Mathrubhumi Group has received two honours at the 17th edition of the Corporate Social Responsibility Summit & Awards organised by UBS Forums for its flagship CSR initiatives, Student Empowerment for Environmental Development (SEED) and Ente Veedu. The initiatives were recognised under the Community Development Initiative of the Year and Sustainability and Empowerment for Environmental Impact categories, respectively.

The awards recognise organisations, NGOs and individuals for their contributions to corporate social responsibility and sustainability. The award was received by Tanmoy Adak, Regional Head, Media Solutions (West), Mathrubhumi Group, from Siddharth Daga, Co-founder and Chief Impact Officer, Neo Motion.

Mathrubhumi launched the SEED initiative on June 5, 2009. Now in its 17th year, the programme works with schools to encourage students to participate in environmental conservation activities. These include planting and protecting saplings, agricultural activities, biodiversity conservation, energy conservation, protection of water bodies, cleanliness and public health initiatives, and reducing, reusing and recycling plastic waste.

Through SEED Police and SEED reporters, students are also encouraged to identify and respond to environmental issues in their local areas. Mathrubhumi volunteers support the programme as mentors and trainers.

The Ente Veedu initiative was launched on October 28, 2021, with the aim of providing homes to homeless and financially disadvantaged families in Kerala. The first phase resulted in the construction of 1,000 homes, while the second phase is currently under way.

Mathrubhumi selects beneficiaries from across Kerala based on criteria that include owning less than five cents of land, being financially unable to construct a house and living in temporary or makeshift shelters.

According to Mathrubhumi Director-Operations Devika Shreyams Kumar, the recognition increases the organisation's responsibility towards communities and strengthens its commitment to sustainable improvements in quality of life. She said SEED has become one of the largest school-level environmental initiatives undertaken by a newspaper organisation in India.

Kumar also said Ente Veedu has so far resulted in the construction of more than 1,685 houses across two phases, with another 315 homes currently under construction. She described the figures as a reflection of the communities and families reached through the initiative.

The latest recognition adds to Mathrubhumi's ongoing CSR efforts, with SEED focusing primarily on environmental education and student participation, while Ente Veedu addresses housing needs among underprivileged families.