5 Reasons to Maintain a Strong Campus Recruiting Program
During This Economic Downturn
By John Flato
In late 2000 and 2001, several dramatic events occurred simultaneously: the dotcoms became the “dotbombs,” the economy took a steep downturn, and the tragic events that occurred on September 11th pushed the country into war and significantly impacted the already battered economy. Corporate layoffs were announced daily. Companies stopped hiring, cut spending on marketing and training, and placed restrictions on travel and other non-essential spending. Some companies shut down their campus recruiting programs entirely.
Sound familiar? This is not unlike what we are seeing today. According to the newly-released Michigan State University 2008-2009 Recruiting Trends Survey, total college hiring will decrease by 10% in the coming year. While belt-tightening during an economic downturn is unavoidable, we argue that campus recruiting activities should not be eliminated altogether. We have been in the staffing business for 25 years and run large-scale campus recruiting programs at Fortune 500 companies, such as Agilent Technologies, Ernst & Young, CIGNA, and Honeywell. We have experienced as many down-markets as we have market upswings.
When faced with tough financial conditions, here are five reasons why smart companies continue to recruit on campus.
Improve the quality of the talent you are able to recruit
While other companies are licking their wounds and shutting down their campus recruiting machines, smart companies use this time to recruit at better schools than they have in the past to attract the best of the best. Because fewer companies are recruiting on campus, these smart companies know they can have their pick of the talent litter. “The current economic downturn creates a vacuum of sorts where some companies’ absence allows you to woo the best in class. A year ago, these students would have been already locked up by companies via a bidding war in September,” says Adam Ward, manager of Global Campus Recruiting at Qualcomm. Thus, tough economic times can actually open up doors for companies that seize the moment to compete for top talent.
Block and tackle competitors
Smart companies know that this is a great time to take market share away from competitors, and this goes for talent, too. “For a company like Qualcomm that is not a consumer-branded organization, this is an opportune time to do some real brand-building beyond the typical career week visit. We see this as an opportunity to make several return trips to campus and really maximize the time where there are not many other companies that are sharing the stage,” says Qualcomm’s Ward. Now is the time to increase your presence on campus, refine and intensify your targeted messaging to top talent, and jump into the hearts and minds of student job seekers who might have never before considered your firm.
Thwart looming retirements and a drain of intellectual capital
It is no secret that the next 5 to 10 years will produce a wave of baby boomer retirements. Hiring campus talent year after year ensures that your company builds a pipeline of future leaders. Gaps in your campus recruiting intake programs can lead to gaps in your talent supply and a weak source of talent waiting on the sidelines.
As Steve Canale, GE’s US manager of Recruiting and Staffing Services, notes: “GE’s global campus talent acquisition recruitment is mission critical — entry-level talent joins our leadership development programs and helps to guarantee our future leadership pipeline. We could not protect our knowledge transfer and be thought leaders without a steady state of top campus talent joining GE every year. Talent development is a core competency at GE and is taken very seriously across the organization.” Truly strategic companies will follow GE’s lead and recruit recent graduates who will join the company, cultivate their skills, and become the future leaders of the company.
Campus continuity pays off
Ask IBM. During the economic recession that took place in the early 1990s, IBM took a hiatus from campus recruiting. According to Eletta Kershaw, program manager of IBM’s U.S. college recruiting program, “As I understand it, it took us some time to regain a foothold at our key schools.” Today, IBM’s campus recruiting landscape looks very different. IBM actively recruits at more than one hundred universities across the country. Its presence goes far beyond traditional recruiting events: recruiters sit on advisory boards and panels, guest lecture in classes, and partner with diversity organizations. They also show students how at IBM, they can tackle meaningful projects that help the world work better. Says Kershaw, “Students like to know that as today’s world has become smaller, flatter and ’smarter, they can make a difference, from creating new green technologies to solving food shortages through smarter distribution channels.”
Their now long-standing involvement at their key recruiting schools has enabled them to get this message across to students loud and clear, and their recruitment brand has become well known among university students. These key relationships are essential to getting the best students year after year, regardless of the economic situation.
Campus recruiting is the most cost-effective way to source and retain top diverse talent
Anyone at Procter & Gamble will tell you that campus recruiting is the lifeblood of the company. Nearly 100% of P&G’s fresh talent comes from its campus recruiting program. P&G realized many years ago that sourcing top talent from the world’s best colleges ensures that P&G can recruit a large number of highly skilled candidates while avoiding the high costs of search firm fees and excessive salaries. Moreover, these recent graduate hires are groomed and promoted from within, enabling P&G to lead the way in employee retention and realize a significant return on its investments in recruiting.
