Runa Pathak’s path to social impact took shape in her school years, guided by her mother’s firm belief in purposeful use of time. Instead of idle holidays, Runa and her brother joined a grassroots non-governmental organization (NGO) around 1996-97, conducting awareness sessions on health, hygiene, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

This stood in sharp contrast to her peers’ carefree playtime, instilling an early empathy for community challenges. “When I was very young, in school, my mother strongly believed in using time meaningfully and not wasting it. She always encouraged us to participate in as many things as we can,” Runa reflects. “So me and my brother joined a grassroots NGO when we were young, this interest towards the social domain was created. Working with the people at the grassroots was something I started liking, and it became a part of me.” These vacations became annual commitments, solidifying her draw to on-ground development work, leading her today to her role as Head of CSR at Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd.

Academia to Government and Industry Insights

Runa channeled this passion into her Master of Science (MSc) in Extension Education at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), a discipline rooted in participatory rural development. It equipped her with knowledge of key government schemes, sustainable agricultural practices, and program linkages, turning raw empathy into structured understanding. Post-graduation, she joined the Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), under the Ministry of Rural Development, as a young professional for three years. There, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh (UP), she managed the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), interacting with artisans, farmers, and self-help groups (SHGs) to grasp rural self-employment dynamics. “During my tenure, I learned how the government works,” she notes.

Transitioning to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Runa gained insights into corporate philanthropy, seeing how businesses integrate community development for long-term value. By 2013, as India’s Companies Act mandated two percent CSR spending, she along with the team members at Jubilant Group contributed to industry recommendations for Schedule VII activities via a consortium, bridging her grassroots, academic, governmental, and corporate exposures into a comprehensive CSR framework.

The Evolution of CSR

Prior to the 2013 CSR mandate under Section 135 of the Companies Act, corporate social responsibility was largely voluntary, sporadic, and surplus-driven, often limited to one-off events rather than sustained programs. The law transformed this, enforcing compliance, board oversight, and alignment with United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), later Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In conversation with The Logical Indian, Runa elaborated, “Earlier it was a kind of a voluntary activity, if the company had some surplus fund, they used to spend on CSR, generally it was not a structured program planning. It was an activity which was done in an event mode.” Afterward, “companies started aligning their activities with… Millennium Development Goals… [and] Schedule VII activities, which are also gradually changing year on year. The law is also evolving every year, recent amendments- say that now the mid-sized companies also have to do it.” This shift demanded broader vision, structured planning, and integration with business strategy.

A Flagship Initiative: The Dairy Farmer Development Program

At Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, Runa leads initiatives like the Dairy Farmer Development Programme, partnering with BAIF Development Research Foundation to support over 14,000 small and marginal farmers. It addresses outdated cattle practices through artificial insemination subsidies, mineral mixtures, improved nutrition, health care, and farm management, resulting in milk yields rising fourfold, higher incomes, and enhanced household stability. “All our programs have a direct business connection, identifying such programs that have a natural alignment with the business integration,” she says. “This program has a direct business integration because when we talk about the product, the final product is something which our business is also into… it creates a ripple effect.” Runa adds, “Through this initiative, I have seen how improved animal healthcare, nutrition, and farm management practices directly translate into enhanced incomes, stability, and dignity for farming families. For many small and marginal farmers, dairy farming is not just a source of income—it is a lifeline.” Impact assessments confirm outcomes like better education access and resilience, earning nearly five awards and board acclaim for reaching the “bottom of the pyramid.”

Runa emphasized community-centric design: “Keeping communities at the centre requires humility and continuous listening. We begin with baseline studies and participatory need assessments, ensuring that community members are actively involved.” On partnerships, “NGOs are the key… catalyst to this program. They are the enablers for us, we do not have the capability to implement the project at such scale.” The skill development initiative led by her, trained over 12,000 youth in Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) skills with placement linkages, exemplify this: “We also are enrolling them on PM Internship portal or PMNAPS or PMNATS… it is actually a PPP [public-private partnership], where industry, government and the community are all three involved.”

Fostering Employee Ownership Through Engagement

Ownership emerges when employees feel emotionally connected to the cause. By creating meaningful engagement opportunities, such as volunteering, mentoring, or skill-based contributions, employees can witness the impact of their involvement first-hand. “CSR cannot be viewed as a standalone function, it has to be driven from the top as well, from the board side,” Runa emphasizes, adding that true ownership comes when people invest themselves fully when they feel a genuine connection to the purpose behind the work. Engagement isn’t just about attending an event, it’s about understanding why it matters and seeing the impact of one’s contribution.

In her experience at Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, “when employees witness first-hand how their efforts change lives, their involvement becomes personal.” That’s why her organization introduced regular quarterly volunteering initiatives. “These aren’t occasional add-ons; they are opportunities for people to experience impact continuously and reflect on the meaning of their work beyond routine tasks,” she notes. When employees connect their own values to the organization’s purpose, and see the dignity and hope their actions bring to others, ownership becomes a natural progression.

Balancing Business, Community, and Sustainability

Runa excels at aligning corporate leadership’s goals with ground realities, advocating organization-wide ownership. Programs evolve yearly without rigid timelines, phasing subsidies for advanced dairy farmers while expanding to new regions and sustaining apps, training, and capacity building.

To counter sector duplicacy, she suggested to customize the CSR programs by geography and culture, citing QSR skills thriving in the Northeast and Uttarakhand due to inherent hospitality mindsets, unlike higher dropouts elsewhere. “Baseline is important; programs need to be implemented in a way that the geographies which are selected should also be evaluated.”

A Vision for CSR’s Future: Environment and Inclusion

Runa urges prioritizing the environment amid Supreme Court directives and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) guidelines: “Environment should be the key focus area for all the CSR programs, we are harming the environment in a big way.”

She envisions consortia for collaborative impact, linking green credits, climate-resilient agriculture, and inclusive livelihoods. “The next phase of impact must consciously link environment, inclusion, and livelihoods, strengthening education, green livelihoods, and climate-resilient practices.” Ultimately, “For me, true impact lies in bridging people, policy, and purpose in a way that creates lasting value, where environmental responsibility and inclusive growth reinforce each other.”

Advice for the Next Generation

For aspiring CSR professionals, Runa stresses intrinsic motivation: “Compassion, empathy is something which should be there. It is not a compliance, it should come from within. You should have to have a heart to implement CSR.” Focus on systemic solutions over symbolic gestures: “Meaningful and Measurable CSR initiatives are rooted in intent, compassion and accountability, addressing systemic issues rather than surface-level symptoms.” Build through long-term partnerships, honest measurement, adaptive listening, and business integration for sustainable, dignified change.

The Logical Indian’s Perspective

The Logical Indian spotlights Runa Pathak’s blueprint for transformative CSR: evolving from voluntary surplus spends to mandatory, SDG-aligned strategies that now encompass mid-sized firms through annual amendments.

Her approach, blending business synergy, grassroots listening, and employee ownership demonstrates how empathy-driven programs deliver measurable, scalable impact for communities and companies alike.

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