Dubai: The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has started awarding the CSR (corporate social responsibility) Label to companies to encourage CSR activities.

Du, QBG and the Nail Spa were bestowed with the Dubai Chamber CSR Label for their pathbreaking initiatives in terms of best CSR and sustainability practices.

In an attempt to raise awareness of the importance of corporate social responsibility and the growing need for the business community to play a more prominent part in promoting such practices, DCCI developed the CSR programme under the Centre of Responsible Business in late 2010.

CSR is an important and integral part of normal business operations and a proven management tool to achieve success in an organisation, Hisham Al Shirawi, second vice-chairman of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Gulf News.

"CSR is not just embedding responsible and sustainable practices into business strategy without tangible outcomes, it is now evident that CSR, sustainability and profitability are inter-related and go hand-in-hand in creating a successful organisation," said Al Shirawi.

Dr Belaid Rettab, senior director of Economic Research and Sustainable Business Development at the Dubai Chamber, noted that the CSR Label provides an opportunity for companies to identify responsible practices and to determine their strengths and weaknesses.

"It also helps them apply responsible business practices in their company's internal operations including performance appraisal and overall development of the organisation," he added.

Hala Badri, executive vice-president of brand and communications at du, said: "Our corporate mission is to add ‘life to life,' and this recognition by the Dubai Chamber for our efforts towards our corporate social responsibility is an honour."

Deepak Sharma, CEO of QBG, said: "The feedback from the Dubai Chamber highlighted the fact that CSR is a strategic investment and if we can improve on our gaps we surely are on our way towards re-modelling ourselves as one of the few companies having morale for CSR."

Application to CSR

Applying for the Dubai Chamber CSR Label is a simple process. This is to enable all companies, both large and small at various levels of CSR integration and understanding to be able to utilise this tool easily and effectively. The scope of the Dubai Chamber CSR Label will only cover the social and environmental impacts of a company's operation in Dubai