166 leading businesses from across the Gulf Region\u2019s pledged to prioritise sustainable development as a business imperative, at the second regional forum on \u2018Sustainability in Business\u2019 hosted by The Pearl Initiative and United Nations Global Compact, concluding on a high note on Thursday in Dubai.
The Pearl Initiative launched \u2018The Business Pledge\u2019 at the forum to serve as both a commitment to and a guide on the Private Sector\u2019s journey towards responsible growth. The guide provides details on four areas of sustainable growth and good governance practices, and suggests practical and implementable solutions for businesses in the Gulf Region. The four areas include: Setting Targets for Sustainable and Responsible Growth, a More Inclusive Workplace, Promoting Integrity, and Collaborations & Partnerships.
Held under the patronage and in the presence of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mabarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, the forum was themed \u2018Sustainability in Action: Business and the Sustainable Development Goals\u2019. The forum served as a successful \u2018call to action\u2019 – encouraging collaborative strategy and practical action towards creating diverse, inclusive and competitive economies.
The forum convened more than 700 public and private sector representatives, who also discussed how the GCC private sector could help advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), unveiled by the United Nations earlier this year.
\u2018Sustainability in Action\u2019 was organised into five panel sessions focused on Peace, Planet, Prosperity, People and Partnerships. During the sessions, corporate governance was identified as a fundamental driver of sustainable economic growth, social development and job creation for the next generation of youth. The conversation takes place at a crucial time, considering the region\u2019s current focus on diversification, knowledge-building and entrepreneurship to boost the economic landscape.
Following keynote addresses by His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mabarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development and His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General, United Nations, the esteemed panelists shared their insights on identifying the most effective approaches towards achieving the UN global goals and highlighted the roadblocks that needed to be overcome. Experts headlining the sessions included Sheikha Hanadi bint Nasser Al-Thani, Founder and Chairperson of Amwal, His Excellency Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Chairman of Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development, Her Excellency Razan Al Mubarak, Secretary-General of Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, Khalid Al Hussan, CEO, Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) and Sanjeev Chadha, CEO, PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and North Africa.
In his welcome address, Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises and Founder of The Pearl Initiative, said: \u201cWhat is uniquely different about the SDGs\u2019 inclusive and holistic approach, is just how clearly the role of business has been articulated in this new agenda. We are an essential component of humanity\u2019s vision for a more sustainable world. Business also has a unique role to play in embracing technological change and globalization to promote equitable prosperity, and thereby build resilience within our societies and economies. Our region\u2019s vision for sustainable development utterly depends on the private sector\u2019s ability to integrate our economy, society, and our environment.\u201d
As part of her address at the forum, Her Excellency Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations said: \u201cAccomplishing the SDGs will require us to build a global partnership and mobilize all available resources, bringing together national governments, private sector, civil society and the UN and its actors.
Building on our own national experience, the UAE is committed to fostering partnerships and creating an environment where the capabilities of the private sector are really leveraged for sustainable development. Most importantly, we acknowledge that private businesses activity, investment in innovation are major drivers of productivity, inclusive of economic growth and job creation. Therefore, fostering an enabling and dynamic context for businesses to strive and grow is a key priority for our government.\u201d
His Excellency, Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Chairman of Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International
Foundation for Energy & Sustainable Development, said: \u201cThe GCC region is evolving at an astounding pace. With a sharp increase in millennials aspiring to be entrepreneurs, SMEs heavily contribute to the national GDPs. With women taking on a more active role in the workforce, we need to ask ourselves how a \u2018triple bottom line\u2019 in business – and consequently in the economy \u2013 can be achieved.
We can see that our private and public sectors are successfully creating resilient yet adaptable businesses amid technology changes and driving employment opportunities while remaining ethical in their approach. As we move forward, more work remains to be done. The \u2018Sustainability in Action\u2019 forum served as an excellent platform to discuss best practices in balancing corporate and community priorities.\u201d
Speaking on the importance of the event, Patrick Chalhoub, CEO, Chalhoub Group remarked: \u201cWe are glad and proud that an event such as the Pearl Initiative and UNGC Forum is taking place in Dubai. This forum helps explore ways to foster economic growth, sustainable development and job creation for the future generations living in the region. This event allows the private sector to address sustainable development challenges in ways which are practical, relevant, effective and support the business growth. As a family business and an engaged Group who have been in the region for over 60 years, we are glad that the GCC region is recognising the importance of governance and accountability to achieve global progress. Through this platform we can create awareness on the importance of sustainable business, ethical and responsible conduct, business transparency and invite the private sector in the region to do the same.\u201d
GCC Business Leaders\u2019 Perspective on the Sustainable Development Goals
To get a sense of the current awareness on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), The Pearl Initiative conducted a survey earlier this month engaging business leaders from across the Gulf Countries in the months leading up to the forum. The survey report found that 92 percent of respondents believe working towards the SDGs will positively impact their business sustainability. 80 percent believe in the power of multi-stakeholder collaborations to move the SDG agenda forward, while 64 percent claimed that their company has made a commitment towards the SDGs. However the results also demonstrated that only 20 percent of the respondents believed that a majority of regional companies will be effectively implementing initiatives to progress the SDGs in the next 5 years.
The Pearl Initiative also recognized Gulf-based companies for their significant contribution in advancing sustainability and corporate governance, at a welcome dinner that preceded the event. Among those honoured were King Khalid Foundation, SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation) and Petroleum Development Oman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
166 leading businesses from across the Gulf Region\u2019s pledged to prioritise sustainable development as a business imperative, at the second regional forum on \u2018Sustainability in Business\u2019 hosted by The Pearl Initiative and United Nations Global Compact, concluding on a high note on Thursday in Dubai. The Pearl Initiative launched \u2018The Business Pledge\u2019 at the forum […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_pr_autopilot_social_copy":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph_description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph_image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph_image_id":0,"_yoast_wpseo_twitter_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter_description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter_image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter_image_id":0,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":24,"_extra_hide_author_box":"","_extra_featured_post":"","_partner_post_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n