30 n 22 June 2008 n TheBusinessWeekly
corporate socialresponsibility
SMEs face constraints in adopting CSR
Lack of resources,
leadership cited as
main factors
Jim Paolo Joquico
Not only lack of resources but also
lack of leadership and mismanage-
ment affect the ability of compa-
nies, especially small and medium
enterprises (SMEs), to practise
corporate social responsibility
(CSR), an organiser of the Fifth
CSR Summit said. Due to this, it
is only large multinational compa-
nies (MNCs) that are apparently
visible in practising CSR.
Speaking to The Business
Weekly along the sidelines of the
CSR Summit held in Dubai last
week, Kostadin Petrov, conference
manager of the Institute for In-
ternational Research Middle East
(IIRME), a Dubai-based regional
market leader in the conference
Salam Yiti to be ‘sustainable’ project
HRM and EMS
assess impacts
of project’s
construction
TBW Bureau
Sama Dubai, the international real
estate investment and develop-
ment arm of Dubai Holding, has
announced the success of environ-
mental studies conducted on sus-
tainability issues pertaining to the
Salam Yiti-Oman project, yielding
positive results from Oman-based
environmental consultants HMR,
and Dubai-based Energy Manage-
ment Systems (EMS).
Mandated to monitor the
project for mitigating any negative
impact on the environment dur-
ing its construction phase, HMR,
which conducted an Environmen-
tal Impact Assessment (EIA),
reported that initial dredging
works have not had any effect on
the local marine environment. As
the project makes steady progress,
HMR will continue to actively
monitor and report its environ-
TBW June 22 (b).indd 30
and training sector and organiser
of the summit, said, “Large mul-
tinational companies (MNCs) are
mostly the ones who practise CSR
because they have more resources
than SMEs. They are the ones
who are setting the trends. In
this conference, you have to pres-
ent market-leading case studies,
and currently the market-leading
case studies are presented only by
these multinational companies.”
All aspects
“However, another factor is
the lack of leadership. If for ex-
ample, the senior management of
a company says they want to do
CSR but the employees are not
supportive of the initiative, it is
not going to work,” he said.
“In doing CSR, you have to cov-
er both the external and the inter-
nal aspects of management. This
applies to companies of all sizes.
Resources are very important, but
today, CSR is not about making
mental implications. Farhan
Faraidooni, executive chairman of
Sama Dubai, said, “Sama Dubai is
steadfastly committed to building
sustainable projects. We have com-
missioned periodic environmental
impact assessments to study
the effect of our projects on the
environment through every phase,
from the start to the completion
stage.
“Our arrangement with profes-
sional environment consultants
demonstrates our dedication to
ensure that Salam Yiti conforms to
our carefully formulated environ-
mental policies. Such measures
will further validate our stature
Farhan Faraidooni
millions of dollars in investments.
It’s about mapping out your every
move strategically,” Petrov added.
Mapping out corporate initia-
tives strategically means that
companies should integrate CSR
campaigns into their core busi-
ness values and objectives.
Petrov told The Business
Weekly that in order for a com-
pany to be successful with its CSR
initiatives, it should connect these
programmes with the core of its
business. He added that this is
the message MNCs send across
to small- and medium-sized busi-
nesses, and this is how they are
influencing them.
“For example, Microsoft Gulf
has this education type of CSR,
which I believe does not cost them
too much because they have the
equipment necessary to conduct
their activities, but they’re hav-
ing a huge impact and at the same
time, not having to make a big in-
vestment,” he explained.
as a socially committed developer
pursuing a sound philosophy of
sustainability practices,” he added.
Further review
Additionally, EMS is con-
ducting a sustainability review
of Salam Yiti by drawing an
eco-friendly design, operational
guidelines and recommendations.
These will be further reviewed by
Sama Dubai and integrated into
the development of the project,
reducing the carbon footprint.
To restore the damage caused
to coral reefs in the Bay of Yiti
by Cyclone Gonu in 2007, Sama
Dubai will place environmentally
sound underwater concrete struc-
tures to enhance the coral commu-
nity and encourage its growth.
The three 5-star hotels and
over 20 restaurants at Salam
Yiti will also endorse an action-
oriented policy towards local and
sustainable food.
Salam Yiti is a $2 billion
project that encompasses an inte-
grated residential resort hand-
picked between Oman’s dramatic
Al Hajar Ash Sharqi Mountains
and the pristine beach below.
While the benefits of CSR to
society are apparent, Petrov said
it also augurs well for companies
that practise it. “Companies show
everyone that they are a respon-
sible business. If a customer has
to choose between a company that
conducts responsible business and
one that does not, he would go for
the former. Additionally, it’s very
good from a marketing perspec-
tive. The competition is so big
that it has been said, in 10 to 15
years, there will only be a place in
the market for socially responsible
companies.”
The CSR Summit, held last
week, gathered forward-thinking
and innovative companies that set
trends in corporate citizenship.
The summit was supported by in-
ternational organisations such as
the UN Development Programme,
Nokia, BBC, Dow Chemical Com-
pany, Proctor & Gamble, Micro-
soft and PriceWaterhouseCooper,
among others.
Enoc to offer eco-
friendly carwash
TBW Bureau
Enoc, a wholly owned company
of the Government of Dubai, has
partnered with Clearwater, an
innovative cleaning solutions pro-
vider, under a two-year contract
to offer Enoc and Eppco service
stations with a new innovative
cleaning system using chemical-
free products and techniques that
render the cleaning process com-
pletely safe and eco-friendly.
Commenting on the partner-
ship, Saeed Abdullah Khoory,
Enoc group chief executive, said,
“As an environmentally-respon-
sible organisation, Enoc is com-
mitted to spearheading initiatives
that will help protect the planet
and promote sustainable living.”
“Through this partnership, we
endeavour to safeguard natural
resources and help maintain bal-
ance in the eco-system,” Khoory
added.
Clearwater’s cleaning formula
is 100 per cent chemical-free and
essentially consists of processed
water, which is an effective clean-
er for all surfaces from glass to
stainless steel.
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