Economy
Sustainable economic development provides the opportunity to work and live with hope for the future. Reducing the production costs now gives the secure outcome for tomorrow.
Ecology
To be responsible means to think about the day after tomorrow. Acting today now provides resource for the future.
Society
Strong community guarantees good business opportunities. Developed society ensures high standard of living, social wealth and partnership.
Deal to promote corporate social responsibility inked
Source: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article534684.ece
By ARAB NEWS
Published: Nov 17, 2011 01:56 Updated: Nov 17, 2011 01:56
Chairwoman of Alroha CSR Company Olfat Kabbani and Martin Neureiter, a world-renowned expert in social responsibility, sign an agreement for mutual cooperation. (AN photo)
JEDDAH: Chairwoman of Alroha CSR Company Olfat Kabbani has announced a new strategic alliance with a European company in order to establish and promote sustainable responsibility programs for Saudi companies, offer consultancy services, conduct social research and analysis and evaluate the commitment of owners of commercial and industrial establishments to corporate social responsibility.
Martin Neureiter, a world-renowned expert in social responsibility and CEO of “The CSR Company International” and ISO 26000 expert, signed the agreement on behalf of the European company, which offers several consultancy services in the area of corporate social responsibility to global companies and governments. He is currently a CSR advisor to the government of the United Arab Emirates.
Kabbani, who chaired the first Social Responsibility Council in Saudi Arabia, pointed out the importance of studying the area of corporate responsibility and comparing it to Arab and local economic practices.
She highlighted the growing importance developed countries have given to achieving corporate social responsibility, noting that the managed assets volume of investment funds invested in socially responsible companies has exceeded $2 trillion in the United States and Europe as of 2007, demonstrating a great interest in this policy area.
She added that Alroha CSR Company would seek to change the current perceptions of social responsibility and devote its expertise to spreading the concept of CSR in the private sector.
Kabbani discussed a wide range of mechanisms and standards to be implemented by the new company to evaluate the commitment of any business to social responsibility programs consistent with the standards set by the ISO.
These standards include ethical and social commitments towards employees, thus fostering their loyalty, reducing training costs, and increasing production efficiency, all of which add to company value. Kabbani explained that social responsibility, as defined globally, is not firmly established among Saudi companies, so much needs to be done to inject this concept into the Saudi workplace.
She called for social responsibility to be promoted throughout society, beginning with educational institutions and progressing into the government sector, the goal being to make social responsibility an integral part of an institution or individual’s life.
The inauguration ceremony for Alroha CSR Company was attended by a group of interested business owners as well as the Austrian Consul in Saudi Arabia.
The new company employs consultants, experts and specialists in the field of corporate social responsibility from Saudi Arabia and the Arab world.
Post a comment No Comments »
Huffington Post – Article by CSR Company Partner Khalid Alnowaiser
When Will We See Another Steve Jobs?
Dr. Khalid Alnowaiser
Saudi attorney
With the recent passing of the most important visionary and technology innovator of our lifetime, Steve Jobs, I am left with this question: Why can’t the Islamic world produce a person as brilliant and generous as Steve Jobs? Let me suggest six reasons why we may not be able to do so.
We immediately think of the educational curriculums adopted in the Islamic countries, knowing that education is the first step toward refining the talent and minds of scientists, inventors and innovators. Yet, our curriculums are sterile and outdated and are unable to produce persons of the caliber of a Steve Jobs. Why is this so? Because these curriculums fail to value or embrace the disciplines that are vital for our modern times, sciences like mathematics, chemistry, physics, philosophy and logic, which have been disregarded and replaced by religious subjects. A nation cannot progress if it uses an educational system whose main focus is religion and in which secular pursuits are not given any importance. These curriculums are based on memorization and blind obedience while the curriculums that produced Steve Jobs and other brilliant innovators are based on understanding, comprehension, experimentation and invention. How can we change this paradigm?
Secondly, Islamic nations praise the abstract at the expense of the concrete, that is, they believe in the unknown and disregard reality by permitting religion to dominate all aspects of scientific inquiry. Although the Prophet said to the people of Medina, “You know best about the matters of your world,” we remain obsessed with the taboos, heresies and errors of every useful science and do all we can to suppress legitimate questions. When all sorts of freedoms, sciences, inventors and innovators are suppressed and restrained, we are left with those scientists who specialize in the fields of menstruation, nifaas (bleeding after childbirth), halal, and haram.
