He’s a billionaire with a mission: to strive for a greener living environment. The chairman of the Godrej conglomerate with businesses across a wide spectrum of goods and services spanning white, brown and consumer goods, core industry accessories and services, Padma Bhushan Jamshyd Godrej epitomises the brand Godrej is known for: trust and dependability. In conversation with Corporate Citizen, he speaks on a wide range of issues including the industry and the philosophies that guide the Godrej Group
Padma Bhushan Jamshyd Godrej is the Chairman of the Board of Godrej & Boyce manufacturing Company Limited. a mechanical engineer from Illinois Institute of Technology, usa, his passion for the environment is well acclaimed. Known for his conservation of mangroves in Thane, he is in the Forbes list for being amongst the richest green billionaires of the world, with a net worth of $2.9 billion. at present, he is the chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).
The Godrej Group is a leader in home appliances, consumer durables, office equipment, industrial products, consumer products and services. Godrej and Boyce mfg. Co. Ltd. manufactures and markets refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, office furniture, home furniture, security equipment for banks (such as safes, strong room doors and bank lockers), commercial establishments and homes, locks and latches, forklift trucks and warehousing equipment, process equipment for chemical, petrochemical, refineries and allied industries, precision tools for sheet metal, zinc, aluminium as well as real estate development.
He is the President of the World Wide Fund for nature – India, and the chairperson of the Board of directors of shakti sustainable energy Foundation, India resources Trust and Council on energy, environment and Water.
Godrej is the chairman of the CII sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre. The Centre is housed in a Leed Platinum demonstration building which is the first green building in India and the greenest building in the world at the time when it was rated. The Green Business Centre is a centre of excellence for green buildings, energy efficiency, energy conservation, non-conventional energy sources, water policy, water conservation.
Godrej is an ardent yachting enthusiast and has done extensive cruising along the west coast of India, the Baltic and the north sea, the Atlantic ocean and the mediterranean sea.
Jamshyd Godrej speaks to Corporate Citizen about various aspects of the corporate world, particularly the manufacturing industry.
‘‘Business has to be based on making profit, otherwise there is no longevity to a business if it is not viable financially. But that said, the role of business in society is very different. It has to contribute to society; it has to take from the society; it has to give back to society’’
Most business leaders are quite unassuming. It’s the media which is responsible for making them more visible. So basically you have got to understand the role of business in the society and what it can do, what it cannot do, how it can contribute. A lot of people in the industry have the growth of India at their heart and long before Csr became compulsory in India, industry and industry leaders have been contributing to society’s development. so it’s nothing new, I’d say, but it has been taken to a different level now.
It is similar for every generation - the influence of parents, the society and people around them. Lives are shaped on these factors. So for everybody it is the same. I would not say it’s any different for me.
My family has, to a large extent, been keen on green issues and my late uncle Sohrab was also involved with the World Rights Association where saving birds and animals was a very important aspect. So everyone in our family has been very keen and that’s how when the family acquired this land in Mumbai, protecting the natural ecosystem of the mangroves came very naturally. We bought the land for the purpose of industry but a large part of the land was on the Thane Creek, which had the mangroves. Over the last 15 years we have looked after them. We have also planted more mangroves, and now it is one of the healthiest mangroves around. So it’s something of great interest for the family and individuals in the family. And that has basically got translated into the business. That everything we do as business must also be very green, must be energy, efficient, water usage must be very much controlled and managed and the way you contribute to society, to a large extent also should be for environmental well-being. All these are part of being green and most people would prefer to be living and working in a good environment. So we were not just lucky, we were able to do that. We all believe in it very much and that’s how it has moved forward.
The western bank of the Thane Creek is the single largest mangrove belt in Mumbai. A substantial tract of mangrove land adjoins our Godrej & Boyce township, Pirojshanagar, in Vikhroli, a suburb of Mumbai. A vast area under mangroves has been conserved by the Soonabai Pirojsha Godrej Marine Ecology Centre. Well diversified and well protected, these are the last quality mangroves in the city. The vast expanse of these mangroves serves as a second lung of the city after the Sanjay Gandhi National Park which is under immense environmental pressure.