One of the best-kept staffing secrets is that employees who originally came into the company as interns feel a sense of belonging and are retained at higher rates than employees who did not start as interns. This is particularly true of employees from underrepresented minority groups, which can be the most difficult and expensive group of candidates to recruit. A strategic campus recruiting program that includes a robust internship program enables a firm to gain access to top diverse talent in a cost effective way.
However, the key to a truly sustainable campus recruiting program is scalability. Even during tough economic times, many campus recruiting programs continue to thrive, and strategic companies are able to continue to have a presence on campus because their hiring programs can be scaled to appropriate levels to fit the demand. Robin Renowden, Intel’s global college recruiting manager, says it best: “It’s prudent for college recruiting managers to have a predefined, scalable recruiting strategy that enables them to dial-up and dial-down as the external winds of change are blowing. The strategy should define a minimum level of campus engagement that continues even in the worst of times. Given today’s economic environment, we need to dial our recruiting down but not be myopic. Without a predetermined strategy that outlines how to utilize resources depending on various levels of demand for talent, college recruiting organizations run the risk of being forced to cut too far.”
Conclusion
The best-managed companies with visionary leaders will seize the opportunity to exploit the current economic morass. Today, students are eschewing the glamour and high earning potential of the bulge bracket firms for more stable and secure positions in government and industry. There is no better time in recent memory for your organization to swoop up top talent from universities. Timing is everything and the time is now.
John Flato is vice president of research & consulting for Vault.com. A veteran campus recruiting expert, he has led campus recruiting programs for major organizations including AlliedSignal (now Honeywell), CIGNA, and Ernst & Young. He also served as the director of career management at Georgetown University’s MBA School. For more helpful articles like this one check out the AgCareers.com Newsletter Archives at
http://www.agcareers.com/info.cfm?task=narticles.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Agri -E-Newsletter
Monsanto to release drought resistant GM cornMonsanto is set to launch a drought resistant corn crop in next 3-4 years, which it will be doing with the technology support from BASF scientists. Monsanto spends $2.6 million per day on research for discovering and evaluating genes with promising results for yield enhancement. The Company is likely to release this drought tolerant corn crop by 2012 in the United States and Canada. This would be first GM crop, resistant to drought. This crop contains cspB gene fromBacillus subtilis, which helps plant to muddle through the drought stress. This will indeed be very useful for yield stability in areas with unpredictable rainfalls.
Indian Scientists testing GM fishScientists at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) at Hyderabad are experimenting on famous variety of fish carp i.e. Rohu with making some alterations in its genetic makeup, which should help getting it to develop faster and bigger. This would be an auto-transgenic fish, in which inserted genes are a pulverized blend of its own genome. This GM fish will help increasing its production manifold in half the time it takes in normal fishes to grow to consumable size. Rohu is the most common and widely consumed variety of fish in India. Since these researches are in initial stage, exact yield potential may only be determined after regular field trials. This program is funded by Department of Biotechnology. CCMB is also in process of preparing initial draft to test bio-safety of these GM fishes.
News Highlights
Domestic News
Mango mania down due to unfavorable weather; some popular varieties vanishing`Aam' remains special and dearer this season to `aam aadmi' due to dearth in its supply. Mango production this year is feared to decline by 20% due to weather woes in major producing areas. In some states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh, higher than optimum temperature and dry weather during flowering has been blamed for this decline, whereas in West Bengal cyclonic storm `Aila' wiped out a substantial crop area particularly in Malda and Murshidabad regions. More than 40% of crop is feared to have been damaged due to aberrant climate conditions followed by flood in West Bengal during last week of May. Many popular varieties like Langada, Amrapali and Lakshmanbhog etc., are grown in this state. There are nearly 1500 varieties of mangoes grown in India. This diversity however needs to be maintained and requires some special attention. Significant premiums for most liked varieties versus others led to simultaneous shrink in focus of orchardists to select varieties. Some of the very popular varieties from Malihabaad namely Taimoorlang, Husanaara, Aabehayat and Zawahiri are on the verge of extinction. Share of these varieties from Malihabad is being grabbed by other popular varieties namely Dussheri, Chausa, Lucknowi, etc.