Thirdly, Islamic countries are obsessed by angels and demons, God and Satan. If something fails, then its failure is due to the fact that God has decided that it is not meant to be, or Satan and his devilish schemes have caused it to fail. Conversely, if it succeeds, then this is God’s plan and the result of prayer to keep Satan away. We rely too much on all things intangible and insubstantial, remaining in ignorance. Our biggest concern seems to be whether eating the meat of demons is haram or halal. How strange and ignorant is that?
Fourthly, the religious speech in Islamic countries tells us not to be impressed or admire the lives of other peoples, peoples who have struggled against cancer, walked on the moon and invaded outer space, peoples whose fleets roam the seas and whose aircraft rule the skies. While they have the ability and freedom to do what they please, we go to them in mourning like orphans, searching for medical cures, using their cars and airplanes, and continue to criticize them day in and day out in secret and in public, although we use all of their tools and inventions. How hypocritical!
Fifthly, we can see that Islamic nations have used lame and illogical excuses to push art aside and intentionally hide it from their people. All kinds of art such as music, theater, painting, and sculpture have been de-emphasized or completely disregarded. This has led to creating shaken and disturbed personalities and spirits, stifling talents that could add to the enjoyment of life. Art is a means to satisfy our soul and feed our emotions, producing a more confident, balanced and spiritual humanity and motivating people to live and work, and even more, to create, innovate and give of themselves to others. Art protects humanity from all that can bring it down and allows spirits and hearts to soar high into a sky filled with optimism and hope and to move steadily down the road of innovation, creation and discovery.
Finally, Islamic nations generally tend to dwell in the past at the expense of the present and the future and thus become prisoners of an outmoded way of thinking. Although great progress has been achieved in the past, now such countries seem frozen in time, unwilling or unable to foster the kind of visionary thinking and innovations epitomized by Steve Jobs. In short, we have watched as other countries have planned for the future by emphasizing the very things that made Steve Jobs’ technologies so compelling and popular. Times change, challenges arise, and innovators respond and adapt. So must countries.
May God bless your soul, Mr. Jobs, for the many inventions that you have left behind for humanity. Someone of your brilliance could only be the product of a nation that has provided its citizens with a fertile environment to be creative and innovative and that has understood the reality of our times. How can Islamic nations achieve such progress? We must turn the page on extolling religious dogma that breeds ignorance and a disgust for the future. Let us hope another Steve Jobs will emerge to lead us towards a brighter future!
Post a comment No Comments »
Five Questions about SRI – Weekly Expert Interview with Martin Neureiter, CEO, The CSR Company, Vienna, Austria
This interview was taken by Geoffrey on October 28, 2011. You can find the original article here.
Each week Emerging Markets ESG publishes an interview entitled, “Five Questions about SRI.” The interview features a practitioner’s insights about SRI in emerging markets and through Emerging Markets ESG shares this expertise with a wide global audience. The goals of Five Questions about SRI are fourfold:
- To reflect on what SRI in emerging markets means to practitioners;
- To collect a catalogue of examples of SRI in practice in emerging markets;
- To raise awareness about SRI in emerging markets; and
- To enable SRI practitioners in emerging markets to network with peers around the world.
This week’s interview is with Martin Neureiter, CEO, The CSR Company, Vienna, Austria.
The CSR Company is a leading corporate social responsibility (CSR) consulting firm committed to add value to the businesses of its clients by embedding the principles of CSR into their core strategies, policies, programs and actions. It postulates that consistent responsibility-driven behavior of companies and governments generates business wealth and profits for employees, shareholders and stakeholders at large. Martin Neureiter was born in Salzburg in 1961. He studied law in Salzburg, Vienna and at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Since October 2004 he is owner and CEO of The CSR Company. He is Task Group Leader within the ISO (International Standards Organization) for the writing of the ISO 26000 standard on Social Responsibility. He is author of Corporate Social Responsibility – Leitlinien und Konzepte im Management der gesellschaftlichen Verantwortung von Unternehmen, published in 2004, which was the first German language book on the issue, and Handbuch Corporate Citizenship, published in 2011. He conducts a Masters Program in CSR at the University of Vienna, lectures at the St. Gallen Management Institute (Switzerland) and coaches at the CEO level.
Emerging Markets ESG: How would you define socially responsible investment (SRI)?
Martin Neureiter: Investments into companies that take the impacts that they have on their clients, their employees, their environment, their neighbours, etc. seriously and do something about it. Different perhaps from classical SRI, I believe a tobacco company, a weapons producer or a gambling establishment can also act socially responsible, because it is much more important HOW they do their business rather than what they produce. If that were the case, only plastic bottle recycling companies could do CSR 
Emerging Markets ESG: What distinguishes SRI from mainstream investment?
