Balancing social and commercial goals

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an evolving trend globally. R. Seetharaman spoke to Gulf News on how Doha Bank is leading the way in establishing better practices within its own systems, to support sustainable economic development and environmental programmes.

Gulf News: So you disagree that CSR is just a corporate 'feel good' buzzword in the region?
Seetharaman: Our actions speak for us. Global warming is a major concern. We have signed a pact with RainTrust Foundation, an organisation dedicated to combating global warming by protecting the Amazon rainforest.

RainTrust ventures will enable Qatar to meet the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol by investing in approved, United Nations-compliant clean energy carbon credit programmes.

We are also initiating the region's first Carbon Mercantile Exchange to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and channel revenues towards renewable energy programmes.

We have already bought a plot in Qatar's Energy City for the purpose and expect the exchange to open within two years. Our commitment also extends to offering people socially responsible investments.

There are plans to introduce mutual funds which invest in sustainable economic development projects which provide maximum returns.

We continue to drum up awareness through our regular 'green' quiz contests in Doha, which are extremely popular, and through a series of road shows throughout the Gulf.

How is Doha Bank integrating CSR into its business operations as a natural and logical direction?
For us, CSR and corporate governance (CG) are an integral part of our corporate identity. Our banking activities are underpinned by the tenets of fairness, transparency and accountability. They are being embedded in all our banking activities.

All directors are provided with guidelines, which set out their roles, duties, responsibilities and obligations. Additional obligations are placed on the chief financial officer, chief risk officer and head of the audit committee.

Analysts firmly believe that financial regulatory authorities should emulate countries where the Companies Act makes it mandatory for financial institutions to state their CSR objectives and actions in their annual reports. Do you agree?
Yes, I do. However, we did not wait for a law to make us do so. Doha Bank is one of the first to outline its CSR and CG commitments in our annual report.

We don't consider these issues an option, we know they are necessary. As a bank we are responsible to our shareholders, but we also hold public money. So we have to combine our commercial and social objectives and strike a balance.

Financial institutions in the region can and should play a bigger role. True, we are in business, but how you make money is equally important.