Taking the onus

Dubai: With the continuing degradation of the environment, private companies need to continue with corporate responsibility and sustainability despite the global economic downturn, said a sustainability expert.

During a community lecture held by the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) the need for greater adherence to corporate social responsibility in order to speed up recovery of the corporate sector from the global credit crisis and recession was highlighted by Ralph Thurm, Director of Sustainability Strategies of Deloitte.

Thurm has worked for the Global Reporting Initiative, mainly in the area of business engagement and development. GRI is now viewed as a globally accepted international standard for sustainability reporting.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been downsized by many companies, which demonstrates their lack of understanding of such internal policies, said Thurm.

Emerging markets and developing countries will be home to more than 90 percent of young adults under the age of 18, said Thurm, and if these countries are not helped to develop with CSR projects, amongst others, it could create a huge migration effect, war on resources and have an extreme effect on climate change.

The geopolitical advantage of the Middle East can become a disadvantage as the region is sandwiched between Asia and Africa, two continents with the fastest growing populations who are living on under $1 a day, said Thurm.

Sustainable urbanization challenges will be faced by many cities with 50 percent of populations already growing up in cities and 95 percent of another future 3 billion, by 2050, growing up in cities and disconnected by nature.

Thurm gave a nine point guide for companies to assess, re-plan and rebound towards recovery. He added the importance for a company to understand the current business climate and define a long term vision while keeping close its core business strategies.

EEG lectures double in March