The mangrove flora of Pirojshanagar is well diversified. There are 16 species of mangroves and mangrove associates. The faunal composition in the area is also equally diverse. Apart from 206 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles, 13 species of crabs, seven species of prawns and 20 species of fish have been identified so far in the area. This wetland acts as an important stopover for over a hundred species of migratory birds including the magnificent flamingos, gulls, terns, avocets and curlews.
To attain leadership position in manufacturing, we need to build on our strengths and resolve our weaknesses, said Jamshyd Godrej, in his inaugural speech at a recent CII Manufacturing Summit at Hotel Trident, Mumbai
This point of increasing the share of manufacture in GDP has been something we have talked about for a very long time. I sometimes wonder whether that’s really relevant for us because we have become a services economy before most developing countries got to that stage. And the question really is that with such a strong services sector what is the role of manufacturing in India? Do we really need to combine the two? The strength of our services sector, combined with the strength of our manufacturing sector, is that really the future? In the past we have explored that.
A couple of years ago, we talked about India becoming the Germany of the East. There are many ideas how we can improve manufacturing. But when we really look at the basics, it comes down to just a few things. We recognise, of course, that infrastructure is critical, but in the same breath I have to say that we have made great strides in infrastructure in the recent past. Innovation and design is something that has also been championed a lot by the CII and the Indian industry has picked up to a very large extent on the strength of how innovation and design can really propel Indian industry. At the end of the day we have to have a really close cooperation among the vast number of different agencies and individuals and people who are involved in manufacturing.
As I always like to say, manufacturing is a complex system. It is not like you can rent a floor and start doing the software and export it via the rooftop. It is a lot more complicated. And one of the reasons why services have done so well is because they haven’t that type of complexity. Not that I am belittling services, but I am just saying they do not have the same complexity as manufacturing has. But we need to understand all the connections and the complexities. In that respect, I must say, the thrust of this government on manufacturing, the thrust this government has placed on easing how business is done and the terms of business are really very good. It will result, I am sure, in the right attitude in the manufacturing sector.
As you can see from the theme, it is all about how we bridge the gap between the aspiration and the reality. This has been a recurring theme for us over the years. I know that we have some of the finest manufacturing companies based in India which are doing exemplary quality production, with expertise from around the world. We have many strengths. The question is, how do we build on those strengths? It is really important for us to understand where the strengths are, where the areas of improvement are and how we can bridge these gaps. It was quite revealing that in the World Bank Report on ease of doing business in various states, we have once again taken up the issue of state competitiveness. I remember more than 10 years ago when CII took up the issue of state competitiveness, all the states which were at the top five were very happy with the CII and all those who were in the bottom five told CII that they did not know what the World Bank was talking about. That hasn’t changed. But the government has actually engaged with the World Bank to do this report. The World Bank index of the ease of doing business for countries is actually a well-respected indicator. You can always pick holes in it, but from an overall perspective in countries and states within countries, all have to realise that they are in a competitive situation.
It’s wonderful for Maharashtra to say that we have attracted the highest investment in manufacturing and that is correct because it has a long history of industry and manufacturing and it is one of the largest, if not the largest, in manufacturing - so it is bound to attract more. But then the question comes how do you compare with others? So I was quite interested to read the detailed report and I am sure those of you who have read it will see the nuances in that. It is really important for us to talk of the strengths in various states, and the weaknesses. And CII actually came up with a very good idea sometime ago which said that, you know, if you look at the best elements of competitiveness and ease of doing business in every state and just identify those and get all the states to actually implement what’s actually happening in various states, we could really raise our rank as a country very quickly. So, the partnership between industry and government, with labour, with global leaders in both import and export, will, to a very large extent make the difference in our ability to make more and also export more.
We are in a situation in the global economy today where commodity prices have come down very significantly. We should recognise that our strength comes from competitiveness. It does not come from protection. So it is very wrong on the part of the industry to ask for protection. The recent increase in safeguard duties on steel is a case in point. We must understand that the more protective we are, we will find that the rest of the world gets more protective. India does not benefit from protection. India benefits essentially from being more competitive and in terms of trade that is really what makes the difference. Germany is a good case in point.
