As we are approaching the second decade of the 21st century, we face profound challenges with respect to sustainable development in its three dimensions: economic, social, and environmental. Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability have been constantly evolving over the past decades to move from a fragmented approach to an integrated strategic process. Increasing number of companies understand the benefits of CSR and Sustainability and its value as a risk and reputation management tool. But at the same time there is an ongoing debate on the value CSR and Sustainability generates in its current form within the national context and the fact that it offers only a partial and short-term response to the full challenges of sustainable development.

And while companies’ CSR initiatives and activities may engage partially with the sustainability agendas, in many cases they don’t go as far as this in term of considering a business’s relations with and impact on national goals for sustainable development.

However, businesses should not be expected to solve the problems of sustainable development on its own; whether its waste management, unemployment, green procurement, energy efficiency, etc. To find solutions, complex range of stakeholders has to work together to achieve shared outcomes.

INTRODUCTION

Dubai’s rapid economic rise has led to social and environmental challenges that must be addressed to avoid affecting the ability to sustain economic growth and development progress in decades to come. These challenges, such as water and energy efficiency, pollution, health and safety, along with the need for improved Emiratisation, are widely acknowledged and figure prominently as targets for action in Dubai’s Strategy 2015 and UAE’s Vision 2021.

The role of business in addressing these challenges, goals and targets is increasingly recognized and is reflected in the call for, and practice of CSR. CSR in Dubai has evolved rapidly beyond its roots in philanthropy and compliance. For large companies, CSR is increasingly a strategic concern, addressing issues such as employee management, product quality, diversity, and health and safety. Managing such issues, which affect the core business, can deliver strategic benefits for supply chain efficiency and security, innovation, product/service development, at-traction and retention of talent, and investor confidence.

The business case for CSR in Dubai is to both secure a domestic license to operate and to help shape the global competitive environment to reward sustainability. Multinational companies are likely to face particular scrutiny for their social and environmental performance, and will be expected to demonstrate that they are contributing to Dubai’s national priorities. At the same time, as Dubai’s influence in international markets and on the global policy stage increases, active engagement in CSR offers an opportunity to influence one of the most powerful forces shaping the landscape for global business and sustainable development.

In light of these challenges and opportunities, all companies will need to strengthen their approach to CSR. Approaches need to be integrated with business strategy and responsive to evolving local concerns, pressures, and opportunities.

SCOpe Of The CONfeReNCe

• Build responsive stakeholder relations, while maintaining a clear alignment to Dubai’s development priorities.

• Engage businesses actively and sensitively in Dubai’s sustainable development goals.

• Localize the art of CSR and stakeholder engagement in the business.

ObjeCTIveS Of The CONfeReNCe

This Dubai Dialogue will focus on the importance of integrating social and environmental impacts into day-to-day management decisions to make sustainability effective and impactful. The conference will also examine the importance of measurement and evaluation in making ef-fective operational and capital investment decisions that positively impact organisational performance and meets the needs of multiple stake-holders.

This conference will feature presentation and discussions from some of the top organisations on on strategies and techniques for aligning sus-tainability with business objectives and national priorities. Organisations will also talk about how they manage sustainability and the methods and metrics they adapt to measure sustainability performance and impact.

Participants will leave inspired, better networked, and with new ideas and strategies for integrating social and environmental national priorities into their businesses.

Time Topic Speaker (s)

08.30 - 09.00 Registration and Networking

09.00 - 09.10 Welcome Speech H.E. Hisham Al ShirawiSecond Vice Chairman, Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Session 1: Sustainability as a Key Driver for Sustainable Development

09.10 - 09.35 CRb: Shaping Corporate Sustainability Since 2004 Dr. Belaid RettabChief Economist and Senior Director Dubai Chamber Economic Research & Sustainable Business Development Sector

09.35 - 10.00 beyond Rankings and Ratings: Can Transparency Improve CSR Results

Ms. Elena EspinozaHead of Advisory Services, Strategy Business in the Community (BITC)

10.00 - 10.30 ROI of Sustainability: a Business Example Mr. Huw A. GilbertVice President, Corporate Affairs PepsiCo Asia, Middle East & Africa

10.30 - 10.50 Sustainability 20X20 (pechaKucha) Café Zee, ZeeTeX’s signature caféMr. Syed Zafar Abbas JafriSenior Vice President, Zafco

Sleep Well InitiativeMr. Hassan Al HazeemManaging Director, Intercoil International

