DOHA: Enhancing labour standards and workplace safety, sustainable development and linking CSR-related activities with sports were among the key topics of discussion on the first day of CSR Qatar 2014 conference which opened yesterday.
The second edition of the conference aims to leverage corporate social responsibility (CSR) to accelerate Qatar’s socio-economic development, and build a strong framework for effective sustainability reporting, according to a statement.
The annual event brings together corporate and community leaders from Qatar and the region to share ideas and experiences and discuss ways to enhance business contribution to sustainable development.
Supported by Qatar Chamber (QC), the conference is a key platform in further developing the CSR environment in the country and enabling decisionmakers to explore how CSR can support Qatar National Vision 2030 and drive social and economic development.
The three-day conference started with an opening keynote address by Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Tawar, Vice-President, QC.
He said, “Social responsibility is the ethical obligation of companies towards society. “It’s neither a gift nor charity handed out by them; hence companies should not confuse CSR with sponsoring or participating in sporting events.
“The private sector has an important part to play in accelerating Qatar’s economic growth and social development. As the role of the private sector in the country’s economic activity continues to increase, businesses must take on greater responsibility in contributing to the common good and ensure that their actions and initiatives benefit society. I hope this conference will be an important step in taking CSR forward to the next level.”
Yesterday’s sessions got off to an engaging start with a panel discussion on ‘CSR – More Than Just Charity’. Participants included Essa Al Mannai, Executive Director, ROTA (Qatar Foundation); Mohammed Hammoudi, General Manager, Cisco, and Hasmig Khoury, Head, CSR, Bank Audi, Lebanon.
On the importance of CSR programmes to be more strategic in nature, Al Mannai said, “An organisation has to realise its potential to impact the community, should use its core skills for better effect and partner with others to have a bigger impact on the community.
“We see a shift from philanthropy to CSR which is a good sign for the future of CSR in the region,” he added.
“At Bank Audi, we had to reassess our CSR programmes to be more strategic and get stakeholders aligned” said Khoury. “We identified issues we could focus on and then focused on a few select strategic pillars for the long term and turned down requests for donations they did not fit our objectives.”
Hammoudi said: “From my perspective, when we talk about CSR programmes being strategic, we need to understand the relevance of CSR and what is important to the country and community. It should never be a one-off activity, has to be sustainable and have a long-term vision.”
The Peninsula
