CHAIRMANSheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDr. Khalid Mubarak Al-Shafi

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT THURSDAY 8 DECEMBER 2016

The weekly supplement issued byThe Peninsula to enhance the role of companies and institutions in

society development.

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Corporate Social Responsibility

CSR main goal for Qatari companies

Sidi Mohamed The Peninsula

Qatar is considered among the top coun-tries of the world which have developed Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) for compa-nies through which they are allocating a part of their budgets to achieve social projects and developments, said top official.

“Social responsibility has become one of the main goals for companies in Qatar. The com-panies are having competition in this regard,” Sultan Rashid Al Khater, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy and Com-merce, said yesterday, while addressing the Fourth Confer-ence for Corporate Social Responsibility organised by Dar Al Sharq and attended by top officials, businessmen and ambassadors.

Al Khater was talking on behalf of Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani, the Governor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB) and Chairman of the Social & Sports Contribution Fund (Da’am Fund).

The two day conference also organized an awards ceremony for companies and institutions and launched the fourth edition of the white book 2016 on “social responsibility practices for com-panies and institutions”.

“The White Book 2016 con-tains reports about Qatari companies and institutions and their role in the social responsi-bility which reflects their activities in this regard,” Al Khater added.

Moreover, the book monitors trends of social responsibilities globally as well as throws light on actual practices have been adopted to perform social responsibility world-wide. This year’s edition contains four chapters ranging from a chapter about conference documenta-tion to another one about awards of the last year.

The third chapter discusses the building of strategies about practices of social responsibility worldwide, while the last one

includes reports on social responsibilities achieved in 2016 by the institutions and compa-nies in Qatar.

Abdullatif Al Mahmoud, CEO, Dar Al Sharq Group, has said that the principles of corporate social responsibility have become a global trend, aimed at integrat-ing the sum of the private sector in local development efforts.

“We through our engage-ment with the country institutions have become more effective in spreading the CSR practice year after year,” he said, while addressing the Fourth Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility.

He said the initiative was started with holding conference, issuing white book and then awards to honour the companies and institutions on social responsibility.

“We began with 70 compa-nies and institutions in the first conference in which 36 compa-nies qualified to compete and the figure has now risen to 120 par-ticipants in the conference today in which 60 companies and insti-tutions have qualified to compete. This indicates the extent of the great interest that these companies and national institutions are taking towards the society and its members,” he added.

For her side, Ewa Polano, Ambassador of Sweden to Qatar said that the presence of a large number of businessmen at the conference had reconfirmed the growing interest in CSR in Qatar.

She also gave examples of some Swedish companies’ CSR practices. First, H&M, the Swed-ish global retail clothing company. Their “Conscious Cloth

Collections” which you can find in their stores all over the world, where, for example, the cotton is grown without chemical sub-stances and good working conditions, no children workers. This collection has been a suc-cess and shows that costumers want to buy sustainable and eth-ical approved goods.

Also, the Swedish furniture and home design retail company IKEA’s policy on sustainable pro-duction, producing a lot of furniture in wood, and by using only wood from forestry kept under strong environmental standards when cultivating the trees to the manufacturing proc-ess is another example of how a solid CSR policy can contribute to a more sustainable business.

Polano observed that char-ity was very good and important but it is not the right definition of CSR. “CSR is about respect for the Human Rights in the relation between the employer and employee, it is to do business in a sustainable and non-corrupt way,” she added.

“There are several important international guidelines existing in the area of CSR, from the OECD Guiding Principles, the UN Global Compact, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the ILO Con-ventions. These guidelines are good frameworks to set as exam-ple on policies to implement to improve CSR conditions, the ambassador observed.

She noted that Sweden was doing its best to implement those guidelines, and encourage all fel-low countries to do the same. “What makes Sweden so suc-cessful in the area of CSR? Some factors that are crucial are the

historically good relationship between employer and employee, strong unions and flat

organisation structures”. She said all Swedish compa-

nies have a CSR policy and it was

not regulated by Swedish legis-lation. “In fact, CSR is not driven by the Swedish government or any legislation.

The government supports by rules and policies and imple-menting existing legislation in various fields, but there is no specific CSR legislation. If you enter a web page of a Swedish company, they all have some CSR guidelines and its ethical policy exposed,” she added.