Martin Neureiter: SRI investments should look at the risks that lie within the company that you want to invest in. There are so many companies claiming to be socially responsible but have their poison garbage in the back yard. So SRI investments should evaluate the full risks of the company, its financial performance, its social performance and its environmental performance; only then will the investor get a complete picture of the company, enabling it to make a decision. That is what I would expect from SRI.
Emerging Markets ESG: Which extra-financial theme – environmental, social or governance – is the most challenging for emerging market companies to manage?
Martin Neureiter: Management needs to understand the need for sustainable management, including the triple bottom line. This includes understanding that dealing with the environment or with social issues is not an add-on, but actually makes a successful business. This understanding is very often not there, from the experience that I have. It is all about making a quick buck without regards to what will be in a few years, as probably the management will have moved on to an even better paid job. This model is based on continuous growth of GDP – if that fails, then this concept is doomed to create a lot of bankrupt businesses. In turn, this is not good for investors, which closes the circle and shows the need for taking all aspects of the business into account.
Emerging Markets ESG: Which extra-financial theme – environmental, social or governance – is the most challenging for investors in emerging markets to analyze?
Martin Neureiter: In emerging markets it is not so much the laws regulating any of the above-mentioned topics, but rather their implementation. There are good governance rules, environmental and social laws but their level of implementation is rather low. So an investor should not only look at if an anti-corruption policy exits, but also at how it is implemented, what actions are taken, how people are trained, etc. This applies as well to environment and social issues. Sometimes the possibility of saving a dollar here or there by evading the law seems very tempting, as controls are not that tough, and if corruption can be used as a tool for evading the law, then the business is not sustainable.
Emerging Markets ESG: The CSR Company is a global consultancy, with a presence in Australia, Asia and Europe as well as partners in North America and South America. Would you please briefly describe the primary drivers for SRI on each of these continents, comparing and contrasting them?
Martin Neureiter: In Asia CSR concentrates very much on the externalities, on what the companies supply to the communities, etc. So it is very much about “what the company does with its profits rather than how it made its profits.” SRI as a tool is also too much focused on the reputation of the company rather than on its real performance. The so-called “hard” facts are still only the financial indicators; there is very little data about the two other dimensions.
The Americas are very different. North America is a market for SRI, but still on a scale way below classical venture capital or investment funds and tools. Latin America is ahead in this respect, even if in total numbers the market is of course smaller. But the topic is there and investors look into social responsibility as a criterium for investment. Here especially the US has still a way to catch-up, but it is not only the fault of the investors, it is also the lack of investment possibilities, because the SR topic is still not grassroot business but rather the exotic outsider (with well-known exceptions to the rule like GE Green Business, etc.)
Europe is probably on the front line, being pushed by more vocal customers and governments to invest in businesses that are green or socially active. The big sovereign funds like the one from Norway or almost all the big pension funds in Austria have clear rules only to invest in SR projects and nothing else, never mind the return on investment (ROI). They are not suicidal; they believe that the long-term ROI is higher when investing in sustainable projects rather than in short-term profits.
One word at the end – one important thing that has so far been missing in SRI is clear criteria defining what is a social investment and what is not. The new standard ISO 26000 provides exactly this missing tool and thus we believe it will greatly foster SRI in the future.
Post a comment No Comments »
Debate on Social Responsibility in Hanoi
The “Sustainable Trade and Corporate Social Responsibilities” bussines forum was held October 8 in Hanoi under the auspices of the Vietnam’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Post a comment No Comments »
ISO 26000 in Bulgarian media
The following articles are in Bulgarian.
Banker.BG - Тотю Младенов открива кръгла маса за международния стандарт за социална отговорност
CityBuild.bg - СЕРТИФИКАТЪТ ЗА УПРАВЛЕНИЕ Е НАЙ-ЛАКОНИЧНАТА РЕКЛАМА
CSR Bulgaria - Кръгла маса: Международният КСО стандарт ISO 26000
Novini.dir.bg - Тотю Младенов открива кръгла маса за международния стандарт за социална отговорност
Dobrinite-news.com - Разработен бе стандарт за социална отговорност ISO 26000
Events.bg - Кръгла маса: Международният стандарт ISO 26000 – Ръководство за социална отговорност
Gramophon.com - Министър Тотю Младенов откри Кръгла маса в БТПП
Klassa.bg - Т. Младенов: Постигнато е споразумение за осигурителните прагове за 46 професии
LiveNews.bg - Тотю Младенов открива кръгла маса за международния стандарт за социална отговорност
mlsp.government.bg - В основата на корпоративната социална отговорност стои личният пример
mi-focus.moody.bg - Социалната отговорност – само добра кауза?
novini.pernikutre.com - Разработиха стандарт за социална отговорност ISO 26000
Vitamina-bg.com - ISO 26000:2010 Ръководство за Социална отговорност
Post a comment No Comments »
CSR 2.0 Revolution starts: Samsung, Hyundai are in danger
The following articles were published in a Korean magazine as cover stories.