Monsanto India seeks approval to sell genetically modified cornMonsanto India Limited is in the process of introducing genetically modified corn, which will be tolerant to weed killers and resistant to pests. According to senior officials of Monsanto, the company has got approval from Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) for conducting field trials for assessing bio-safety of the product against target weeds and pest. This crop will likely yield 8-10% higher than normal cultivars now in vogue. GM corn at present is cultivated in 16 countries, but not in India. Considering availability limit of total arable land, GM crops seem to be offering panacea for the energy and food security problem of ever rising population of the world. Monsanto introduced its genetically modified cotton varieties in India in 2002, which received acceptance by Indian farmers and became popular during these few years.
Orange growers suffer weather woes
This year less favorable weather situation in Vidarbha region is feared to have affected orange crops during second season, which normally accounts for more than 50% of year's harvest. Orange is harvested twice in the state i.e. first in April and second in September-October. Maharashtra is the top producing state of orange and nearly 65% of it is grown in Vidarbha region. Vidarbha region annually produces 5 lakh tonnes of orange. Government has chosen Nagpur and Amravati districts for the setting up of Agri Export Zone (AEZ) for oranges. Government is spending lakhs of rupees in providing training to the farmers on both pre and post harvest technology in this region, as a part of capacity building in this direction.
Apple growers in Himachal upset with weather advances & global competition
Apple growers in Himachal Pradesh are bearing the heat of meltdown both environmentally and economically. Rise in average temperature and lack of adequate snowfall in major producing districts of Himachal Pradesh have been major limiting factors against normal crop yields in recent years. Himachal Pradesh is known as Apple State of the country, where almost half of the state population is engaged in various ways with production of apple. Beside weather woes, rising competition with imported apples from China and Australia has added to the worries of local growers. Harvest in state normally picks up in July and continues till October. Till July, locals expect that imported apple will continue to command good demand.
Apple and mango crops under crop insurance scheme in Himachal Pradesh
State government of Himachal Pradesh has brought apple and mango under insurance scheme. These crops will be covered under a scheme of `Agriculture Insurance Company' which will cover crop risks against temperature, rains, chilling hours and some other natural vagaries; however, it does not cover these crop against risks of hail-storm. Initially, 25-30% of crop area in the state is likely to be covered. For Apple, this scheme will initially be launched in development blocks of Jubbal, Rohru, Theog, Narkanda and Chirgaon in Shimla and sub-division of Ani in Kullu district. For Mango, areas selected are development blocks of Nurpur, Indore, Nagrota, Surian and Fatehpur in Kangra district. Maximum liability for an apple tree in age bracket of 5-14 years has been fixed at Rs 375 against premium of Rs 45, whereas for a tree in the age-bracket of 14-40, maximum liability on insurance company has been fixed at Rs 700 per tree against fixed premium of Rs 86 per tree. This premium would be borne on a 50:50 basis by the farmers, which means farmers will just have to pay 50 percent of the premium and the rest will be paid by the government.
Maharashtra govt intends to set up 8 more EFCs for horticulture produce
Government of Maharashtra has planned to set up 8 export facility centers (EFC) for horticultural products in Maharashtra. Already 10 such EFCs are operational in the state and five are under process. These eight proposed EFCs will be in addition of above. EFC proposed in Aurangabad will have facility of vapor heat treatment. Other proposed EFCs include one for orange at Amravati, for Kesar mango at Beed and for fruits & vegetables at Rahata (Ahmednagar) , two for pomegranates at Malegaon (Nashik) and Atpadi (Sangli), two for banana at Yaval (Jalgaon) and Indapur (Pune). This proposal had been submitted by Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB) to Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA). Cost of setting up these EFCs is projected at USD 11.58 million.
International News
New rice varieties by IRRIInternational Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has developed three new varieties of rice and is claimed to be flood-tolerant, drought-tolerant and salt-tolerant, respectively. These varieties are tested through the National Cooperative Testing (NCT) program of Philippine Rice Research institute (PhilRice). This country has been struggling for stable rice supply in recent years. So, such efforts by IRRI are both essential and worthy. First phase of field trials and evaluation of these varieties is completed successfully and now, it would be recommended by National Seed Industry Council for the official approval. Philippine has always been a net importing country of rice and stands far off achieving self-sufficiency in its production. These varieties are likely to get approval for commercial release by end of the current year.
