The Ministry of Economy in Dubai today on Monday said that it will be mandatory for the private sector to declare their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives by the end of 2017. The CSR initiative aims to encourage all companies to play a role in charitable, humanitarian work. Mohammad Ahmad Bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy, discussed the National Strategy’s 11 initiatives for CSR, which were set to develop a supportive and stimulating environment for companies to invest in social responsibility.

The CSR programme is one of six main themes of the UAE’s National Strategy, which aims to encourage all companies to play a role in charitable and humanitarian work.

Percentage

The ministry will announce a minimum percentage that should be allocated to CSR by all private companies.

Companies will be able to register starting July, and will be required to declare their audited CSR accounts to the ministry and upon licence renewal at the Department of Economic Development.

Auditors will be required to ensure the financial statement for the company verifies their CSR initiatives and CSR spending.

Al Shehhi said that another initiative is the establishment of a National CSR Index, which will rank entities in the country, based on the percentage of their contributions and projects.

The assessment process will take place in April 2018, while the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Annual Report and National CSR index results will be announced on Zayed Humanitarian Day in June 2018.

Year of Giving

Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said the launch of the annual report represents an important milestone for the ‘Year of Giving,’ as such programmes and initiatives introduce a solid base for the organisational system of charity works in the UAE.

“Cooperation between the Ministry of Economy, Departments of Economic Development and Chambers of Commerce and Industry and other governmental and private bodies is an essential and effective driving force for transforming the ‘Year of Giving’ concepts to practical programmes and initiatives,” he said.

Smart CSR platform

Al Shehhi highlighted the different services of the Smart CSR platform, which will be launched in July to enable all private companies to register, and to view the various fields of CSR initiatives. It will include guides and tools to make CSR contributions along with models displaying the implementation process.

“One of the main targets of the programme is to spread awareness about the values of CSR within the private sector. We are sure many private companies have CSR programmes, however, it is time to launch a joint platform based on concrete projects, and build partnerships between the public and private sector,” said Al Shehhi. He pointed out the ministry anticipates that all companies in the UAE who are currently registered in the economic department will become members of the CSR programme, which has now been set as a minimum requirement in the private sector.

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently hosted its annual Dubai Dialogue conference at its premises which focused on the UAE’s Year of Giving and highlighted the important role that public-private partnerships can play in achieving the objectives of the national initiative.

The event, organised by the Chamber’s Centre for Responsible Business, was attended by 150 delegates, including H.E. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy of the UAE, H.E. Mohammed Alshehhi, Undersecretary for Economic Affairs at the UAE Ministry of Economy, and H.E. Hamad Buamim, President and CEO, Dubai Chamber, as well as various stakeholders from the UAE’s public and private sectors.

The National Strategy for the Year of Giving comprises over 1,000 initiatives and programmes which cover six main themes, namely corporate social responsibility (CSR), volunteerism, the developmental role of humanitarian organisations, legislative systems and government policies, media, and serving the nation.

In his keynote speech, H.E. Al Mansoori said: “Organising this year’s conference is particularly important in light of the UAE’s move to declare 2017 as the ‘Year of Giving’. The wise leadership is taking a number of relevant steps to develop an integrated framework aimed at spreading the initiative’s principles and encouraging active participation of the government and private sectors at the institutional and individual levels.”

The UAE’s Minister of Economy noted that the government is keen on building a more systematic CSR methodology by offering incentives and monitoring, and putting key indicators into place that measure the initiatives’ progress and their benefit to society. Dubai Chamber’s President and CEO said that forming a united vision for CSR and sustainability in the UAE is one of the main objectives of the Dubai Dialogue conference as it enables organisations to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices in this field.

“Corporate social responsibility is at the core of the Year of Giving strategy, which comprises many initiatives that will have a direct and significant impact on the UAE’s business community and society at large,” added H.E. Buamim.

The 11 initiatives for CSR include incentives, facilities, and financial privileges. Among the financial privileges is the ‘Responsible Procurement’ initiative, which will be implemented in cooperation with the financial departments of the various emirates. It aims to allocate a percentage of government contracts to outstanding companies in the field of CSR. The ministry will also launch the ‘CSR Label’ and ‘CSR Passport,’ which will be awarded to the five most innovative companies in the field.

Another initiative is the establishment of the ‘coordinating forum for CSR.’ The forum will be organised in cooperation with the UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry, to provide platforms for regular communication in order to build partnerships between private sector companies and leaders of the humanitarian and charitable sectors.

“The country’s leadership has a vision to establish the position for the UAE to be the most giving of the world,” added Al Shehhi.

11 initiatives within the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme:

1. The Smart CSR website to be launched

2. CSR annual report to be published

3. National CSR index to rank companies based on CSR spending

4. CSR Label

5. CSR Passport

6. Monetary incentives for outstanding companies in the CSR field

7. Mandatory annual declaration of CSR projects

8. Coordinating forum for CSR

9. Annual announcement for CSR

10. Responsible procurement

11. Work committees for CSR