Unfortunately, we only have the Korean version of the texts. Please use the links bellow to read the articles
The Main Article
Side 1 – German CSR
Side 2 – Interview with Martin Neureiter
Side 3 – SRI
Post a comment No Comments »
The first Austrian Company verified towards ISO 26000
Big media interest at the pressconference held on 29th September as the first Austrian Company verified towards ISO 26000! Based on the Austrian Standard 192500 the Oberösterreichische Ferngas Netz Company, a gaspipeline operator, is the first company to conclude an audit successfully and is now able to claim its Social Responsibility Activities are based on ISO 26000. See links of TV and press reports.
Please note that the copyrights for the following articles/video streams are property of their respective publishers.
Oberösterreichische Heute
OÖ Ferngas erhält Zertifikat
ISO 26000: OÖ. Ferngas Netz – 1. zertifiziertes Unternehmen Österreichs
OÖ. Ferngas Netz ist erstes nach ISO 26000 zertifizierte Unternehmen Österreichs
OÖNachrichten.at
OÖ Ferngas Netz GmbH zertifiziert
Post a comment No Comments »
Germany is marching ahead in CSR – Where is Austria?
In short, what it says in the article below is a strong manifestation that CSR is becoming more and more the centre of attention, and politics, at least in some countries, have realised it. Chancelor Merkel of Germany is saying that she wants to change the brand “made in Germany” to “CSR – made in Germany” as a quality label for German products in the world. In addition, and that is for me the most interesting fact, she wants to bring CSR to schools and universities, so it becomes common knowledge for customers of the future to look for products produced socially responsible. Wednesday this should be presented to Parliament.
What a change of attitude, and what a way to move ahead… and where are we?
Die Kanzlerin will die Marke „Made in Germany“ reformieren und plant ein neues Gütesiegel für deutsche Unternehmen.
Anteil der öffentlichen Aufträge, bei denen die Behörden ökologische Aspekte berücksichtigt haben (Klicken Sie auf die Grafik, um eine leicht vergrößerte Ansicht zu erhalten)
Amerikanische und britische Manager übertreiben gern, wenn sie erzählen, wie vorbildlich sich ihre Unternehmen gegenüber Mitarbeitern, Umwelt und Gesellschaft verhalten – heißt es aus der Bundesregierung. “Die werben in Saudi-Arabien und anderswo mit Leistungen, die noch weit unter unseren gesetzlichen und tariflichen Normen liegen“, ärgert sich ein deutscher Regierungsbeamter. Tatsächlich stehen deutsche Unternehmen in der Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), wie der Fachbegriff dafür heißt, weltweit an der Spitze. Um das bekannt zu machen, will Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel jetzt ein sichtbares Zeichen setzen.
Die Bundesregierung will die altbewährte Herkunftsmarke „Made in Germany“ reformieren. Den schon 1887 eingeführten Herkunftsnachweis möchte sie mit dem Kürzel CSR zu einem neuen Gütesiegel kombinieren: „CSR – Made in Germany“. Das geht aus der Nationalen Strategie zur gesellschaftlichen Verantwortung von Unternehmen hervor, die die Bundesregierung an diesem Mittwoch zusammen mit der Nationalen Engagementstrategie für eine Bürgergesellschaft beschließen will und die der WirtschaftsWoche vorliegt.
Der Schritt ist dem Entwurf zufolge ein „Beitrag zur Bewältigung der zentralen Herausforderungen in einer globalisierten Welt des 21. Jahrhunderts“. Um den neuen Slogan bekannt zu machen, will Merkel die deutschen Botschaften und andere Institutionen im Ausland „gezielt einbeziehen“, heißt es in dem Papier.
