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CSR needs more push: Experts

February 7, 2012

Some Omani companies have made Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a norm, but the Sultanate still needs to do much more to promote CSR and sustainability, said experts at a conference yesterday.

Members of Oman’s business community, and some regional and international guest speakers with extensive CSR experience, discussed ways to encourage both the public and private sectors to do more CSR activities at the Oman CSR and Sustainability Conference - The Way Forward. CSR includes promoting human rights, labour rights, environmentalism and anti-corruption and it could lead to better long-term sustainability.

“We stress the need to expand CSR in all companies and institutions,” said Ayman Abdullah Al Sinai, deputy chairperson of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), which helped organise the conference, along with Al Majal and Zawaia.
There are some companies including PDO, Oman Oil, OLNG, and Saud Bahwan that have already made CSR a foundation of their business practices, said Mohammed Khamis Al Hussaini, of the OCCI. He said CSR should be a natural part of all companies in Oman, both big and small.

“Omanis are tolerant and charitable people and they should be the cornerstone of CSR activities,” Al Hussaini said.

Ways that companies and institutions, both public and private, can incorporate CSR in their businesses include reducing water and energy use in buildings, supporting different sports or cultural events, and providing job training and a safe workplace. When there is a focus on CSR, the whole business benefits, said Prof. Thomas Anderson, from The Research Council.

“CSR isn’t just about environmental or social concerns. It’s about the future of business,” Anderson explained. “There has to be initiative and innovation for the future.”

Anderson said Omanis are open to new ideas and change, but they need to act more quickly to integrate both CSR and sustainable development into their business practices.

He said The Research Council is developing a programme for sustainable development and wants to explore environmental concerns as a way for local companies to improve both their CSR and their profits.

Soren Petersen, from the UN Global Compact Office, which promotes CSR world-wide, said companies have a responsibility to help develop sustainable societies. He encouraged Omani companies to join the UN Global Compact and use its logo, which is a sign of CSR and ensures a company is ethical and responsible.

“There is no alternative to being sustainable and responsible,” Petersen said, adding that companies need to do more than just the minimum requirements. “There’s a strong need for companies to demonstrate that they are responsible and sustainable.”

Petersen suggested there was a need for government regulation and incentives and more collaboration between public and private sectors to make CSR and sustainability part of mainstream activities. He also added that Oman can look at what other countries are doing regarding CSR and sustainable development, too, including other GCC countries like the UAE and Qatar, both of whom had representatives speaking of their experiences at the conference.

“Over 40 per cent of companies in the UAE have increased their CSR activities during the economic downturn,” Eman Al Madani, CSR executive from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “It’s now seen as an integral part of business,” he added.

Times of Oman