SPARSH, the Employee Volunteering Programme, serves as the structured platform through which our employees engage with communities. In FY 2025-26, SPARSH was strategically aligned with our three core CSR focus areas of healthcare, water stewardship and community development, with employees participating in health awareness, preventive healthcare interventions and water conservation efforts that complement the flagship programmes covered in Pillars 1, 2 and 3.
By integrating volunteerism into our core values and operational practices, Asian Paints continues to reinforce its identity as a socially responsible corporate citizen. This approach not only contributes to the well-being of surrounding communities but also enhances employee engagement, fosters a purpose-driven work environment and creates a virtuous loop where workplace identity is shaped by the lives our employees touch outside the workplace.
The Three Saathis
SPARSH operates through three Saathi categories, each anchored in one of our core CSR focus areas. Together they channel employee energy into community impact across health, water and life-saving:
Arogya Saathi:
Health &
Hygiene companions
Arogya Saathi volunteers contribute to community health and hygiene through health camps, awareness sessions and outreach activities, often in collaboration with our delivery partners. Their engagement spans preventive healthcare topics such as nutrition awareness, menstrual hygiene, NCD prevention, sanitation and facilitating community access to government health schemes. Key interventions during the year:
Key interventions during the year:
- School Health & Hygiene Sessions: Hygiene awareness sessions and ‘What’s in My Plate’ nutrition workshops in schools near our manufacturing facilities, promoting health-positive and water-positive behaviours among children.
- Maternal & Child Health Outreach: Community outreach conducted in partnership with Anganwadi and ASHA workers to promote maternal and child health, immunisation and preventive care.
These initiatives transform MMU and SHU touchpoints into community trust-building moments rather than purely clinical transactions.
Jal Saathi: Water
Stewardship
companions
Jal Saathi volunteers actively support Watermark interventions and water conservation outreach, contributing to awareness-building, community participation and sustainable water governance. Their engagement spans schools near our offices and manufacturing facilities, where they promote water-positive behaviours among children, as well as community-level initiatives that strengthen local stewardship of water resources.
Key interventions during the year:
- Coastal & Beach Clean-Ups: Beach clean-up drives across Mumbai and coastal manufacturing geographies, fostering environmental awareness and community ownership of public spaces.
- Water User Group Engagement: Active participation in Water User Group (WUG) meetings, periodic reviews and community governance activities, strengthening local water management and stakeholder ownership.
Through these initiatives, Jal Saathis play a critical role in driving behavioural change and reinforcing the credibility and effectiveness of community-led water stewardship efforts.
Rakta Saathi:
Life-saving
companions
Rakta Saathi volunteers contribute to community well-being through voluntary blood donation drives. Conducted in partnership with local Blood Banks, these initiatives support life-saving healthcare needs and strengthen emergency preparedness in the communities where we operate. Key interventions during the year:
- Blood Donation Drives: Voluntary blood donation camps organised throughout the year at corporate offices and manufacturing sites in collaboration with local Blood Banks, helping ensure access to safe blood for patients in need.
Through collective employee participation, Rakta Saathi demonstrates how a simple act of generosity can create a significant and lasting impact on public health and save lives.
Integration with Beautiful Homes Academy (BHA-EVP)
FY 2025-26 marked a significant evolution of the SPARSH programme with its integration into the Beautiful Homes Academy (BHA). Employees with relevant domain expertise spanning product knowledge, customer engagement, application techniques and business management now contribute as volunteer trainers across select BHA modules. Key intervention during the year:
- BHA Volunteer-Trainer Sessions: As part of the employee volunteering programme, 163 employees served as volunteer trainers at the Beautiful Homes Academy, delivering training across painter, contractor and shop management modules. Leveraging their expertise in customer engagement, project execution, retail operations and business management, they translated industry knowledge into practical learning experiences that enhanced participants’ skills, workplace practices and confidence in managing their businesses and teams.
Through these sessions, Sparsh enabled employees to contribute beyond their day-to-day roles, fostering capability building, professional development and purpose-led employee engagement.
This integration is meaningful for three reasons:
RICHER LEARNING
Industry expertise in the classroomIt deepens the value our employees deliver to Academy participants by bringing real-world industry expertise directly into the classroom, supplementing the structured BHA curriculum with insights drawn from years of professional experience.
JOB-READY
Readiness built from the insideIt strengthens the readiness of Academy participants for employment, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihood opportunities by exposing them to industry expectations and professional standards from the inside.
DEEPER PURPOSE
Purpose among volunteersIt builds a more profound sense of organisational purpose among employee volunteers, who see the direct connection between their professional capabilities and community livelihood outcomes, a stronger motivator than one-off awareness activities alone.
This integration creates a virtuous loop: BHA participants benefit from industry expertise; employees develop a richer sense of organisational purpose; and Asian Paints strengthens both its community impact and its internal engagement metrics through a single, integrated intervention.
FY 2025-26 Participation Snapshot
1,500+
Employees participated as volunteers
611 units
Units of blood donated through Rakta Saathi drives
2,400+
Hours of volunteering activities undertaken
2,600+
Community participants benefited from training sessions conducted by employees
