Corporate Social Responsibility at Summit Power International

Vision of Chairman of Summit Group on CSR

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Our strategy of powering nations and transforming lives is not only confined to energy we produce. With the growth of our business over the last 25 years, we must also focus our attention to helping the wider ecosystem. As a company providing power resource to developing countries, we are determined to make a significant difference at the grass roots level – not only to the wider economy, but to the living standards of the communities we operate in.

It is not adequate to want to help – we must take action. That is why Summit Power International alongside Summit Group has committed to helping a number of initiatives which will make a long-term difference to people’s lives.

We also recognize the importance of creating sustainability directly around the plants that we operate in. This goes to the heart of our CSR initiatives – helping to provide the fundamentals to foster sustainable communities. Every year Summit actively contributes to the social and economic development of the communities in which it operates. Summit is involved with numerous community welfare development works that includes education, health and social service, sport and arts and culture which directly add value to the community.”

Muhammed Aziz Khan
Chairman of Summit Power International and Summit Group

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At Summit Power, we believe in making a positive impact on the communities and cities that we operate in. Our businesses support the economic development of emerging nations and enhance the quality of life for local communities.

As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility, we have long-standing partnerships with several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to support projects that improve access to education and healthcare for underprivileged individuals.

Summit Power International also supports social programs and humanitarian initiatives that are conducted by Summit Group.

Our community involvement focuses on the following key areas:

• Education – empowering people of all ages with knowledge and skills
• Health and social service – investing in healthcare and promoting well-being
• Sports – bringing communities together and encouraging healthy living
• Arts and culture – supporting cultural project to raise awareness

We continue to assess new opportunities to further help communities prosper. An example of our corporate philanthropy to date is provided below.

COVID Response

Singapore

Bangladeshi workers in Singapore:

In 2020, during COVID thousands of Bangladeshi remittance earners in Singapore were in need of financial support given the additional medical expenditure beyond the insurance coverage. Muhammed Aziz Khan, Chairman of Summit Group of Companies supported both financially and visited dormitories of about 6,000 Bangladeshi workers with Mr K Shanmugam, Singapore's the-then Honourable Minister of Home Affairs and Law. For his effort, Muhammed Aziz Khan has received the Public Service Medal (COVID-19) at the National Awards from the Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore for his outstanding contribution to the society during the pandemic. Ref: https://www.pmo.gov.sg/National-Awards/Recipients?page=1&award=&keywords=Aziz%20Khan

Bangladesh 

During the early COVID pandemic, while the other companies were cutting employees’ salary off, Chairman Aziz Khan reassured that all Summit’s employees would get their full salary, wages and benefits however long the pandemic lasted. For the whole pandemic period, Summit made significant contributions that benefited approximately 8.8 million people, providing around BDT 87 million in various forms of support and assistance mentioned below:

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW):

Summit started to take necessary action right after the anticipation of the pandemic. In total, Summit provided seven world class thermal scanners that helped in correct identification of passengers with fever, which is one of the major symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) along with air freight consignment of protective suits and masks weighing near 900 KG that enabled better coordination with airport and public health professionals for quarantine. with 2 thermal scanners were handed over as per the guideline of the government to the Central Medical Store Depot (CMSD) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). During that time, despite having enough financial sources, managing a thermal scanner and bringing that back to the country was near impossible due to lockdown restrictions. Later in April 2020, Summit and China Merchant Port Group (CMPort), the largest public port developer based in HongKong, jointly provided 2,000 protective suits and 50,000 masks specifically made for this purpose.

Sheikh Sayera Khatun Medical College, Gopalganj: 

During the first wave of the corona pandemic, Summit supported the establishment of an RT-PCR lab in Sheikh Sayera Khatun Medical College at Gopalganj. Till 2020, thirty-eight thousand people have taken the corona test with the help of this lab. The lab was handed over to the medical college authority by Lt Col (Retd) Muhammad Faruk Khan MP, Chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Presidium Member, Bangladesh Awami League. 