“An important question to highlight is how Sweden and EU can strengthen their cooperation with Qatar regarding CSR. In May 2016 the EU embassies and three important stakeholders (Qatar Foundation, Supreme Commit-tee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) and Msheireb Properties) held a seminar on one important CSR issue. Also, last month, an impor-tant MoU between the Supreme Committee and the Building and Wood Workers Union BWI also shows the great commitment to the important issues of CSR,” she concluded.

Ambassadors, top government officials and businessmen attend the Fourth Conference for Corporate Social Responsibility organised by Dar Al Sharq.

Dignitaries at the Fourth Conference for Corporate Social Responsibility organised by Dar Al Sharq yesterday in Doha. Pic by: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMohammed Salim Mohamed

SUPPLEMENT EDITORSAnilkumar Narayan

& Sachin Kumar

SUPPLEMENT COORDINATOR Babekir Osman

DESIGNAbraham Augusthy

PRODUCTIONViswanath Sarma

IMAGE PROCESSINGMohd Sajad Sahir

Corporate Social Responsibility IITHURSDAY 8 DECEMBER 2016

Fourth Conference for Corporate Social Responsibility organised by Dar Al Sharq

Ten companies have been chosen among 45 companies which applied for Social Responsibility Awards (SRA), said Sheikh Thani bin Ali bin Saud Al Thani, Chief of CSR Com-mittee. Abdullatif Al Mahmoud, CEO, Dar Al Sharq Group, and Sultan Rashid Al Khater, Undersecretary of the Min-

istry of Economy and Commerce handed over the awards to the winner companies.

� The list of the companies and institutions which won the awards as follow:

� Qatar National Bank (QNB) has won the award for the best CSR initiative presented by a national bank.

� Qatar Football Association won the award for best sport initia-tive on CSR.

� Al Emadi Enterprises won the award for the best initiative on CSR in Construction & Development in Qatar.

� Sasol won the award for the best initiative on CSR in the energy sector.

� Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Serv-ices (RAF) won the award for the best CSR charitable sector.

� Torch hotel won the award for the best CSR initiative in tourism.

� Al Meera company won the award for the best CSR initiative for big companies.

� Rzeez Coffee won the best CSR award for medium and small companies.

� Primary Health Care won the award for the best governmental initiative on CSR.

� An award was given to a school for preparing the best report about CSR.

Ten companies chosen for awardsfrom 45 applicants

Pictures by: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula

Corporate Social Responsibility IIITHURSDAY 8 DECEMBER 2016

‘Qatar’s commitment for corporate social responsibility growing stronger and stronger’

Sidi Mohamed The Peninsula

Ambassador of Swe-den to Qatar, Ewa Polano (pictured) yesterday appreci-a t e d Q a t a r ’ s

commitment for corporate social responsibility saying it was ‘growing stronger and stronger’.

Appreciating Dar Al Sharq on holding 4th Conference on Cor-porate Social Responsibility, the ambassador said that Qatar’s commitment on CSR was grow-ing stronger and stronger. “These CSR awards are an important signal towards the right direc-tion. It encourages companies,” she said, while talking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the conference.

She lauded amendments made by Qatar government in residency law to be implemented from December 13 this year. Polano said that Sweden was ready for the capacity building

and knowledge sharing with Qatari companies on corporate social responsibility.

She said Qatar had many agents of change like Qatar Foundation and Supreme Com-mittee for Delivery and Legacy. “Swedish embassy will try

organising seminars in Qatar on CSR in collaboration with local companies. We have experts who can give lectures on the subject for capacity building,” she added.

To another question, she said that Swedish companies used to attach great importance to cor-porate social responsibility and it was not under influence of any law. “The companies in Sweden have understood that perform-ing social responsibility also satisfies customers,” she said.

Citing example of Ikea, Polano said that Ikea was follow-ing the practice of maintaining an ecosystem by plantation of new trees after cutting trees for wood to produce its furniture. “Some 100 years back Sweden was one of the poor countries in Europe. Now, we are the most progressive country. We are famous for social welfare. In Swedish welfare model, there is equality and cooperation between employers and employ-ees,” she asserted.