Indian Scientists testing GM fishScientists at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) at Hyderabad are experimenting on famous variety of fish carp i.e. Rohu with making some alterations in its genetic makeup, which should help getting it to develop faster and bigger. This would be an auto-transgenic fish, in which inserted genes are a pulverized blend of its own genome. This GM fish will help increasing its production manifold in half the time it takes in normal fishes to grow to consumable size. Rohu is the most common and widely consumed variety of fish in India. Since these researches are in initial stage, exact yield potential may only be determined after regular field trials. This program is funded by Department of Biotechnology. CCMB is also in process of preparing initial draft to test bio-safety of these GM fishes.
News Highlights
Domestic News
Mango mania down due to unfavorable weather; some popular varieties vanishing`Aam' remains special and dearer this season to `aam aadmi' due to dearth in its supply. Mango production this year is feared to decline by 20% due to weather woes in major producing areas. In some states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh, higher than optimum temperature and dry weather during flowering has been blamed for this decline, whereas in West Bengal cyclonic storm `Aila' wiped out a substantial crop area particularly in Malda and Murshidabad regions. More than 40% of crop is feared to have been damaged due to aberrant climate conditions followed by flood in West Bengal during last week of May. Many popular varieties like Langada, Amrapali and Lakshmanbhog etc., are grown in this state. There are nearly 1500 varieties of mangoes grown in India. This diversity however needs to be maintained and requires some special attention. Significant premiums for most liked varieties versus others led to simultaneous shrink in focus of orchardists to select varieties. Some of the very popular varieties from Malihabaad namely Taimoorlang, Husanaara, Aabehayat and Zawahiri are on the verge of extinction. Share of these varieties from Malihabad is being grabbed by other popular varieties namely Dussheri, Chausa, Lucknowi, etc.
Monsanto India seeks approval to sell genetically modified cornMonsanto India Limited is in the process of introducing genetically modified corn, which will be tolerant to weed killers and resistant to pests. According to senior officials of Monsanto, the company has got approval from Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) for conducting field trials for assessing bio-safety of the product against target weeds and pest. This crop will likely yield 8-10% higher than normal cultivars now in vogue. GM corn at present is cultivated in 16 countries, but not in India. Considering availability limit of total arable land, GM crops seem to be offering panacea for the energy and food security problem of ever rising population of the world. Monsanto introduced its genetically modified cotton varieties in India in 2002, which received acceptance by Indian farmers and became popular during these few years.
Orange growers suffer weather woes
This year less favorable weather situation in Vidarbha region is feared to have affected orange crops during second season, which normally accounts for more than 50% of year's harvest. Orange is harvested twice in the state i.e. first in April and second in September-October. Maharashtra is the top producing state of orange and nearly 65% of it is grown in Vidarbha region. Vidarbha region annually produces 5 lakh tonnes of orange. Government has chosen Nagpur and Amravati districts for the setting up of Agri Export Zone (AEZ) for oranges. Government is spending lakhs of rupees in providing training to the farmers on both pre and post harvest technology in this region, as a part of capacity building in this direction.
Apple growers in Himachal upset with weather advances & global competition
Apple growers in Himachal Pradesh are bearing the heat of meltdown both environmentally and economically. Rise in average temperature and lack of adequate snowfall in major producing districts of Himachal Pradesh have been major limiting factors against normal crop yields in recent years. Himachal Pradesh is known as Apple State of the country, where almost half of the state population is engaged in various ways with production of apple. Beside weather woes, rising competition with imported apples from China and Australia has added to the worries of local growers. Harvest in state normally picks up in July and continues till October. Till July, locals expect that imported apple will continue to command good demand.
Apple and mango crops under crop insurance scheme in Himachal Pradesh
State government of Himachal Pradesh has brought apple and mango under insurance scheme. These crops will be covered under a scheme of `Agriculture Insurance Company' which will cover crop risks against temperature, rains, chilling hours and some other natural vagaries; however, it does not cover these crop against risks of hail-storm. Initially, 25-30% of crop area in the state is likely to be covered. For Apple, this scheme will initially be launched in development blocks of Jubbal, Rohru, Theog, Narkanda and Chirgaon in Shimla and sub-division of Ani in Kullu district. For Mango, areas selected are development blocks of Nurpur, Indore, Nagrota, Surian and Fatehpur in Kangra district. Maximum liability for an apple tree in age bracket of 5-14 years has been fixed at Rs 375 against premium of Rs 45, whereas for a tree in the age-bracket of 14-40, maximum liability on insurance company has been fixed at Rs 700 per tree against fixed premium of Rs 86 per tree. This premium would be borne on a 50:50 basis by the farmers, which means farmers will just have to pay 50 percent of the premium and the rest will be paid by the government.