‘‘Today, it is not enough to make products that are reliable, they also have to be visually good. Like the Apple phone. Why does it come at such a huge premium? Not just because of what it can do, but how it looks and the whole ecosystem around it. That is what we have to emulate and if we do that in a very innovative way and refresh products regularly, we can face any competition that comes to India’’
Competitiveness comes from many areas, especially from innovation and design, from understanding how partnerships are built and these are the real strengths of manufacturing for any country and the economy. So, while we are talking about some of the problems we face, I would say that we have made a lot of progress.
Look at the power situation. We always used to cry about the power situation in the country. Today we read about the coal plants actually backing down on power production. They have enough coal but they do not have enough demand for electricity. So these are the points. They are so easy for India to change the situation from deficit to excess. It can happen only if we can get some of the ideas gelled together and work together. So this is my theme for the manufacturing summit - about partnerships, it’s about understanding the ecosystem, it’s about understanding what makes the difference for competitiveness in an organisation and trying to build on those strengths and minimising the weaknesses - because in the economy you will always find that there are strengths and weaknesses - how we maximise the strengths we have is crucial.
‘Manufacturing is a complex system. It is not like you can rent a floor and start doing the software and export it via the rooftop. It is a lot more complicated. And one of the reasons why services have done so well is because they haven’t that type of complexity'
When my grandfather started the business in India, it was based on very idealistic principles. Especially in those days the goods sold in India were all British goods. He wanted to see how Indians could manufacture products and he was confident that we could really better what was available in the country. That is how he started with our first product, locks. Locks and safes (steel cupboards) allowed us to build a reputation of trust because the products were far superior to what was available in the market at that time. Also, at that time, they were priced lower than the British goods and that reputation allowed us to build a good brand image. Even today our safes stand apart and are far better than any product from any of our competitors. That in-built trust and quality is present in everything we do, which is why it has got translated into Godrej being a trusted brand. It’s not only the design of the product, but also the way it’s sold and presented, which adds to the value.
No matter what the competition is, the consumers, individual or industrial, all want high quality. They all want products and services they can trust. So nothing changes in that respect. Certainly I will try to emulate the competition that comes to India to the extent I can. But as long as we are focused on our mission of being highly quality conscious and bring in innovative products which are constantly evolving, we will continue to win the trust of the people.
Today, it is not enough to make products that are reliable, they also have to be visually good. Like the apple phone. Why does it come at such a huge premium? Not just because of what it can do, but how it looks and the whole ecosystem around it. That is what we have to emulate and if we do that in a very innovative way and refresh products regularly, we can face any competition that comes to India.
Everyone. Not just the younger generation in the company. They are of course driving a lot of this, especially innovation. But everyone in the company believes strongly that this is what we represent for consumers and we have to do that.
We need engineers for solving engineering problems. We don’t need engineers for everything that you do in the company, especially when it comes to marketing and innovation. you need more cross-functional ideas which don’t necessarily come from engineers. If you want to be creative and innovative, you have to bring as many perspectives as you can into the equation. so, over the time you may find that only 30% are engineers and 70% are non-engineers. You need a wide ecosystem of different thinking and different approaches; even to have more women in a business is very important because it brings in a different perspective. In any case your 50 percent consumers are women. There is no reason why we should not be more attuned to the fact that today there are more women who are qualified and who want to work in companies.
It is very low. We would like to take it to 30% to 50% if we can. But this is an ongoing journey. We have started out.
Of course, the business has to be based on making profit, otherwise there is no longevity to a business if it is not viable financially. But that said, the role of business in society is very different. It has to contribute to society; it has to take from the society; it has to give back to society. So the whole ecosystem of all the different stakeholders around the business is very important and one has to consider the interests of all stakeholders. You cannot simply say I have only one role which is to make profit and I can forget about everything else. Business has to get involved in everything. We must be involved with government, with consumers, with stakeholders – we all should contribute and learn and that’s the way to grow.
