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On December 11-12, AmCham Egypt and UNDP Egypt co-hosted Egypt’s first international conference on corporate social responsibility (CSR), “Corporate social responsibility: engagement for a better future.”
The two-day conference, held at the Semiramis InterContinental Hotel in Cairo, aimed to facilitate discussion of how to implement CSR in Egypt and ensure its long-term positive impact on peoples’ lives. Local and international speakers discussed a number of factors essential for the success of CSR in Egypt, including the need to channel the history of endowments in Egypt into the effort to make CSR successful, while moving to broaden this concept in cooperation with the private sector. They also stressed the importance of working within the framework of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight goals for improved global health and poverty alleviation to be met by 2015. Speakers also addressed the need to create a center in Egypt to serve as a source of information for organizations attempting to implement CSR activities.
DAY 1:
Following the welcoming remarks by Omar Mohanna, Amcham president, and James Rawely, UN resident coordinator, Assem Ragab, chairman of the General Authority for Investment & Free Zones (GAFI), discussed the benefits of CSR for both business and society. He noted that implementing CSR policies is a good business strategy, but it is the government’s role to create an enabling environment for their implementation.
Following his speech, the first session, entitled “Towards better corporate engagement: the benefits of private sector engagement to both business and development,” tackled a number of obstacles hindering the implementation of CSR activities in developing countries. Speakers noted that one of the major barriers to effective CSR is the failure of governments to involve the private sector in poverty reduction efforts. It was noted that while the government should work to create an enabling environment, CSR does not mean that the private sector will replace the government in the development and implementation of social and public policy.
Furthermore, it was noted that CSR is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, but has to be based on local values and needs, as well as on each company’s values and capabilities. For companies wishing to engage in CSR, becoming part of the Global Compact is an important first step. The UNDP initiative provides a framework for best practice in CSR with 10 core principles covering labor, human rights, corruption and the environment. By joining the Global Compact, companies benefit from the lessons learned not only from CSR activities in Egypt, but from best practices around the world.
The next session focused on the launch of the Egyptian Solutions for Human Development Report, the first comprehensive study of private sector engagement in human development activities in Egypt, including detailed presentations, case studies and discussion. The report explores numerous aspects of human development activities in Egypt, and while it is not about CSR per se, it contains many applicable lessons for those attempting to implement socially responsible policies.
The report’s lead author, Laila Iskander, explained its value in showing the full spectrum of engagement in human development activity in Egypt. The study delves into existing and potential partnerships, offering advice to potential partners in human development activities, whether private sector companies, governmental organizations or NGOs. Furthermore, it offers concrete models for human development activities by emphasizing, for example, the importance of using SMEs as “learning labs” to help upgrade the skills of unskilled poor workers in the informal economy. In total, it functions as a how-to guide for those wishing to engage in CSR activities, and serves as a benchmarking tool to measure development.
The conference’s keynote speech followed. In a videoconference, Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, discussed three types of challenges to development that can be found in developing countries such as Egypt, as well as possible solutions to these obstacles. The first challenge is the geographic concentration of poverty, he said. Using the Millennium Village Project as an example, Sachs argued that the best way to address this type of challenge is by adopting a holistic approach where government, NGOs and the private sector work together to create overall social and economic development and alleviate poverty. In this model, each partner contributes according to their individual specialty, pooling resources around a single focal point in a collective effort.
The second challenge that Sachs addressed is marginalized groups in society that are not necessarily concentrated geographically, such as women. He argued more needs to be done to further engage these groups.
The third challenge that Sachs addressed is at a household level: individuals who don’t have the skills and/or assets to achieve security and escape from vulnerability. He argued that social services are necessary to empower these individuals. The private sector can also engage in education and training activities to consolidate the link between the education system and the requirements of the job market.
In the final session of the day, “A vision for multisector engagement,” the speakers pointed out that while Egypt has made significant progress economically, the benefits of this economic growth have not trickled down to all segments of society. To achieve this, the private sector, civil society and government have individual roles to play. The speakers argued that governments are obliged to reduce red tape to facilitate the private sector’s involvement in CSR, while companies should practice good corporate governance.
DAY 2:
During the first session of the second day, “A better enabling environment,” the speakers discussed the essential role that governments have to play in encouraging and facilitating CSR activities. They noted that companies should not consider themselves donors, but rather as partners in sustainable development through CSR, and that for these multinationals it is essential to make global practices relevant to local communities. Furthermore, the speakers noted that business associations are in a unique position to reach companies, particularly local companies and SMEs.
This session was followed by four simultaneous breakout sessions discussing different “areas of engagement.” The session on health concluded that companies should undertake CSR activities in health beginning with their own employees. It noted that members of the private sector should identify challenges that impact large segments of the population, and that strategic partnerships should be forged based on common goals between the private sector and “public welfare” organizations.
The session on education concluded that members of the private sector can partner up with government bodies and NGOs to bridge the gap between skills they need in their employees and the skills provided by the education system. IT can be used to provide innovative solutions to bridging this gap, the speakers noted. They also stressed that the media should be used as a tool for information dissemination, not public relations.
The session on the environment concluded that public-private partnerships (PPPs) are invaluable in addressing environmental issues. The speakers stressed the importance of supporting legislation and enforcing environmental laws to protect the environment. They also highlighted the importance of increasing awareness of environmental issues in rural areas, as well as engaging local communities.
The session on unemployment noted a paradox in the Egyptian employment market: due to a missing link between academia and industry, Egypt’s unemployment is decreasing, yet companies still have vacant slots they cannot fill. The necessity of using short-, medium- and long-term approaches to address various aspects of the employment problem was also discussed.
Following the concurrent breakout sessions, delegates reconvened in one group for a discussion of “Sustainable CSR in practice: tools of engagement.” The session focused on applying standards to CSR, both for its practice and measurement. Emphasis was placed on the Global Compact, measurement of CSR compliance and the importance of PPPs.
In wrapping up the conference, the organizers summarized the remarks and conclusions of the two-day event. They emphasized that a deeper understanding of socially responsible activities needs to be enshrined in the corporate culture of local and multinational companies working in Egypt. They also stressed the need to link international CSR norms with the culture and norms of Egypt, pointing out that the conference, rather than being the end of the discussion, is only a beginning.
The conference would not have been possible without the support of the business community. The conference’s platinum sponsors were Citadel Capital, Mansour Group, Vodafone Group Services and USAID Egypt; and gold sponsors were Centurion Petroleum Corporation, Commercial International Bank (CIB), Coca-Cola, EFG-Hermes, ExxonMobil Egypt, Microsoft Egypt and Orascom Construction Industries (OCI). The silver sponsor was Procter & Gamble (P&G).
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| Key conference contributors: |
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Ministry of Investment |
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