Principles of CSR become a global trendThe Peninsula

Abdullatif Al Mah-moud, CEO of Dar Al Sharq Group, has said that the princi-ples of corporate

social responsibility have become a global trend, aimed at integrating the sum of the pri-vate sector in local development efforts.

“We, through our engage-ment with the country institutions, have become more effective in spreading the CSR practice year after year,” he said, while addressing the Fourth Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility.

He said the initiative was started with holding conference, issuing white book and then awards to honour the companies and institutions on social responsibility.

“We began with 70 compa-nies and institutions in the first conference in which 36 compa-nies qualified to compete and the figure has now risen to 120 par-ticipants in the conference today in which 60 companies and insti-tutions have qualified to compete. This indicates the extent of the great interest that these companies and national institutions are taking towards the society and its members,” he added.

He said that 65 percent of world’s largest 500 companies were contributing to the effec-tive programmes related to social responsibility with the disposal of more than $17.8bn

annually. And 93 percent of the top 250 global companies pub-lish annual reports on the activities of social responsibil-ity according to some international reports. Al Mah-moud said that according to survey results, corporate cus-tomers were willing to pay greater value to products to con-tribute to the social responsibility of companies. In a study released by a

London-based institute, states found that institutions and com-panies that pursue social responsibility programmes hon-estly and effectively outperform other companies in the growth of asset returns of 19 times.

“It is our belief that our insti-tutions today need to develop specific strategies in the social responsibility more than ever. Same was the focus of Confer-ence and the White Book this

year on building strategies, and the companies’ efforts and direc-tives need to be shifted to build clear strategy in this regard” he said.

“We are ready to adopt any initiative or social idea and also need media support so that its benefits returned back to the society,” he added.

The second day of the Con-ference was titled “Qatar and Africa Day” because the country

provides aids to Africa either directly or through charitable institutions, and today, the sec-ond of the conference, the sessions will discuss chances and challenges and how to create partnerships and to take care of social responsibility in African countries. “I am pleased to extend my cordial appreciation to Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani, the Governor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB) and

Chairman of the Social & Sports Contribution Fund (Da’am Fund), for supporting conference and the White Book project. As well as I appreciate companies and institutions of the country for their support for the publication of the White Book and the hold-ing of the conference,” he said.

Falih Hassan Al Hajri, Al Sharq Acting Editor-in-Chief, said that the main goal of the conference was to encourage companies and institutions to develop strategies regarding social responsibility.

He also added that the con-ference sheds light on the Qatari efforts in humanitarian field in Africa, mentioning Qatari char-itable organisations were making great efforts of providing aid to people across the world.

We, through our engagement with the country institutions, have become more effective in spreading the CSR practice year after year

Abdullatif Al Mahmoud, CEO of Dar Al Sharq Group, addressing dignitaries at the Fourth Conference for Corporate Social Responsibility organised by Dar Al Sharq yesterday in Doha. Pictures by: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula

We began with 70 companies and institutions in the first conference in which 36 companies qualified to compete and the figure has now risen to 120 participants in the conference today in which 60 companies and institutions have qualified to compete. This indicates the extent of the great interest that these companies and national institutions are taking towards the society and its members.

These CSR awards are an important signal towards the right direction. It encourages companies.Ewa Polano, Ambassador of Sweden to Qatar

Corporate Social ResponsibilitySPECIAL SUPPLEMENT THURSDAY 8 DECEMBER 2016

Glucose Energy drink from India’s Dabur Company — Dabur

Glucose D — recently con-ducted the finals of Ab Daudega Hindustan, a mega campaign to identify capa-ble sporting talent at the grassroots and nurture them in their pursuit for success.

Seven deserving athletes were identified and will be given free training under this initiative that sought to unearth sporting talent from the hinterland, train them and help them excel at national and international sports competitions.

Under this initiative, a series of on-ground activa-tion conducted across cities in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, And-hra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal to identify the tal-ented athletes.

Dabur received over-whelming 8,000 entries from across India. An inde-pendent sports panel screened the potential ath-letes from these entries, and shortlisted 350 athletes, who participated in the national camp held in Delhi.

