Call for national body on CSR to reach more needy

Closely after the Sultanate of Oman made it mandatory for companies to set aside 20 per cent of their budgets for the initiatives of Oman Charitable Organisation (OCO) as CSR, the fifth Omani Forum on Partnership and Social Responsibility was organised with wide local and Gulf participation on Wednesday.

Organised by Al Roya, a number of Omani and other Arab experts gathered to discuss mechanisms to enable the concept of “corporate citizenship” and encourage companies to carry out their social responsibilities to integrate brands into society which contributes to accelerating the pace of the strategic plans of implementing the Oman 2040 Vision.

Titled 'Corporate Citizenship... Positive Partnership and Effective Responsibility', the forum included two main themes, namely 'Corporate Citizenship and the Sustainability of Community Investments', and 'The Path towards Positive Corporate Citizenship' and had

There were seven working papers and a discussion session reviewing the role of "corporate citizenship" in promoting social responsibility practices.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Hatem bin Hamad al Tai, Secretary-General of the Forum and member of the State Council, said that assimilation of various CSR initiatives has become the need of the hour and there should be an institution to materialism the same.

"A body called 'National Institution for Social Responsibility' in agreement with major companies and institutions need to be formed to ensure the CSR reached more needy people. A board of trustees can be entrusted to formulate public policies and develop programmes to direct CSR allocations towards comprehensive development in its economic dimensions so that the desired results on the performance of the economy in general can be achieved," said Al Tai.

GREAT STRIDES

"The Sultanate of Oman has made great strides in its progress on the path of social responsibility, especially with regard to the corporate social role, through what It provided services to local communities, which contributed to improving the standard of living and contributing to advancing development in various fields, especially the fields of education and health," he added.

He further noted that all these major national strides represent one of the most prominent tributaries of corporate social responsibility.

"Far from theoretical conventions or political interpretations, it should be clarified that this concept simply means developing the role of companies in supporting development in its comprehensive image, not only in implementing social projects, but also extending to contributing to the development of the national economy, by directing part of the social responsibility allocations to economic projects that need support," he added.

CSR INITIATIVES

Speakers opined that the CSR initiatives were key in helping local youth get jobs, resulting in contributing to revitalising the economy by enhancing commercial activities and purchasing power.

Shaikha Suhaila bint Salem al Sabah, guest of honour and International Ambassador for CSR from Kuwait, praised the Omani Forum for Partnership and Social Responsibility in promoting the process of social responsibility through its constructive ideas and discussions.

"Today we live in a major global health crisis as a result of the Corona pandemic and there is a real need for diverse citizenship, including economic citizenship or economic partnership to remove these problems from our countries and eliminate the suffering of peoples," Shaikha Suhaila said.

Prof Dr Ali al Ibrahim, Vice President of the Regional Network for Social Responsibility for Development Affairs, said that companies and institutions faced great challenges due to the corona pandemic and many societal pressures were applied to them but urged them to continue their commitment towards the society as both complemented each other.

Hatem al Taei was conferred with the title of 'International Ambassador for Social Responsibility' and he joins a constellation of leading and influential Omani, Arab and international personalities in the areas of social responsibility.

Dr Hamid bin Abdullah al Balushi, Director General of the Arab Researchers Network in the Field of Social Responsibility also delivered his speech on CSR.

Mohammed bin Ahmed al Gharibi, Director of External Affairs and Communications at Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), and Engineer Al Mutassim bin Saeed al Sariri, Head of Foreign Affairs and Social Investment at Okio, presented a working paper entitled "Corporate Citizenship: Investment Benefits and Sustainable Development Returns", and "Methodologies for the sustainable application of corporate citizenship" respectively at the first session of the forum titled 'Corporate Citizenship and the Sustainability of Community Investments".

The second session of the forum hosted a discussion session that witnessed the participation of Issam bin Nasser al Shaibani, Vice President for QHSE at ASYAD Group, and Barir al Lawati, Director General of Institutional Relations and Business Development at Shell Oman Marketing Company, in addition to Nasser al Maskari, Director of CSR at Occidental Oman.

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