11 firms honoured for sustainable business practices

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry honoured 11 organisations for their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability efforts during a ceremony held at its premises recently.

Companies that received the Dubai CSR Label for the first time were Kimoha Entrepreneurs and Wasl while Emirates Transport, DUCAB, Emrill, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, Summertown Interiors, DLA Piper and Canon Middle East bagged it for the second time. Commercial Bank of Dubai and Standard Chartered bagged the Dubai CSR label for the third time.

In his welcome address, Hamad Bu Amim, Director General of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, congratulated the honourees for their understanding and application of CSR into their governance and strategy. This, he said, shows that Dubai’s business community has taken CSR and sustainability to heart.

“Also, the increasing number of honourees — totalling 46 — since the launch of the Dubai Chamber CSR Label is heartening. This is a clear indicator of the overwhelming response to the concept of sustainable business practices. It also showcases the honourees’ intention in adopting the initiative to enhance their company’s reputation in the market place as a CSR leader,” Bu Amim said.

He added that the Dubai Chamber CSR Label allows organisations to learn, assess, monitor and improve individual CSR strategies and practices while also encouraging them to promote these schemes among their staff and customers.

Bu Amim said that through its Centre for Responsible Business, the Chamber has been providing easy access to toolkits and training to help companies implement CSR schemes. This first-of-its-kind initiative in the Middle East has been instrumental in encouraging organisation to incorporate CSR into their daily operations, he said.

The CSR Label is open to every type of organisation, regardless of its size, culture or sector and can make a major difference to a company’s reputation, efficiency and productivity. Its success depends on how the CSR objectives are set and communicated to staff and stakeholders.

Dubai Chamber’s Centre for Responsible Business launched the CSR Label in 2010 and has had an overwhelming response from the business community. The Centre offers a variety of educational, professional training and consulting services that are designed to increase a company’s capacity to implement broad CSR programmes, including business ethics, sustainability reporting and corporate governance, in their day-to-day working environment.