Road to Sustainability InitiativeMrs. Wedad HadiCSR Manager, SamTech Middle East

10.50 - 11.05 Tea/Coffee break

Session 2: Measuring Sustainability

11.05 - 11.35 value protection of commercial projects through CSR/SI

Mr. Diego PerezSocial Performance Manager for MENA Shell

11.35 - 12.05 embedding Sustainability Across the value Chain: a Competitive Advantage

Dr. Ing. Marzia TraversoSustainability Expert BMW Group

AGeNDA

Time Topic Speaker (s)

12.05 - 12.35 Straight Talk with the MavericksInnovating for Sustainability

Chairperson:Mr. Ibrahim Al ZubiMajid Al Futtaim Properties

Ms. Elena EspinozaBusiness in the Community

Mr. Huw A. GilbertPepsiCo Asia, Middle East & Africa

Mr. Diego PerezShell

12.35 - 14.45 Tea/Coffee break

12.45 - 13.05 Sustainability 20X20 (pechaKucha) Source Segregation - The first Step in RecyclingMr. S. MadhumohanDirector Waste Management Services, Dulsco

Doing Good - empowering Arab Youth & Spreading hopeMs. Mariam FaragGroup CSR Manager, MBC Group

Our people Our CommunityMs. Minelle GholamiHead of Human Resources, Emrill Services

13.05 - 13.45 panel Session Role of public private partnerships in Managing UAe’s Sustainability Agenda

H. E. Dr. Thani Ahmed Al-ZeyoudiPermanent Representative of the UAE to IRENA, Director of Energy and Climate Change at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Tanzeed AlamClimate & Energy Director WWF UAE

Mr. Joseph Abou Rous - HeadLearning Academy, MENAP & UAE Standard Chartered

13.45 - 14.00 Summary and Concluding Remarks Networking Luncheon (Dubai Chamber Conference Hall, 13th Floor)

h.e. hisham Al ShirawiH.E. Hisham Abdulla Al Shirawi is the Vice-Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Chairman of Economic Zones World, Member of the Economic Council and Chairman of the Electronics Business Group. Al Shirawi is also member of the Board of Directors of Al Shirawi Group and the Chief Executive Officer of Oasis Enterprises LLC. Al Shirawi holds an MBA Degree in Finance from the California State College and a Bachelor Degree of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

Dr. belaid RettabDr. Belaid Rettab is the Senior Director of the Economic Research & Sustainable Business Development Sector at Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He worked since 2011 as advisor to the UAE Ministry of Labour and social affairs-TANMIA. Dr. Rettab accumulated 25 years of outstanding achievements in academic teaching, research, advisory and consultancy work in Europe, Africa and Asia. He is an economist and has lectured micro-economics at Erasmus University where he worked from 1987 to 1998 as a researcher and later as a Senior Consultant at the Foundation for Economic Research in Rotterdam. He has published dozens of academic articles and research reports relevant to policy makers in the fields of economics, trade, international management, entrepreneurship, public administration and business ethics.

elena espinozaElena Espinoza has worked in BITC since 2010 and has more than six years’ experience bridging sustainability challenges with commercial strategies to drive change across clients in financial, retail, technology, and FMCG sectors. She currently leads on the Integrated Thinking and Reporting service offer including building collaborative partnerships with The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability and the International Integrated Reporting Council. Elena holds a an MSc in Environment and Sustainable development from UCL, a BEng in Production Engineering from the Universidad Simon Bolivar in Venezuela and a certification in sustainability reporting on the G4 guidelines from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Dr. Ing. Marzia TraversoSustainability expert at BMW Group. Responsible of the sustainability assessment of BMWi and other conventional BMW vehicles. She is an expert of life cycle assessment (LCA), social life cycle assessment (SLCA), life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) and sustainability assessment of supply chain as methodologies as well for their implementations. She is representing BMW Group in the Roundtable of Product Social Metrics. She is environmental engineer and Ph.D. of “Environmental Applied Physics”, both title obtained at University of Palermo, Italy. Her international experience includes projects such Aluminum Stewardship Initiative, Roundtable for a Social Metrics, Sustainable Manufacturing – Shaping Global Value Creation, Projects with UNEP/SETAC LCI, MedClima (Life Program).Authors and co-authors of several papers for national and international scientific magazines and congresses.

