Abu- Ghazaleh Highlights the Role of CSR in developing societies

The roundtable aimed to tackle an important question: What can CEOs, government, civil society and all other stakeholders do to make CSR more mainstream in Jordan

AMMAN----July 8, 2013------Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Jordan, in cooperation with the Amman Chamber of Commerce, and the Talal Abu- Ghazaleh Organization, a roundtable on corporate social responsibility was held at the Amman Chamber headquarters.

The roundtable aimed to tackle an important question: What can CEOs, government, civil society and all other stakeholders do to make CSR more mainstream in Jordan.

HE Mr. Riad Al Saifi, Chairman of the Amman Chamber of Commerce welcomed attendees and participants saying: "The Chamber seeks to have joint efforts with the private sector regarding CSR due to the importance of serving the society ad part of the sustainable development process."
 
In his Keynote speech, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh said: "The CSR is a societal and ethical framework, it is also a philosophical framework of enhanced and modern business in the light of the social, economic and technological developments."

He added that what the companies offer is a duty and a responsibility "and the activities of companies here is a form of good citizenship, and expressed his firm belief that successful companies which have the power, capital and influence have a moral duty to do good, and that the development and efforts in social responsibility for companies will achieve a qualitative change effective in the Arab world."
 
But Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh warned that CSR is not the solution to the problems of our social and economic world, it is just one limited way, albeit positive, expressing support for other initiatives, corporate social responsibility because their presence is not to make money only and they should not forget that the community is the owner of the credit and source of livelihood and goodness.

He stated that the United Nations fulfilled its leadership role with respect to global corporate social responsibility, through the Global Compact of the United Nations which is an important initiative in the field of voluntary corporate social responsibility on international level and has achieved a degree of organization and credibility. Based on the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations, which allowed me to lead the presidency of the international coalition to achieve its objectives through information and communication technology, the agreement seeks constantly improvement and development in line with the Millennium Development Goals.

He added:"Since its inception, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization was one of the participants in the agreement, and I had the honor to be the first vice-President to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and called on companies to participate in it."

HE Mr. André van Heemstra, Chairman of Global Compact Network Netherlands tackled CSR Themes in the Netherlands saying:"In 2007, a number of Netherlands-based signatories of the UN Global Compact founded a Dutch Network, in 2011 it became an association aims to further the Global Compact's 10 principles and serves members through organizing learning activities, mutual support with the Communication on Progress (COP), and  joint projects and with the effort of Paul Polman of Unilever, Feike Sybesma of DSM, and Peter Bakker of TNT an appeal upon the private sector, government, public institutions and NGOs to contribute much more strongly to realizing MDG1 (eradicating extreme poverty and hunger)."

Meanwhile, Mrs. Heleen Saaf van der Beek, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands said:" I am very pleased to have Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh and Mr. André van Heemstra today as our two keynote speakers. As the representatives of the local Global Compact Chapters in Jordan and in the Netherlands respectively. CSR is about the attitude of the entrepreneur and whether he or she is receptive to the societal effects of his/her management. This can involve all sorts of sustainability themes, such as labor participation, the fight against poverty, climate change, preservation of biodiversity, human rights or the fight against child labor."

She added:" The Dutch government sees a role for itself in promoting and incentivizing the application of CSR. And so do we, Dutch embassies abroad."

Mr. Mustafa Nasereddin, Executive Director at Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization said:" "TAG-Org and its 80 offices around the world work on initiatives according to the Organization's mission such as training and capacity buildings and the latest was the renewal of HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Scholarship to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip where around 1000 students benefitted from this scholarship in addition to other projects in the capacity building stressing on the fact that TAG-Org is committed to the 10 principles of the Global Compact."

Around the world, the concept of CSR has become well known. In 2000, the United Nations launched a strategic policy, called UN Global Compact to bring businesses in contact with UN agencies, labor organizations, civil society and governments to align their operations and strategies with ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. With over 10,000 corporate participants and other stakeholders from over 130 countries, it is the world’s largest voluntary corporate responsibility initiative.