To have a happy employee, there are many equations. Of course salary is very important but also the ecosystem in which you work: How do you contribute? Are you respected? are you aligned with the company’s values? Do you contribute to the company’s values? Do you uphold those values? Employees will contribute when they think there is a sense of belonging and also that whatever they say or do is appreciated.
It’s not something that is new for the manufacturing industry. But by emphasising on the idea of ‘ Make in India’, it brings about change in many other areas. Especially it brings about change in regulation, in the way the government looks at regulation. There are many hurdles for manufacture because it is such a complex system that involves banks, material, land components, integrating them, selling them, you have to deal with many different people, the transportation system, all sorts of things. Manufacturing is complex, and the problems that manufacturers face have to be addressed. So this focus on manufacturing helps to address that system.
Some of these are perceptions. They are not really based on facts. You have to take perception for what it’s worth, but the problem is when the perception becomes reality. So the most important thing to recognise is that the consumer should have an open mind. The consumer need not go with a closed mind that Indian products will not match up with foreign products. It is only when Indian products begin to delight consumers that this perception will change. Indian manufacturers need to concentrate on quality, design and utility. There are so many things you have to concentrate on and the more Indian manufacturers do that, better will be their business and the perception of the end consumers.
If youngsters are given a challenge in any area, they are very much for it. When they are young, they want to be challenged; they want to be given huge and difficult goals and that’s what they thrive on. Youngsters should be integrated into the manufacturing stream, given more opportunities and more freedom, more initiative. That’s the way to go.
‘‘If you look at the best elements of competitiveness and ease of doing business, in every state and just identify those and get all the states to actually implement, what’s actually happening in various states, we could really raise our rank as a country very quickly’’
Yes! In CII, we have this Young Indians Group for some time now. The point is that young people are very idealistic and they can contribute and so we must harness that. That’s a huge energy that has to be harnessed. CII is trying to influence young people for the development of the country which includes manufacturing.
Mumbai has grown enormously. When you have growth and so many people, the challenges also become huge. One thing that the government has failed in the growth of mumbai is to be able to provide housing for everyone. This is a very fundamental issue. If you cannot provide housing at reasonable cost, then the result of this bad policy that the government of maharashtra and mumbai have adopted is that today we have such a large percentage of people living in informal housing. There is no dignity of living for those who have to live in slums or travel long distances. The development policy for a city should be based on some fundamental values and one of that is to provide decent housing at a decent price. That is where we have failed. There is so much that can be done today. But it needs a lot of change in government policy and approach.
‘‘‘Every generation will have youngsters who are impatient and want to get higher, which is a very good thing. We must have more of that. The more young people we have who are impatient and want to make a change, better it is. Youngsters are always more idealistic. You have to let them experiment, and part of that experiment is also failure. You must learn to tolerate failure. If somebody fails, it doesn’t mean he or she has lost. It’s just one more step in the journey.’’
Every generation will have youngsters who are impatient and want to get higher which is a very good thing. We must have more of that. I mean the more we have young people who are impatient and want to make a change, better it is. That is something one has to encourage without doubt. Youngsters are always more idealistic. you have to let them experiment, and part of that experiment is also failure. In the Indian system, failure is not tolerated. You must learn to tolerate failure. If somebody fails, it doesn’t mean he or she has lost. It’s just one more step in the journey. We are not saying you must fail, but if you do fail, it’s not the end of the world. you pick up the pieces and move on. You have to encourage young people to experiment, to take risks. The only thing one has to advise young people is that values are important. This applies to every generation, not just to this generation or the next. Values are important for individuals and society and we have to encourage people to live by incorporating good values.
You see, the point about money mindedness is not necessarily the collective view. Young people have to be driven by something. They want to be successful, they want to be happy, and there are many ways to be happy. One should not grudge them that they want to make money or get good education, and so on. You should encourage it. But at the same time keep emphasising that good values will be better for them in their lives.
My philosophy of life is more about creating your system where everybody is happy and content around you. That you support them as much as you can. That you are more giving than taking. I think these are simple values of life that make everyone stand good. Excess in anything, whether it is in eating or exercise is not a good thing in any case. And about my fitness, I have no secrets.
By Vinita Deshmukh