SpeAKeRS

Mr. huw A. GilbertHuw Gilbert is vice president of corporate affairs for PepsiCo’s Asia, Middle East & Africa (AMEA) sector. His responsibilities include developing and leading the strategic corporate affairs agenda for PepsiCo’s internal audiences as well as for external stakeholders including the media and NGO’s. He is also responsible for regional implementation of PepsiCo’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, sector-wide crisis management and executive communications support. In these capacities, he provides functional leadership to the local and regional corporate affairs teams across AMEA. Huw joined PepsiCo in August 2008 as senior communications manager for PepsiCo International, based in Purchase, New York. In that role, he was responsible for aligning communications activities outside the U.S. with the global corporate communications strategy, including a special focus on issues management and digital media.

Mr. Diego perezDiego Perez-Claramunt is the Social Performance Manager for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in Shell. In this capacity, Diego is accountable for the delivery and assurance of Social Performance in Shell’s extensive oil and gas portfolio that contributes to most of the MENA countries development. Mr. Perez-Claramunt has 15 years’ experience working in the oil and gas industry, having held a number of Social Performance positions within Royal Dutch Shell, including the responsible development of upstream and downstream projects in Iraq, Social Performance in New Business Development, Commercial & LNG in new markets, as well as holding Social Performance accountabilities in the setting up of Shell Operated or Joint Ventures in the Middle East and North Africa.

Mr. hassan Al hazeemAn active member of the of the UAE chapter of Entrepreneurs Organizatio, he is the Managing Director / CEO of Intercoil International, a position he assumed in 1999, when he succeeded his late father Mr. Abbas Ali AI-Hazeem, the founder of the UAE based, family owned business. Under his leadership the company has become a leading manufacturer, distributor and retailer of total sleep solutions in the MENA region, with presence in 23 countries and manufacturing and distribution rights to premium global brands Simmons and Therapedic. Developing and implementing a highly focused strategic growth plan, Mr. Al-Hazeem is overseeing the expansion of the business into new markets and new verticals. Most recently, he completed the first licensing agreement for Intercoil in Kenya, East Africa and opened a new state of the art manufacturing facility in Ras Al Khaimah.

Mr. S. MadhumohanMadhumohan heads the Waste Management Services at Dulsco. Madhumohan is a versatile chemical engineer with post graduation in management. He is an alumni of the prestigious Indian Institute of Science. He is a hands-on professional with over 30 years experience across business and industries, with a committed and a very well demonstrated passion for environmental projects and concepts. He is a lateral thinker of innovative concepts and has succeeded in materializing them into sustainable business models. Madhumohan has initiated and implemented various environmental friendly projects. He has pioneered new technologies from Europe into India for establishing various turnkey waste paper pulping, and deinking projects with the latest technology from E&M Lamort France for the Indian paper industry.A large amount of good quality recycled paper is produced in india today by virtue of such projects. He has demonstrated successfully Bioremediation of drill cuttings at ADNOC in Abudhabi and won an Environmental award from ADNOC along with IOC R&D and TERI who had established this technology and process.

20X20 SpeAKeRS

Mrs. Wedad hadiWedad Samir Abdul Hadi is Account Manager & CSR Ambassador for SamTech Middle East; SamTech is an Emirati systems integrator and service provider company for M2M Smart Wireless Tracking & Asset Management solutions. Wedad is a graduate from Birzeit University, Palestine, over her 5 years of experience, she was exposed to highly qualified mentors specialized in Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, she was the leader in implementing the CSR strategies in a Small and Medium enterprise like SamTech. Currently she oversees the CSR strategy and raising the company’s sustainability profile as Responsible SME. In her record more than 2500 hours of voluntary work, she is an active member in International Young Leaders Development Program “YLDP”; she is passionate about social issues like youth development and social intelligence. She initiated couple of successful campaigns and events relates to CSR, listing some of them; “Appreciate it”, “Road to Sustainability” and finally “Wajihni- وجهني” in partnership with Ajman University.

Ms. Mariam faragMariam Farag is heading the CSR program at MBC Group, responsible for driving its corporate responsibility vision and strategy in the region. Farag brings to MBC Group over 14 years of experience working in the field of sustainable development, humanitarian relief and corporate & social responsibility in the Middle East & Europe. Prior to joining MBC Group, Farag was Director of Enrollment Services at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), working on building strategic partnerships and community outreach to align with AUS strategic goals in the UAE and GCC region. Prior to this, Farag worked as Head of Partnerships & CSR for the Community Development Authority, Dubai Government, developing and building strategic partnerships between the private and public sector to mainstream projects, spreading CSR awareness and maximizing impact. Mariam received her B.A in Political Science specialized in International Relations from The American University in Cairo (AUC) and completed her M.A in International Relations and Political Theory from University of Westminster in London, UK.