A team of experts headed by Former Indian Athletics champion Ashwini Nachappa shortlisted top seven athletes from the group. The short-listed athletes will be provided world-class coach-ing under the guidance of Ashwini Nachappa in Ash-wini Nachappa Foundation. Along with Sayali Mhais-hune, the names of the six others candidates announced as winners are Avnee Rawat, Ujala, Shabnam, Vikas, Mohammed Meraj and Jainabaj.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Dabur India Ltd, G e n e r a l M a n a g e r (Marketing)-Health Supple-ments Rajeev John said, “Dabur Glucose Ab Daudega Hindustan is a part of our vision to identify the deserv-ing youth from the hinterland, who currently do not have the resources to get the right training facilities and coaches and thus pro-vide opportunities to them to help realise their dream of becoming a professional ath-lete and represent India on the Global stage. I am confi-dent that this initiative will help us identify the next gen-eration of Rising Stars in Track & Field events by tap-ping into the untapped sporting potential and talent in India.”

Under this initiative, Dabur Glucose reached out to schools, colleges, sports academies & Institutes across India to identify promising athletes who have the capa-bility to find a place in the sporting sun and represent our country on a big stage.

“Sports plays a very cru-cial role in all around development of kids, who are the face of tomorrow. Dabur Glucose-D, being a ready source of energy to fight tiredness and healthy living, has a natural association with sports. We feel that initiatives like Dabur Glucose-D Ab Daudega Hindustan helps us build a better connect with the highly charged and sport-loving kids across India, and further strengthen Dabur Glucose’s energetic partner-ship between sports and kids,” John added.

Dabur to train young athletes from rural area

Majid Al Futtaim launches ‘Take a Moment to Give a Moment' campaignMajid Al Futtaim, the leading shop-

ping mall, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East,

Africa and Asia, on Monday launched a charity campaign in order to provide great moments for children in need dur-ing the festive season.

Starting this week, Majid Al Futtaim will place special donation boxes in con-venient locations in all 20 of its shopping malls, across Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, and the UAE, to allow visitors to ‘Take a Moment to Give a Moment’, so those less fortunate can experience the joys of the festive season.

In a quest to put a smile on the faces of these children, Majid Al Futtaim part-nered with a group of the leading NGOs in the Middle East to directly engage with unprivileged kids to find out the most desirable gifts for them. The children, aged between three and nine years old,

have identified stuffed toys, Lego, books and sporting goods as the items that would make their festive wishes come true. Majid Al Futtaim customers in the UAE will also benefit from an additional partnership with Careem, the region’s leading app based car booking service, where a co-branded #WrapAWish van will be used exclusively to collect and transport gifts to the nearest collection point for the most convenience.

Alain Bejjani, Chief Executive Officer, Majid Al Futtaim – Holding said, “At Majid Al Futtaim, we pride ourselves on the moments we create – be that for cus-tomers, communities, businesses or, in this case, those less fortunate. Each year we look for exciting new ways to join our customers in sharing great moments dur-ing the festive season. This year, we are asking all visitors to our shopping malls to take just a moment of their time to buy

and donate something that will create a special festive memory for a child less fortunate. We hope this will be one more step towards sharing memorable moments with those who deserve them most.”

Once a donation has been made, cus-tomers can visit www.givegreatmoments.com to access more information about the campaign and witness the impact of their donation on the children who receive them, and can also join the con-versation about the campaign online using the festive-themed hashtag, #WrapAWish.

To celebrate the spirit of the festive season, Majid Al Futtaim employees across the five markets will entertain children in a series of fun-filled events. The kids will have the opportunity to experience Majid Al Futtaim’s entertain-ment destinations including, Magic

Planet, VOX cinema, Ski Dubai, iFly Dubai and Wahoo as part of Majid Al Fut-taim family. More than 33,000 employees across the company will also get the chance to participate in gift wrapping before they go to the children.

Continuing from the success of the Ramadan campaign, Majid Al Futtaim once again partners with charitable organisations such as the Islamic Asso-ciation in Bahrain, Life Makers in Egypt, Bassma in Lebanon, Dar Al-Atta in Oman, and Red Crescent in the UAE, ensuring immediate and appropriate distribution of all donated goods through their humanitarian network.

Bassel Al Nahlaoui, VP of Govern-ment Relations and Business Development, Careem, commented, “We are proud to partner with Majid Al Fut-taim for this wonderful ‘Take a Moment to Give a Moment’ festive campaign. The

addition of Careem services will extend the reach of this initiatives to even more Majid Al Futtaim customers across the UAE. If we can encourage and assist more contributions, we can share more spe-cial moments with children less fortunate this festive season”.

