The Ministry of Economy has said that it will be mandatory for all private sector companies to declare their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives by the end of 2017.
The new CSR programme is one of six main themes of the UAE’s National Strategy, which aims to encourage all companies to play a role in charitable and humanitarian work. The Ministry is aiming to achieve its target of half a billion dirhams for CSR initiatives by the private sector in 2017.
Mohammad Ahmad Bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehi, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Economy, discussed the National Strategy’s 11 initiatives for CSR, which were set to develop workplaces which were set to develop a supportive and inspiring environment for companies to invest in social responsibility.
He also stated that the ministry would be announcing a minimum percentage which should be annually allocated to CSR by all private companies.
Companies will be able to register starting July, and will be required to declare their audited CSR accounts to the ministry and upon licence renewal at the Department of Economic Development. Another initiative will be the establishment of a National CSR Index, which will rank entities in the country based on the percentage of their contributions and projects, said Al Shehi.
The assessment process will take place in April 2018, while the Corporate Social Responsibility Annual Report and National CSR index results will be announced on Zayed Humanitarian Day in June 2018.
Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said the launch of the annual report represents an important milestone for the ‘Year of Giving,’ as such programmes and initiatives introduce a solid base for the organisational system of charity works.
“Cooperation between the Ministry of Economy, Departments of Economic Development and Chambers of Commerce and Industry and other governmental and private bodies is an essential and effective driving force for transforming the ‘Year of Giving’ concepts to practical programmes and initiatives,” he said.
Al Shehi also highlighted the different services of the Smart CSR platform, which will be launched in July.
The smart platform will enable all private companies to register, as well as view the various fields of CSR initiatives according to the society’s needs. It will also include guides and tools needed to make CSR contributions along with models displaying the implementation process.
Al Shehi said the ministry anticipates that all companies in the UAE that are currently registered with the Economic Department will become members of the CSR programme, which has now been set as a minimum requirement in the private sector.
A "social responsibility passport" will be given to the top five best performing companies in the field, based on the company's vision, its community strategy and the extent of innovation in its community programmes. The passport will grant special privileges with local and federal government agencies.
An annual "social responsibility label" will be a sign used to promote companies that will reflect the extent of their contributions to community development and philanthropic work.
Al Shehhi said all these initiatives will come into action by 2018. "We cannot start giving the labels and passports except when we have new policies and legislations," he noted.
The initiatives aim to raise awareness and support the interaction of the private sector with economic, social and environmental development challenges, while encouraging them to support various community projects in the country.