CBRE launches CSR wing in India

Property consultant CBRE on Tuesday announced its CSR wing for India with an initial corpus of Rs 5 crore to address health and nutrition issues of construction labourers and their families on project sites.

CBRE South Asia launched its foundation CBRE Cares' - the firm's corporate philanthropy program - in the country.

The India edition, 'Ek Pehal' was launched by Robert E Sulentic, President & CEO of CBRE Group, Inc and Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa.

"We focus a lot on corporate social responsibility (CSR) globally," Sulentic said.

"We are starting this foundation with an initial corpus of Rs 5 crore. The size of the corpus will be increased. We will approach other corporates for the funds," Magazine told reporters here.

He stressed on the need to provide basic health services and nutrition to labourers and their families on construction sites, especially in tier II and III cities.

"We will initially focus on three cities - Delhi- NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Later we will expand in other 10 cities where we have presence," Magazine said.

As per the statistics of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), the construction sector is the third largest employer in the country accounting for close to 50 million people, CBRE said.

The programme Ek Pehal has been designed to bridge the wide gap towards access to basic healthcare by migrant workers and their families.

"In CBRE, we strongly believe in giving back to the community and I am sure Ek Pehal will motivate others to join this noble cause, Sulentic said.

In coming months, Magazine said CBRE will collaborate with a charitable organisation and hospitals for this cause.

He said the foundation would start work from construction sites and then expand in other areas.

CBRE Group, Inc -- a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, the US-- is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm.

It has more than 100,000 employees (excluding affiliates) and serves real estate investors and occupiers through more than 480 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide.

CBRE was the first International property consultancy to set up an office in India in 1994. Since then, the operations have grown to include more than 10,000 professionals across 13 offices with a presence in over 80 cities in India.