Maharashtra govt intends to set up 8 more EFCs for horticulture produce
Government of Maharashtra has planned to set up 8 export facility centers (EFC) for horticultural products in Maharashtra. Already 10 such EFCs are operational in the state and five are under process. These eight proposed EFCs will be in addition of above. EFC proposed in Aurangabad will have facility of vapor heat treatment. Other proposed EFCs include one for orange at Amravati, for Kesar mango at Beed and for fruits & vegetables at Rahata (Ahmednagar) , two for pomegranates at Malegaon (Nashik) and Atpadi (Sangli), two for banana at Yaval (Jalgaon) and Indapur (Pune). This proposal had been submitted by Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB) to Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA). Cost of setting up these EFCs is projected at USD 11.58 million.
International News
New rice varieties by IRRIInternational Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has developed three new varieties of rice and is claimed to be flood-tolerant, drought-tolerant and salt-tolerant, respectively. These varieties are tested through the National Cooperative Testing (NCT) program of Philippine Rice Research institute (PhilRice). This country has been struggling for stable rice supply in recent years. So, such efforts by IRRI are both essential and worthy. First phase of field trials and evaluation of these varieties is completed successfully and now, it would be recommended by National Seed Industry Council for the official approval. Philippine has always been a net importing country of rice and stands far off achieving self-sufficiency in its production. These varieties are likely to get approval for commercial release by end of the current year.
Farm Extension Program under ATMA in Madhya Pradesh
Farm Extension Program under ATMA in Madhya PradeshISAP has been awarded for second consecutive year, the state farm extension project under ATMA for five districts of Madhya Pradesh namely Satna, Shahdol, Anuppur, Dhar and Shivpuri for year 2009-10. ISAP will be establishing 29 Farmers' Field Schools (FFS) in all these districts. Total 174 training programs would be provided to student-farmers in these FFSs. Special training will be provided to Achievers' Farmers, followed by exposure visits outside the respective districts and outside the State. Also, Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs) will be held at the field of Achiever Farmers. Besides, 875 farmer-days of trainings will be organized on good agricultural practices to the farmers in each block of target areas.Extension Program on Bt-Cotton and Maize Hybrids Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals is set to carryout 625 Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs) on hybrids of Bt-cotton and maize, in select areas of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Under this intensive farm extension program, farmers will be provided quality inputs and will also be given training on Good Agriculture Practices (GAPs) for sustainable agriculture growth and to help increasing income of the farmers. ISAP would be doing this with the support of Govt of India and seed industry leaders. As many as 250 FLDs will be carried out with the best hybrids of Bt-cotton in 5-6 mandals of Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh, and another 250 cotton FLDs in Amravati district of Maharashtra. Apart from these, 125 FLDs will be carried out on Hybrid maize in Bundi and Bhilwara districts of Rajasthan. Interestingly, the emphasis in these FLDs is on rain-fed areas, which generally go neglected under the demo activities.Entrepreneurship Development ProgramISAP is running entrepreneurship development program in 8 states under the aegis of MANAGE. This training is provided to unemployed agriculture and allied sector graduates. After training, ISAP provides active hand-holding support to these trained agripreneurs for the setting up their own business venture. ISAP has so far trained 1224 agripreneurs in Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, J&K, Mizoram, Nagaland and Punjab. Of which, 289 agripreneurs have established their independent business successfully. We share following success story with our readers in ISAP newsletters.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Azim premji's next billion dollar project
More than three decades after Azim Premji sensed an opportunity in information technology for his consumer products company, the billionaire businessman is taking his next big step, ecology. And just like the way IT did, the new business is likely to transform the face of Wipro forever.
For those who know Premji, it is not uncommon to see the fifth richest Indian on the Forbes List and the 63-year-old chairman of Wipro switching off the lights before leaving office. It is this commitment to avoid waste that has turned Premji’s attention to ecology and sustainability.
In October 2008, even as it warned of slowing growth in its main software outsourcing business in the backdrop of a global financial crisis, Wipro released a recruitment ad for two new businesses, Wipro Water and Wipro EcoEnergy. The company has spent the previous two years preparing for this diversification, which may turn out to be the company’s third big change. The first was when a 21-year-old Premji took charge at Wipro after his father’s sudden death; the next was when the vanaspati and soap maker transformed itself into a multi-billion dollar information technology giant in the 80s and 90s.
