Business executives need to get more active on corporate social responsibility front, says study

The Center for Responsible Business (CRB), a Dubai Chamber initiative, conducted a study which marks the second annual survey of attitudes and practices of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Dubai in the summer of 2007.

Twenty thousands two hundred (2,200) companies were surveyed, out of which 310 responded, yielding a response rate of 15%. Now, CRB releases 'Changing Together: The State of Corporate Social Responsibility in Dubai, 2007 - Executive Summary highlighting some major findings of the study.

The survey revealed that executives in Dubai consider corporate social responsibility as a fundamental part of their business agenda.

This was the common verdict coming out of the 2007 survey that followed the maiden 2006 study on attitudes, commitments, and practices of small, medium, and large companies toward corporate social responsibility.

The majority of executives rated ensuring health and safety issues in the workplace and the care for the environment as important issues.

Likewise ethical practices in the supply chain, the marketplace, ensuring employees' welfare, and donating to charity emerged as critical.

For example, executives place high value on product and services quality (96.4%), incorporating suppliers' interests when making strategic decisions (61.7%), 72.5% work towards ensuring employee health and safety while 63.2% tend to measure environmental performance and 62.9% donate to charity.

The study also indicates that although corporations in Dubai are not entirely

there yet, in terms of mature and integrated CSR strategies and practices, they have an excellent point of departure for getting there.

Formed in 2004, the Centre for Responsible Business (formerly known as the Dubai Ethics Resource Centre) is the longest standing Centre promoting Business Responsibility in the UAE.

As part of the Dubai Chamber, its international team of experts assist Dubai businesses to apply responsible practices that enhance performance and competitive advantage. The Centre for Responsible Business offers research, training, assessments, certification, programmes, events and advisory services that cover all aspects of CSR.