Bangladesh Specialized Hospital (BSH): 

Summit not only did support the people in need but also its own employees that are over ,6. To combat COVID-19, Summit signed an employee healthcare service agreement with Bangladesh Specialized Hospital (BSH), a world-class hospital with a wide range of services, specialists, equipment, technology, ambience and service quality. In 2020, Summit’s partner JERA, Japan’s largest energy company, provided four ventilators and one RT-PCR Machine to BSH.

Alor Pathshala:

During the Corona crisis, Summit donated a fund to support the financially deprived students in hard-to-reach areas across Bangladesh. It benefited all the students of the six schools under the Alor Pathshala program. This contribution reflects our unwavering commitment to supporting education and community well-being, especially when facing unprecedented challenges.

JAAGO foundation: 

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted education systems, and Jaago Schools, which play a crucial role in providing quality education to underprivileged children have faced immense difficulties. Summit’s donation enabled them to alleviate these challenges by providing essential resources such as rice, lentils etc to support their students. Summit is grateful to be a part in their mission to ensure that children continue to receive a quality education, even in these trying times.

SEID Trust:

Summit provided valuable support to the SEID Trust by donating funds for essential supplies. This assistance included contributions for masks, strips of paracetamol, and bottles of fever reducing syrup, which were crucial in ensuring the safety and well-being of the community during these challenging times. Summit's generous donation helped SEID Trust in their mission to protect and provide support to children with special needs who are more vulnerable than the general population. 

Rakhine Crisis:

Summit donated funds to Bangladesh Red Crescent Society and UNICEF separately for the Rohingya crisis. Summit's donation for the Rohingya crisis made a significant impact by providing critical assistance to those affected. The funds were used to provide food, shelter, medical care, and other essential resources to the Rohingya refugees, helping alleviate their suffering and improve their living conditions. Summit's support played a vital role in addressing the humanitarian needs of this vulnerable population.

Art Auction for Fundraising:

Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin (1934-1076) is the founding father of modern art in Bangladesh and was honored with the title ‘shilpacharya’ meaning the great teacher of the arts for his artistic accomplishments for the nation. His son Mainul Abedin, held an auction of Zainul Abedin’s the historic 1970 artwork Horse-drawn carriage in Cairo (size: 21.33 x 11.43 cm) which has been sold and collected at the highest price by Aziz Khan to support the faculties and students of Fine Arts who were facing hardships due to the corona crisis.

Education

Alor Pathshala

Alor Pathshala programme operates seven schools in hard-to-reach areas such as haor, char, hill tract areas and ethnic minority based areas in Kurigram, Rajshahi, Bhola, Naogaon, Teknaf and Bandarban. For the past 12 years, Summit Group has been fully funding six schools and in recent times another school has been established in Kachhaptali, Bandarban. Since 2023, Anjuman and Aziz Charitable Trust (AACT) has also been substantially contributing to educate Alor Pathshala’s 1,350 students between the ages of 6 to 16. Till this date, 900 students have at least passed 5th grade from Alor Pathshala. Aziz Khan was the founder chairman of Prothom Alo Trust (2012) and now serves as a Trustee. Read More

Jaago:

Jaago, founded by Korvi Rakshand, the winner of ‘181st Commonwealth Points of Light’ offers English version school curriculum both in digital and in-person classes to financially disadvantaged children. Jaago's “Online School” project, an unique and successful educational approach has been recognised by the UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize (2016). During a funding crisis in 2021, Summit Corporation and Beximco Holdings, two of the country’s largest conglomerates, provided a matching fund for three years to Jaago. We are enabling Jaago to educate 4,500 students. It has 10 brick-and-mortar schools in 11 districts where the teachers from Dhaka connect with students via online. This was the first of its kind effort from Bangladeshi conglomerates in terms of its scope and investment. On national level, Jaago has received the ‘Sheikh Hasina Youth Volunteer Award 2022’. Read More

