The national, regional and global platforms have reiterated the crucial sectoral roles towards the growing demand of urgent climate action and the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. With the recent call of climate emergency by the UN Secretary General, the countries need to pick up on their national agendas to achieve carbon neutrality on a faster pace.
The Network has been at the forefront to deliver specialised trainings and to build capacity on the critical areas of CSR and sustainability since its inception in 2004. Arabia CSR Network held the last two CSR trainings of the year 2020 to equip entities in the Arab Region with the urgent requirement to deliver on the global goals and strengthen the sustainability practices. It conducted the CSR Strategy and Leadership training and CSR Advanced training from 22nd till 29th December. The participants joined from prominent organisations from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including Alpin Limited, Emirates Global Aluminium and Napco National. They were also introduced to reporting frameworks such as Global Reporting Initiative – (GRI Standards), UN Global Compact – UNGC Communication on Progress (COP), Social Responsibility ISO 26000, etc.
Mrs. Habiba Al Mar’ashi, President & CEO said in her opening remarks that the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has drawn immense attention, especially in context of inclusive recovery post COVID-19. Therefore, in order to reach environmental and economic sustainability, public, private, academia and the NGOs need to align their businesses, activities and operations with specific and relevant SDGs. The SDG no. 17 in particular calls for multilateral collaborations to find linkages and build critical tools for the achievement of the overall SDGs. The Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) Alliance convened by the UN Secretary-General has developed significant resources such as COVID-19 bond issuance, RRR (Renewed, Recharged and Reinforced) report and also introduced ‘Sustainable Development Investing’ (SDI) definition to help the public and the private sector to move effectively towards long term investments for sustainable development.
Mrs. Al Mar’ashi briefly presented the sustainability context to the participants to set the tone for the trainings, followed by a combination of lectures, discussions and case studies to illustrate how organisations are leveraging their sustainability performance to contribute towards the sustainable development of their businesses and that of their countries.
The 2021 is a year of breakthrough. There are global engagements that will focus on the post COVID-19 phase, deliberate the innovations and policies, and implement the research-based solutions for inclusive recovery. It has therefore, become increasingly clear for entities to make CSR and sustainability a higher priority.
Looking ahead to 2021 and committing to widen its reach further, the Network has scheduled a year packed with trainings and workshops. The registrations for January and February trainings are open and have already started filing up. ACSRN urges companies to step up efforts to embed the latest sustainability approaches and tools in their core operations and businesses.
“There cannot be more delay in internalising and taking actions to contribute to 2030 Agenda. Take your organisation two-steps further in achieving carbon neutrality and hold firm to climate ambition in the year 2021 and beyond”, added the President & CEO of ACSRN.
Note for Editors:
About the Arabia CSR Network: The Arabia CSR Network is a professional multi-stakeholder organisation established in the UAE in 2004. It is devoted to advancing the principles and practices of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability in the Arab Region. It facilitates networking, learning and sharing experiences and knowledge in matters of CSR and Sustainability. The Arabia CSR Network was the first GRI certified training partner for the Arabic speaking Middle East countries. The Arabia CSR Network promotes, encourages and recognises responsible business practices through a bunch of services and offerings, including trainings, research and best practice, advisory services, third party assurance and a Pan-Arab acclaimed award initiative known as the Arabia CSR Awards as well as a biennial intellectual platform to discuss on the latest in the sustainability arena known as the Arabia CSR Forum.