The business idea is simple. For the last quarter century, Wipro has been busy cutting technology and operational costs for some of the world’s largest corporations. Now, it wants to tell them how to cut energy usage and reduce their carbon footprint. It is convinced that green will be the largest force to influence the world economy in the years to come. According to a UN report last year, the global market for environmental products and services will double from $1.37 trillion at present to $2.74 trillion by 2020.
Chief Financial Officer Suresh Senapathy says green services and solutions will bring in up to one out of every four dollars of the company’s revenue, three years from now. In the financial year ending March 2009, Wipro had revenue of more than Rs. 25,000 crore. Even if the revenue were to stagnate, a fourth of it — Rs. 6,250 crore — from ecology is no small amount. The plan also aligns well with Premji’s desire to ease down IT’s profit contribution from 93 percent currently to 70 percent in the next few years.
Today it has 270 people in its water and eco energy businesses. In the last six months it has been setting up eco-friendly infrastructure for clients: A bio-gas plant in Taj Kovalam for recycling organic waste; sustainable lighting, cooling and recycling at Asian Paints’ Greenfield plant in Rohtak, Haryana; LED lights to reduce electricity bills at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore campus.
One way in which Wipro has sharpened its learning is to address its own energy problems first. That way, it becomes ecologically sustainable while gaining credibility with external customers.
Wipro has turned its 50-acre campus at Electronic City in Bangalore into a test bed. While 25,000 software engineers write code for Fortune 500 corporations, waste food from the cafeteria turns into methane for lighting burners, harvested rainwater is used to cool air-conditioning towers, a paper pulping plant recycles waste paper into writing pads and a micro windmill lights bulbs along the perimeter of the campus. Wipro’s Sarjapur campus a few kilometres away has India’s largest LED installations — all compact fluorescent lamps have been replaced with LED lights, helping save 75 percent in electricity consumption. Since 2003, Wipro has cut water usage in its offices across India by nearly two-thirds.
For those who know Premji, it is not uncommon to see the fifth richest Indian on the Forbes List and the 63-year-old chairman of Wipro switching off the lights before leaving office. It is this commitment to avoid waste that has turned Premji’s attention to ecology and sustainability.
In October 2008, even as it warned of slowing growth in its main software outsourcing business in the backdrop of a global financial crisis, Wipro released a recruitment ad for two new businesses, Wipro Water and Wipro EcoEnergy. The company has spent the previous two years preparing for this diversification, which may turn out to be the company’s third big change. The first was when a 21-year-old Premji took charge at Wipro after his father’s sudden death; the next was when the vanaspati and soap maker transformed itself into a multi-billion dollar information technology giant in the 80s and 90s.
The business idea is simple. For the last quarter century, Wipro has been busy cutting technology and operational costs for some of the world’s largest corporations. Now, it wants to tell them how to cut energy usage and reduce their carbon footprint. It is convinced that green will be the largest force to influence the world economy in the years to come. According to a UN report last year, the global market for environmental products and services will double from $1.37 trillion at present to $2.74 trillion by 2020.
Chief Financial Officer Suresh Senapathy says green services and solutions will bring in up to one out of every four dollars of the company’s revenue, three years from now. In the financial year ending March 2009, Wipro had revenue of more than Rs. 25,000 crore. Even if the revenue were to stagnate, a fourth of it — Rs. 6,250 crore — from ecology is no small amount. The plan also aligns well with Premji’s desire to ease down IT’s profit contribution from 93 percent currently to 70 percent in the next few years.
Today it has 270 people in its water and eco energy businesses. In the last six months it has been setting up eco-friendly infrastructure for clients: A bio-gas plant in Taj Kovalam for recycling organic waste; sustainable lighting, cooling and recycling at Asian Paints’ Greenfield plant in Rohtak, Haryana; LED lights to reduce electricity bills at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore campus.
One way in which Wipro has sharpened its learning is to address its own energy problems first. That way, it becomes ecologically sustainable while gaining credibility with external customers.
Wipro has turned its 50-acre campus at Electronic City in Bangalore into a test bed. While 25,000 software engineers write code for Fortune 500 corporations, waste food from the cafeteria turns into methane for lighting burners, harvested rainwater is used to cool air-conditioning towers, a paper pulping plant recycles waste paper into writing pads and a micro windmill lights bulbs along the perimeter of the campus. Wipro’s Sarjapur campus a few kilometres away has India’s largest LED installations — all compact fluorescent lamps have been replaced with LED lights, helping save 75 percent in electricity consumption. Since 2003, Wipro has cut water usage in its offices across India by nearly two-thirds.
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