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Genesis Burson-Marsteller and WhiteKettle Consulting announce strategic partnership

Copmpany Brief

New Delhi, April 16, 2015

Genesis Burson-Marsteller, a leading public relations and public affairs consultancy that delivers integrated communication services to some of the best global and Indian companies, has formed a strategic alliance with WhiteKettle Consulting, one of India’s pioneering corporate social responsibility (CSR) consulting firms. Headquartered in Mumbai, WhiteKettle will now partner with Genesis Burson-Marsteller to address all corporate social responsibility requirements of clients. The partnership will enable businesses to create and execute effective strategies that lead to maximum social impact while ensuring sustainable business growth.

With this alliance, the two consultancies now have the combined ability to create solutions for end-to-end sustainable social development and strategic CSR interventions. They will offer a blend of service lines that provide an evidence-based and idea-driven approach, along with reach extending from major metro cities to tier II and III markets. The comprehensive suite of offerings includes training programmes for Company CSR Bill and ISO 26000 compliance, sustainable CSR strategies, behaviour change interventions, stakeholder management, advocacy, and employee engagement – all designed to support the clients’ business objectives.

Speaking on the partnership, Prema Sagar, Principal & Founder of Genesis Burson-Marsteller said, “We believe CSR is integrated with businesses and their core competencies; it has to create business value and positive social change, and enhance trust and engagement with key stakeholders. This alliance will bring to clients an experienced, expert team that can develop effective CSR strategies, and work closely with the business, in ensuring that all stakeholders are aligned with each other.”

Talking about the strengths that each firm brings to the alliance, Prema said, “Both firms have their own areas of expertise - while Genesis Burson-Marsteller brings global best practices and integrated strategic thinking in communications and advocacy, WhiteKettle brings deep knowledge of the corporate social responsibility sector and the skillsets specific to the ecosystem.”

Commenting on the development, Rama Iyer, Founder & Director of WhiteKettle Consulting said “CSR programmes are helpful in tackling many of our social and environmental concerns and also to help us get closer to achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. Our partnership with Genesis Burson-Marsteller will help us jointly leverage opportunities to create and manage sustainable CSR strategies and programmes for clients across the country.”

Uniquely positioned to showcase CSR as an opportunity that goes beyond a mandate, a conclave on Corporate Responsibility: Turning Mandates Into Opportunities was organised today to analyse the Companies Act 2013. As the first country where social welfare spending is part of company statute by law, India has been lauded for leading the way towards positive socio-economic change, but there has been considerable backlash too - can ‘doing good’ really be mandated? This was the theme for the panel discussion that saw active participation from industry leaders and CSR experts.

Rama Iyer of WhiteKettle Consulting addressed the session and gave the audience a perspective on the Companies Bill. She spoke about the prospect that the industry has to view this mandate as an opportunity to create large scale social impact. Industry representatives, including Pradipta Sen, President of India, Middle East & Africa, Emerson Electric Co, and Dr KK Upadhyay, Head, FICCI Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence, shared their experiences, challenges and best practices in initiating their CSR investments. Dr R Sankar, Country Manager, India and Senior Adviser, South Asia of Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) spoke about the journey that still needs to be made to make the provisions of the Act more relevant.

For further information, please contact:

Shilpa Karthik

Email: shilpa.karthik@bm.com

Mobile: 98117-93973

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