First series of CSR Leadership Forum 2008 held

This series, dubbed as an interactive thought and experience sharing forum for Board members, Presidents, CEOs, Directors and CSR opinion leaders in Dubai provide a unique opportunity for business leaders to interact with one another, exchange ideas and practices in corporate social responsibility.

These CSR Leadership forums also serve as a vehicle to raise awareness and present thought leadership for businesses implementing CSR covering diverse industries such as retail, hospitality, manufacturing, utilities, retail, healthcare, non-profit organisations etc.

The first forum brought together business leaders from prominent Real Estate/Construction companies like Nakheel, Al Naboodah Laing O'Rourke, Tameer, ETA Ascon, Meraas and CentimeterCube to interact with one another and to hear first-hand from other leading figures at the forefront of the Real Estate and Construction business in Dubai, their views, on CSR and the opportunities and challenges it presents.

The roundtable discussion revolved around the importance of CSR and its benefits, key CSR drivers for the Real Estate and Construction sector and the main challenges and barriers for CSR in this sector.

During this forum the business leaders debated on strategies for developing a common responsible business agenda for the sector while also exchanging best practise examples and experiences.

Dr Belaid Rettab, Senior Executive Director, Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry said,

'In the UAE, leadership plays a very strong and influential role and is in a position to spearhead the CSR agenda by directing businesses towards responsible behaviour. As a representative of businesses we believe it to be important to create and provide opportunities for engagement between business leaders to discuss and debate on CSR challenges, opportunities and for sharing experiences of positive change. The Dubai Chamber's Centre for Responsible Business is pleased to launch a first of its kind in Dubai CSR Leadership Series, an interactive thought and experience sharing series for Board members, Director Generals, Presidents, CEOs, Directors and CSR opinion leaders in the UAE'.

Added Dr Belaid, 'In addition to the discussion, we will use each forum to scope out the content of a 5-page Issue Analysis document which will address issues raised in the forums and be linked to current CSR trends in the sector and best practice examples. This first of the series will be followed by the second one in June that will discuss Social and Environmental Impacts of Supply Chains in the Retail Sector and the third about CSR in Hospitality/Tourism Industry in September this year'.