Öffentliche Aufträge ohne Makel
Gleichzeitig will die Regierung deutsche Unternehmen drängen, noch mehr in Sachen soziale Verantwortung zu tun. Ein wichtiges Instrument dafür sind laut Entwurf öffentliche Aufträge und Beschaffungen. Wer sich darum bewirbt, sollte hierbei keinen Makel aufweisen. So ließen sich staatliche Aufträge von 360 Milliarden Euro jährlich”„im Sinne der Nachhaltigkeit nutzen“, heißt es. Diese Ausgaben könnten helfen, „innovativen Technologien den Marktdurchbruch zu erleichtern“. Zudem ist ein zentrales Informationsportal im Internet geplant. Dort sollen “verlässliche, transparente und vergleichbare Angaben über CSR-Aktivitäten von Unternehmen“ abrufbar sein.
Mit einem “Aktionsplan CSR“ möchte Merkel das Thema zudem in Schulen, Universitäten und bei Verbrauchern stärker ins Bewusstsein rücken. Auch seien Beratungsprogramme für mittelständische Unternehmen und runde Tische zum regionalen Erfahrungsaustausch geplant. Und wer sich besonders engagiert, den will die Bundesregierung künftig auszeichnen: mit dem neuen CSR-Preis.
Post a comment 2 Comments »
CSR Toolkit in featured by CNBC & covered by Reuters
Our CSR Software “The Complete CSR Toolkit” – www.csr-toolkit.com was covered this week by CNBC and then a day later by Reuters in a US press release. See links below! We are getting global, and that is where we should be!
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS42585+20-Sep-2010+BW20100920
Have fun reading!
Post a comment 1 Comment »
CSR in Iran – a contradiction?
Last week took me to Iran to talk about CSR. Maybe not the first address that would jump to your mind when thinking of CSR, but there I was, 3 in the morning at Ayatollah Khomeini International Airport in Teheran and my friends from CSR Iran, Alireza and Tahereh waiting for me. Yes, there is such an organisation in Iran, and boy are they busy and professional. Customs was easy and no different than at any other place in countries were you need a visa to enter. Only difference were the women, who in the plane looked very European, but in the airport methamorphosed into Iranien ladies wearing a head scarf. Well, we drove all night to reach Esfahan, because the flight that should have brought us there for some reason had been canceled. It is a 4 hours drive on an astonishingly well developed motorway through rough and dry landscapes, past the holy city of Ghom. The workshop was in the office of the largest steel company in Iran, a semi state company called Mubareek Steel Company. To my surprise, the CEO came by, a number of directors and approx. 30 middle management people sitting there awaiting me, and what I had to tell them about CSR. I would wish sometimes in our western companies for such great interest in CSR. So I talked all day about CSR as the business concept, about making money by doing good, about ISO 26000 and its human rights chapter, about the respect for the laws of the country and the respect for international norms of behaviour and we had an open and engaged dialogue and discussion. Nobody took any offence in touching issues that we in the West associate with Iran in a negative way and I learned a lot about their thinking just as I hope they listened carefully to what I had to say.
CSR in Iran is still in most cases about charity and donations, it is not yet in the stage of becoming a strategical tool, but it is on the way and we found some elements in Mubareek that were not named CSR but cleary related to it. internally and externally. Still there are a lot of open issues, also in this company, but we planted the seed and we will see how big the tree will become one day. My hope is that my friends from CSR Iran will be able to pick up on this kick off meeting and work with the company in the future and maybe also have me coming back again as consultant. Not only for business reasons but Esfahan is a beautiful city, as I found out at a late evening walk through the historical city centre and across the ancient bridges of the city. As they say, you see Esfahan and you have seen half of the world.
Late at night the flights were operating again and I flew with Tahereh back to Teheran having a most enlightning discussion with a young, smart, well educated Iranian girl that does not fit in any of our clichees of surpressed, rightless women in this country. Of course I am not naiv, I know of the case of the woman sentenced to be stoned and many other such cases, but Iran is not black and white, it is, as in just so many issues in different countries all over the planet, different shades of grey. And with a strong light at the horizon with these smart and eloquent girls that will find their place in society.
This impression got even stronger the next day when I held a second workshop in Teheran with participants from different sectors of society, businesses, NGOs, academics and others. The questions I got from them put them in the top league of interested, smart particpants that I have witnessed during my many travels around the globe. We had planned the workshop till 1pm, at 2pm they were still sitting there discussing with me and nobody had left. Being openly critical to some of the government policies put me in strange situation of not really knowing how to answer, so I resorted to my usual tactics, being honest and transparent and saying what I think, and I guess that was appreciated by the people.
The evening then completed this picture with a stroll through some of the shopping malls of Teheran where the young girls were showing more hair than not and holding hands with their boy friends and just having fun. Maybe I only saw one picture of Iran, but that there is such a picture is something worth to be told about and gives hope for this beautiful and great country.