E-Paper
The growing movement of purpose-led volunteering
This article is authored by Prashanth Balarama, senior director, communications and CSR, Honeywell India.
The meaning of employee engagement is evolving across workplaces. Deloitte’s Global Gen Z and Millennial 2025 Survey found that ~ 89% of GenZs and 92% of millennials believe a sense of purpose is important to job satisfaction. This reflects a fundamental shift in how people view their roles, not simply as jobs, but as platforms to create impact.
India’s corporate sector is playing its part in contributing towards society. ICRA ESG Ratings’ latest report highlights a 16% year-on-year increase in CSR spending by India Inc. However, the more significant shift is how they are contributing. With large social and development challenges on one hand, and a rapidly expanding corporate and technology sector on the other, employees are increasingly positioned to apply their skills to real-world problems. In India, where social needs are complex and interconnected, talent can become a powerful force for change. Employees seek deeper involvement, not just symbolic volunteering; they want to use what they know, solve genuine challenges and witness lasting outcomes.
Purpose-led volunteering has therefore become essential. Organisations are weaving structured, skill-based volunteering into their CSR and engagement frameworks. Volunteering is no longer a checkbox activity, but about using skills, expertise, and technology for sustainable impact. This gives employees an opportunity to step beyond participation and become changemakers, people who influence communities, inspire peers, and create a multiplier effect.
Traditional CSR policies often focused on one-off activities – well-intentioned but rarely built for long-term value. The emerging approach looks radically different; volunteering is now evolving into skill-based, sustained initiatives aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Employees prefer to mentor students in STEM, digital literacy, leverage data and planning for disaster preparedness, and strengthen grassroots systems.
When people contribute using their work skills, the results are deeper and scalable. This is why modern volunteering programmes work best when integrated into core business values such as innovation, sustainability, and community development, making employee contributions structured, relevant and mission-aligned, not episodic.
At the core of this shift is a belief that employees are catalysts for change. Purpose-led volunteering succeeds when strong guiding principles meet clearly defined impact areas. The most effective programmes combine skill utilisation, sustained engagement, and community partnerships to drive results across priority themes.
This approach translates into four high-impact themes:
- STEM education & digital literacy: Skilled volunteers mentor students, support hands-on learning, and build digital readiness through tools such as STEM kits, audiobooks, and digital learning aids.
- Environmental sustainability: Beyond traditional drives, employees contribute to waste-management solutions, native seed conservation, and nursery creation.
- Community resilience & inclusion: Partnerships with NGOs allow volunteers to support vulnerable groups through wellness kits for the elderly, assistive devices for persons with disabilities, school infrastructure improvements, and meal or solar-lamp assembly activities.
- Disaster preparedness & response: Employees help design preparedness plans, support relief logistics, and contribute to livelihood-focused recovery.
Together, these themes and principles empower volunteers to become changemakers.
There is a powerful ripple effect when employees act as changemakers. Goodera’s 2025 India Corporate Volunteering quotient showed ~31% of employees in India volunteered in 2025, above the global average of 22.2%, reflecting a strong drive among employees to give back in a meaningful way. Over 68% of Indian corporates now include employee volunteering in their CSR policy, reflecting how these efforts are becoming embedded into long-term strategy.
The future of volunteering will be defined by integration rather than isolation, powered by digital platforms, hybrid volunteering models, and long-term NGO partnerships. This will allow employees to contribute their expertise at scale and sustain outcomes over time.
The focus ahead is on harnessing the power of good through technology and people, where innovation and human purpose work together to help build resilient, inclusive and sustainable communities. Volunteering today is no longer just a corporate initiative; it is a movement. The opportunity now is to move from participation to leadership, and from volunteering to changemaking.
This article is authored by Prashanth Balarama, senior director, communications and CSR, Honeywell India.