SEID-Summit Community Therapy School: 

Since 2009, Summit has been supporting Society for Education and Inclusion of the Disabled (SEID) Trust to provide a daycare-cum-school service in SEID-Summit Community Therapy School in Kamrangirchar for disadvantaged children with special needs. The Trust was initiated by Dilara Mitu, a professional neurologist, when she found poor children with Neuro-Developmental Disabilities (NDD). They used to be tied down while their parents went to work, unable to access the washroom and eat leftovers. Currently, 98 differently-abled children of low-waged workers such as rickshaw-pullers, maid-servants in urban slums of Dhaka are receiving care, education, given appropriate schooling and income generating trainings such as embroidery, batique, sewing, tailoring and beading. The artwork of SEID’s children won prize money from the Office of the Honorable Prime Minister (HPM) thirteen times for greeting cards. Some of the teenagers have learned to cook and manage a restaurant called the ‘SEID Kitchen’ under the teachers’ supervision.  Read More

Dhaka Residential Model College (DRMC): 

The Dhaka Residential Model College (DRMC) is a boys school and known for their excellence in academic and co-curricular activities. DRMC has been awarded the “Best Educational Institution (College)” by the Government of Bangladesh and awarded “Sheikh Rasel Gold Medal-2022” in the Digital School Category. Over the years, Summit has been supporting DRMC in different events,  especially in the  National Science Carnivals where more than 4,000 students participate from across the country.  Read More

Tagore University of Creative Arts:

Tagore University of Creative Arts is a private university with a unique philosophy. The visionaries of this university are Professor Anisuzzaman, former Chairman of University Grants Commission, National Professor Nazrul Islam and famous Rabindra Sangeet artist Rezwana Chowdhury Banya among other notable figures. The life vision of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore Summit helped in establishing a full fledged computer lab titled “Summit Computer Lab” to facilitate the education of the students in higher art studies.  Read More

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore:
Summit Asia Pacific pledged a gift to Nanyang Technological University, Singapore for four years (2017 – 2020) in support of Centre of Excellence - International Trading (CEIT) Fund. Read More

Proyash:
Established in 2006, Proyash Institute of Special Education works to raise awareness of disability and autism in Bangladesh through research and education of special needs students. Summit helps Proyash to fight autism and supports its services and facilities which are open for all children with special needs. The institute also serves as training and research centre for the development of special education teachers and therapists.

Bondhushava:
The organisation “Bondhushava” aims to create human values among young people. Bondhushava is a platform for integration, helping to, building equip young people with the skills needed for to promote humanity. The organisation is involved in multiple philanthropic public welfare activities and strives to enhance art and culture in Bangladesh.

Health and Social Service

Siraj-Khaleda Memorial Trust

Siraj-Khaleda Memorial Trust is fully funded by Summit Group. The Trust sponsored the construction, equipment and furnishing of Siraj-Khaleda Cantonment Board General Hospital, operating since 2012. Now, the hospital provides treatment to over twenty thousand patients each year. At least 50% of the out-patients and 25% of the in-patients of the hospital come from the poorest segment of the society living in and around Dhaka Cantonment area. Patients receive medical treatment either free or at a subsidized rate. The administrative function and operation of the Siraj-Khaleda Cantonment Board General Hospital is managed by the Dhaka Cantonment Board. In addition, the Siraj-Khaleda Memorial Trust has funded the education of an average of twenty students every year since its inception in 1998.

Prothom Alo Trust

The Prothom Alo Trust raises funds for the acid violence and rehabilitation of women acid survivors and for running anti-drug awareness campaigns. It also raises funds on a ‘needs’ basis during natural disasters to help the victims with food, drinking water, oral saline, clothes, medicines and other essential items. Since 2007 it has funded disadvantaged meritorious students through Adamya Mehdabi scholarship program.

