DOHA: The 10 best corporate social responsibility initiatives of companies and organisations in Qatar were honoured at the first CSR Awards yesterday at Four Seasons Hotel.
The ceremony was part of the CSR conference organised by Dar Al Sharq which saw the launch of the second edition of White Book 2014.
The award was the first of its kind on the national level for which 30 companies competed in various categories.
The Best CSR Initiative awardees were Qatar Charity (NGO), Qatar National Bank (Financial Sector), Ooredoo (Big Company), Ritz-Carlton Doha (Tourism), Shell Qatar (Energy Sector), Ezdan Holding (Construction and Development), small companies Innovation Films (Small Company), Qatar General Authority for Standards and Metrology (Government Sector), Qatar Football Federation (Sports Sector) and Al Sadd Sports Club (Best CSR Report).
The Minister of Youth and Sports and Vice-Chairman of Da’am Fund H E Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser Al Ali and Dar Al Sharq CEO Abdulatif Al Mahmoud presented the awards.
Receiving the award, Ali Al Obaidli, CEO, Ezdan Holding Group, said participants had been able to highlight their presence in the social responsibility field, aiming mainly at the consolidation of community through initiatives to support development.
Al Obaidli said Ezdan believed in being an integral part of the Qatari society in all its components, and that the Group had adopted initiatives over its long career in all sectors, including social, health, educational, cultural, sports and environment.
The CSR Awards committee and sponsors of White Book 2014 were also honoured at the event, attended by over 250 representatives from the business community, civil society and government institutions.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Jaber Al Harami, Executive Vice-President, Media and Publishing, and Editor-in-Chief, Al Sharq, said Dar Al Sharq had made CSR one of its priorities.
“We are proud to have initiated efforts to disseminate the principles of CSR. I am delighted to announce that the CSR Awards which succeeded in its first year will continue to honour companies chosen based on standard criteria and with full transparency,” he said.
He said Al Sharq will soon publish a weekly supplement on CSR, a first in the GCC.
The White Book and the supplement, he said, would serve as a link between the private and the government sectors on their development efforts and an effective platform for exchange of information.
The event also saw two CSR sessions — ‘The role of government in CSR’ and ‘Environment and social responsibility of companies’.
The forum ended with a Doha Declaration on CSR which included recommendations and proposals to be submitted by companies to the government to initiate a national policy on CSR to achieve Qatar’s leading role in the region.
The conference was held under the patronage of Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani, Governor, Qatar Central Bank, and Chairman, Sport and Social and Contribution Fund.
The Peninsula
