those who live in our local communities where we operate.
At MOL Pakistan, our aim is to conduct business operations in a socially responsible manner which also complies with best industry practices in Pakistan. Fundamental to our business operations is the fulfilment of our social welfare commitments and social responsibilities, where we pay special attention to the needs of our local communities.
MOL Pakistan operates in Pakistan as a responsible corporate entity that is focused on achieving meaningful impact through our triple bottom line. This means that we set out the target of permanent improvement in our performance in economic, environmental, and social areas. Therefore, we regularly undertake CSR initiatives and social welfare projects to improve the quality of life of our communities in our areas of operations based on the following priorities:
Education
Pakistan’s literacy rates remain among the lowest in the world. However, education is a vital human right that plays a key role in the social and economic development of Pakistan. Education is thus one of the most powerful tools in eradicating poverty in the country. As such, MOL Pakistan recognizes that investing in education yields significant social welfare benefits. Unfortunately, such benefits are yet to be availed in disadvantaged and underprivileged communities where MOL Pakistan is focused on providing merit-based student scholarships and supporting women students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); establishing schools for primary and secondary education; and improving educational resources and facilities by providing classroom desks and chairs, academic books, and computers.
With our implementing partners such as The Citizens Foundation (TCF), we have established schools such as the Manzalai Campus in Gurguri Village, about 50 kilometers from the Afghan border, that has been operational since 2012. With over 350 primary students, more than half of whom are girls, it is one of the only schools in the area.
Likewise, MOL Pakistan has taken up the construction of classrooms, examination halls, toilet facilities, sewage systems, and the provision of electricity wherever shortfalls in existing educational facilities are felt in our local communities.
In order to cope with the persistent problem of low voltage and load shedding in our communities when it comes to pre-existing government schools, we have installed solar panels as a source of alternative energy to keep teaching and learning in classrooms whenever in session.
In particular, in supporting the next generation of young talent, MOL Pakistan is proud to include students from with special needs and disabilities from our communities, by ensuring that they are provided with the appropriate therapies and equipment such as hearing aids.
Health
Pakistan is one of the most populous countries in the world, however, national expenditures on social sectors, in particular on healthcare is comparatively less than other countries. Access to basic healthcare services and facilities are severely limited, especially in our communities of Tal Block in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. MOL Pakistan focuses on supporting local administration, provincial and national governmental agencies in supporting health infrastructure and by providing essential healthcare services through Basic Health Units (BHUs), and free medical camps and free eye camps in areas where government health care services and facilities are not available. As such, our BHUs and mobile health units (MHUs) have garnered resounding success.
In rural areas, due to the urgent need for medical wards, offices, and clinics, MOL Pakistan has taken up the construction of fully operational hospital wards, along with providing offices to doctors and nurses, building toilet facilities, providing adequate water supplies, sewage systems, and the provisions for electricity, as well as provided needed medications, medical supplies, and healthcare equipment such as digital x-ray machines, and CCTV cameras as requested by our local communities for their hospitals and clinics.
Prevalent low voltage and load shedding remain to be a major problem in our communities when it comes to basic health care services and facilities. To help keep these health care services and facilities operational, MOL Pakistan has provided community hospitals and BHUs with generators.
Likewise, in order to strengthen pre-existing medical services and facilities in our communities, MOL Pakistan arranges health and hygiene education in our communities.
Where there are no hospitals and BHUs available in our communities, MOL Pakistan regularly arranges free medical camps and free eye camps, organized in part with our implementing partners including Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital.
MOL Pakistan takes great pride in our ability to deliver basic healthcare services and facilities to our local communities where women and girls are often the most disadvantaged due to the lack of female health care providers and issues of gender inequality. We are especially proud of our health interventions that include women and girls wherever possible.
MOL Pakistan also is proud to include those with special needs and disabilities through the regular distribution of wheelchairs in our communities where we operate.
Infrastructure Development and Water Aid
Infrastructure is a key to development and sustained economic growth, especially in remote areas of Pakistan. Thus, MOL Pakistan has focused on developing durable infrastructure and civic amenities for our communities. Keeping in-line with community development priorities, MOL Pakistan has undertaken corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and social welfare projects that improve the standard of living of our local communities in our areas of operation.
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in Pakistan remains to be a major problem for our local communities despite the fact that water is one of the most basic needs for every human being. More efficient use and management of water is critical to addressing the growing demand for clean and safe drinking water due to water scarcity caused by the increasing frequency and severity of droughts and floods resulting from climate change. Therefore, WASH in our local communities is a priority for MOL Pakistan, along with the development of infrastructure, such as providing accessible paved streets and roads with drainage capabilities. While paved streets and roads and drainage is common in more urban areas of Pakistan, remote and rural villages in MOL Pakistan’s areas of operations, often lack these basic necessities.
To address this crisis, and with great effort, MOL Pakistan strives to provide our communities located in our areas of operations to have access to clean and safe drinking water through water filtration units and extensive water supply schemes and the construction of irrigation channels, water harvesting structures such as check dams and mini dams to retain rainwater.
In order to deal with the persistent problem of low voltage and load shedding in our communities when it comes to water supply schemes, we have installed solar panels as a source of alternative energy to help keep water supply pumps operational whenever needed.
Humanitarian Aid and Relief
We at MOL Pakistan are with the nation in times of hardship and strife caused by natural disasters such as earthquakes, droughts, and floods. During such difficult times, we quickly mobilize humanitarian aid and relief to bring stability and rehabilitation to affected areas, including some of the remotest parts of Pakistan where we operate.
Likewise, as one of the first companies to respond to the pandemic in Pakistan we quickly mobilized personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline essential healthcare workers during the shortage, and assisted in the setup of quarantine facilities.
Sports and Cultural Conservation
The importance of sports and games has been increasingly recognized in Pakistan as a means of cultural conservation from educational and social points of view and in terms of promoting the health and well-being in our communities. However, due to very limited sport facilities and equipment, recreational activities and sports are not always available. Therefore, at the request of local youth and the district administrations of our communities, MOL Pakistan regularly sponsors and organizes sports events along with cultural conservation events at community sports galas.
The objective of these community sports galas is to engage people of all ages and abilities in healthy activities by promoting the spirit of sports, inclusivity, and a healthy lifestyle. These community events also serve as a sports and cultural conservation initiative that celebrate the heritage and culture of the subcontinent, including equestrianism such as polo and tent pegging; as well as traditional team-building sports such as kabaddi; cricket matches and tournaments; martial arts demonstrations; and football matches.