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (BMP)

BMP is a women’s human rights organisation to promote the status of women in Bangladesh. BMP is active both nationally and internationally since 1970 in order to empower women, especially who are living in a disadvantageous position. Summit has pledged its support to this women’s right organisation.

Burn Unit, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital

Summit supports Burn Unit, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital with facility development. The burn victims are usually from the poorest sections of the society who cannot afford quality gas stoves, work in high-risk factory environment and cannot afford expensive burn treatment.

At Power Plant Level

Summit works at local level including improvement of local schools, roads, mosques, drainage systems and other activities for the welfare of the communities where it operates.

Sports

Summit Open Golf Tournament

Since 1996 Summit has been sponsoring and organising Summit Open Golf Tournament at Kurmitola Golf Club, Dhaka. Golf is an emerging sport in Bangladesh and the tournament is used to promote the game, providing an opportunity for people to get involved in new hobbies and garner new talents.

Arts and Culture

Shurer Dhara

Summit actively contributes to Shurer Dhara Music for Development, an organisation founded in 1992 by Rezwana Chowdhury Bannya, a distinguished alumna of Viswa-Bharati (the renowned university of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore), a Professor of Music at the University of Dhaka and an accomplished exponent of Rabindra Sangeet. Their mission is to cultivate and promote music and culture across Bangladesh and has over two thousand students on average each year.

Community

Photo Caption: Summit-Friendship Solar Village Wins Reuters' Global Energy Transition Award 2024(Ref: https://events.reutersevents.com/.../global.../finalists/)

As part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Summit, the largest infrastructure conglomerate of Bangladesh had committed a joint development of ‘Friendship-Summit Solar Village Project’ (“Solar Village”) with Friendship, an international Social Purpose Organization with focus on climate change adaptation, in hard-to-reach char area in Gaibandha district. 

The ‘Summit- Friendship Solar Village’ project, has received the prestigious Reuters’ Global Energy Transition Awards 2024 under the ‘Projects of Impact’ category in New York, USA on 25th June 2024. Among 500 entries this year from around the globe, this project was nominated for its concrete results in terms of improved energy affordability, and compensation for losses to improve local resilience.

This 57.6 kW scalable solar microgrid now benefits 3,000 people from the remote, sedimentary island (called a Char) Kabilpur of Gaibandha district i.e. benefiting 205 ultra-poor households, a local market consisting of 26 shops, four primary schools, one Madrasa and Friendship’s Legal Information Booth, which are presently off-grid. 

Singapore PM Office awards to Muhammed Aziz Khan

Photo Caption: Muhammed Aziz Khan receives the Public Service Medal (COVID-19) from Singapore’s Minister for Health Mr Ong Ye Kung at the National Awards in Singapore Expo. 

Today, Muhammed Aziz Khan, the Chairman of Summit Group has received the Public Service Medal (COVID-19) at the National Awards for his outstanding contribution to the society during the pandemic. On behalf of the Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore, the honourable Minister for Health Mr Ong Ye Kung handed over the medal to Aziz Khan in a grand ceremony held at the Singapore Expo. 

In 2020, during the first wave of COVID-19, many migrant workers including Bangladeshi in Singapore, mostly young men, were isolated in dormitories and feared the worst. Muhammed Aziz Khan accompanied the the-then Singapore's Honourable Minister of Law and Home Affairs Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam spoke with about 6,000 Bangladeshi workers and contributed to SingHealth. 

Muhammed Aziz Khan remarked, “I am grateful to the government of Singapore for their encouragement to be responsible members of our community. Despite the hardships and loss of life, COVID-19 also brought out the best in humanity, with the world uniting and working together. Singapore and Singaporeans were extraordinary in their unity and support to all, and especially to the migrant workers, who could have been marginalised in the midst of a global crisis. I felt duty-bound to support migrant workers, including from Bangladesh, my country of birth and roots, so that SingHealth could serve them in the best possible manner. It was also an honour to be called upon by HE Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam, Minister of Law and Home Affairs of Singapore, to join him to comfort and encourage Bengali speaking workers, while the Minister spoke to the workers in Tamil. I am honoured and privileged to have been able to serve Singapore and its minority communities during the COVID pandemic. I am deeply encouraged through this National Award to be a responsible person to the best of my abilities.”