Careem will also offer 15 percent dis-counts on their services to encourage people to go to the collection points in different shopping malls in Egypt, UAE and Lebanon. This will be availed of through a special promo code for the campaign, soon to be announced.

Along with the collection drive across all malls in the region, Najm card cus-tomers can donate cash, Carrefour customers will be asked if they’re will-ing to donate their change on their shopping, while visitors to Magic Planet and VOX Cinemas have the opportunity to donate tickets.

EEG mitigates over 364 tonnes of CO2 emissions T

he Emirates Environ-m e n t a l G r o u p organised and facili-tated a nation-wide Can Collection Drive

which witnessed the joint efforts of more than 250 entities from across the UAE, from every seg-ment of society; government entities, private corporations, hotels, academic institutions, individuals and families. Through their collective efforts these participants collected 6,250 kg of aluminium cans.

For 2016, EEG has set an ambitious target of 27,000 kg of Cans; and till date has been able to recycle 24,263 kg of Alumin-ium Cans since the start of the year which is 90 percent of the target set for the year. Through this collection EEG has managed to mitigate 364 tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions and has saved 589 cubic metres of landfill space. In its 20th year the Drive acts as a flagship pro-gramme to the Can Collection Campaign.

Habiba Al Marashi, Chair-person of the Emirates Environmental Group, explained how the target of 27,000 kg of Aluminum Cans will be a break-through for the UAE in terms of community based Recycling programmes.

Sharing her deep passion for environmental protection she said “Waste and how we deal with it is a growing concern in the UAE and across the world, with the realisation that the vast majority of the resources that we rely on to sustain our life styles are finite and almost exhausted.”

Expressing her satisfaction over the participation of the community Al Marashi said that “It is always satisfying to see the combined efforts; hard work and perseverance come to fructifi-cation through such engaging community based activities. Through our Programmes we want the citizenry of the nation to understand that recycling should be a habit, not a choice or option”.

Through its long standing Can Collection campaign, EEG has since inception collected over 275,563 kg of Aluminum Cans and has prevented unnec-essary disposal of these valuable recyclables to landfills, in turn saving 6,689 metre of landfill space and mitigating 4,136 MT of CO2 emissions.

She further emphasised that waste reduction should be seen as part of the wider effort to reduce human impacts on the planet and live more sustaina-bly. In a time when nations are joining efforts to combat vari-ous adverse environmental effects, waste reduction and recycling have major positive impacts on climate change and pollution control. Aluminum Cans are special materials which can be recycled infinitely, and every ton of aluminium recycled prevents the extraction and use of five ton of bauxite and the associated impacts of process-ing bauxite.

The Can Collection Drive

acts as a symbol of unity amongst the UAE citizens regardless of age, background or position making it a collec-tive effort to preserve and protect our environment.

Habiba added that “Every-one has a right to an environment that is not harm-ful to their health or well-being and to have their environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations. But the protection of this envi-ronment does not fall under the responsibility of the leadership, governments or organisations alone; it is the responsibility of every individual. Protecting and preserving the natural resources

in the UAE is vital and can be done through such community based action programmes and campaigns.” She urged the com-munity to realise the benefits of recycling and work towards achieving the overall objective of zero waste in landfills.

This campaign saw the com-mitment and cooperation of the various government bodies, aca-demic institutions and corporate sponsors.

Habiba Al Marashi expressed gratitude to Rani Refreshments and Del Monte for coming on board as the Main Sponsors of the 2016 Can Collection Cam-paign and Emirates Global Aluminium for coming on board as the Co-Sponsor.

EEG was also in appreciation of the support extended by the Public Parks and Horticulture Department-Dubai Municipal-ity, Ajman Tourism, Fujairah Natural Resources Corporation, American International School-Abu Dhabi, Al Ain English Speaking School, Umm Al Quwain School for Basic Educa-tion for Girls, Radisson Blu Resort-Sharjah, Abela & Co, Al Futtaim Carillion, McDonalds UAE, Blue (a member of Al Serkal Group), Interserve International, Khansaheb Civil Engineering, Tristar Group, DHL Express, Zajel, United Metals and Lucky Recycling.