Muhammed Aziz Khan also committed early on that Summit will continue to pay salary and all related benefits to all the employees as long as the pandemic lasts. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Summit Group, and Anjuman and Aziz Charitable Trust (AACT) donated more than USD 1 million among government and private organisations in Bangladesh.

Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (PBM) Award and COVID-19 Resilience Medal by the Prime Minister of Singapore

In 2023, Muhammed Aziz Khan was awarded the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat Medal by the Prime Minister of Singapore for his contributions to the livelihood of migrant workers in Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also awarded the COVID-19 Resilience Medal in June of 2023 by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Anjuman and Aziz Charitable Trust (AACT) joins UNICEF’s International Council - a first from Bangladesh

Photo Caption: The Trustees of the Anjuman and Aziz Charitable Trust (AACT), Mrs. and Mr Muhammed Aziz Khan, Dr Hanns Kendel, and Dr Christian Prokopp, meet with UNICEF Executive Director Ms. Catherine Russell, UNICEF Director of Private Fundraising and Partnerships Ms. Carla Haddad Mardini, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh Mr. Sheldon Yett and the Chair of UNICEF International Council Ms Maria Ahlström-Bondestam to mark the launch of their partnership in Copenhagen. They are the first Council members to join from Bangladesh.© UNICEF/UN0722708/Brown

∎ This new four-year partnership between Anjuman and Aziz Charitable Trust (AACT) and UNICEF Bangladesh will help address the learning crisis caused by the Covid pandemic, enabling 3,000 vulnerable children re-enter education and catch up on their classes.

∎ In honour of their generous contribution to children in Bangladesh, Mrs. Anjuman Aziz Khan and Mr Muhammed Aziz Khan were invited to joinUNICEF’s International Council in Copenhagen. They are the first Council members to join from Bangladesh.

The Anjuman and Aziz Charitable Trust (AACT) has pledged to continue support to UNICEF Bangladesh enabling education of some of the most disadvantaged out-of-school children in Bangladesh, many of whom were forced to drop out of school during the Covid pandemic.

“Every child is the future, if we want a future we must enable the child, that via education. Education is not only children’s right, it’s our survival,” said Mr. Muhammed Aziz Khan, Founder and Chairman of Summit Group, and Founder and Trustee of the Anjuman and Aziz Charitable Trust (AACT). Our inspiration to support Dhaka South came from Muhammed Aziz Khan’s deep roots in businesses which started in Dhaka’s Chawk Bazar and Urdu Road.

“This generous and extraordinary contribution is a testament to the Khans’ commitment to the rights and needs of children. UNICEF is grateful for this donation from the Anjuman and Aziz Charitable Trust which will help meet the education needs of many of the country’s most vulnerable children,” said Mr Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh.

The UNICEF International Council is an unique community of people – many from the world’s leading business families and global influencers – who bring together their funding, influence and expertise to help children across the world. 

The Khan family were welcomed to the UNICEF International Council at its annual symposium, which took place in Denmark in October 2022. In Copenhagen, the Khans saw firsthand how UNICEF’s supply warehouse operates – including education and adolescent kits, which are sent to emergencies around the world.

AACT’s support will enable UNICEF’s specialised learning programme to be offered to 3,000 children living in Dhaka South City Corporation Zones 3, 4, and 5 who have dropped out of school. These areas see some of the highest rates of out-of-school children in the entire country, with one out of every three children in some neighbourhoods deprived of education. UNICEF will provide them with a unique approach to learn in a safe environment, until they either graduate from primary school or catch up on their classes and can be mainstreamed into regular schools. The programme will also benefit an estimated 5,000 parents and community leaders through community outreach activities.