Ms. Minelle GholamiMinelle Gholami is a senior HR professional with extensive strategic HR and operations experience in the Middle East. Currently, Head of Human Resources at Emrill Services, Minelle oversees the HR strategy for the business from compensation and benefits to employee relations, development and welfare. She is a focused and influential leader with an impeccable track record of developing and managing teams, driving increased efficiency and delivering performance excellence. In her current role, Minelle has developed and led a core HR team through a 40 percent business growth since 2010 and has achieved with her team a 90% employee satisfaction across the 6,000 employee strong business. She has previously lectured in the subject of Human Resource Management and Labour Law in the Middle East and speaks at events across the country. Minelle is an MA in Human Resource Management from University of West England, an MBA from University of Buckingham, UK and a Law graduate from Cardiff University, UK. She is certified HR professional with membership from the Chartered Institute of Professional Development (CIPD) in the United Kingdom and a trained Executive Coach.

Mr. Syed Zafar Abbas jafriZafar Jafri is a young and dynamic Tire professional enjoying his 11th year here in Dubai, UAE. Equipped with a Masters degree in Marketing and a 3-year experience with Japanese Trading House Itochu Corporation in Pakistan, Jafri joined ZAFCO in 2004. With a total experience of 13 years, he is now heading the UAE domestic business for ZAFCO. Prior to 2014, Jafri was actively involved in the Product Development and Marketing of ZAFCO’s proprietary brand ZEETEX. He also looked after the market research and ZEETEX sales in the entire Middle East & Africa. He is a career conscious, result oriented individual who loves to set challenging targets for himself and his team, and ensures the delivery of positive results. He is a leader, capable of managing multi-functional team members, training them and keeping them motivated to ensure quality performance. Jafri wishes to see ZEETEX among the top 10 tire brands globally in the coming years.

h.e. Dr. Thani Al-ZeyoudiH. E. Dr. Thani Al-Zeyoudi is the Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the International Renewable Energy Agency “IRENA”. He acts as focal point for the UAE on issues relating to IRENA. Dr. Thani is also the Head of the Directorate of Energy and Climate Change “DECC” within the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), where he leads the team tasked with representing UAE interests internationally in energy and climate change issues as well as working as a catalyst to domestic partners to develop UAE policies in sustainability. Prior to joining DECC, Dr. Al-Zeyoudi worked at Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s initiative advancing renewable energy technologies and solutions, where he was part of the Clean Development Mechanism and ZAKUM Field for Abu Dhabi Marine Oil Company. Dr. Al- Zeyoudi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Tulsa University, an MBA from New York Institute of Technology, MSc in Project Management from British University in Dubai, and a PhD in Strategy, Programme & Project Management from SKEMA Business School in France.

Mr. joseph AbourousMr. Joseph Abourous, is an HR professional with more than 15 years experience in the field of Learning, talent management and development, coaching and HR management. Joseph is currently the Head of Learning Academy for Standard Chartered Bank; he is responsible for developing bank employees across the UAE, Middle East and Pakistan. Joseph believes that by enhancing the skills of each individual through high quality group and individualised development, the bank will develop into a centre which is truly able to offer first class banking services. Prior to joining the bank, Joseph spent 16 years with a leading international airline, where his career covered areas of performance management, learning and career development. His role before joining the bank involved attracting, growing and developing Emiratis resulting in their progression as competent leaders in a world-renowned organisation.

Mr. Tanzeed AlamTanzeed is the Climate & Energy Director of WWF UAE. He is responsible for developing and overseeing the implementation of the organisation’s climate change and energy programme for the UAE and gulf region. This includes the development of the 5 year climate change and energy strategy for the organisation and the implementation of the current projects such as the development of vehicle fuel economy policies, implementation of the UAE energy efficiency standard for lighting, verification of the UAE ecological footprint, the private sector carbon reduction programme and activities related to the World Future Energy Summit and UAE’s engagement on climate change internationally. Tanzeed has been with WWF UAE since March 2008. Prior to joining WWF UAE, Tanzeed worked as Policy Advisor on energy and climate change at the UK’s independent national academy of sciences, the Royal Society, where he implemented various projects related to renewable energy, biofuels for transport, climate change. He also worked for a start-up company in the UK, Carbonsense Ltd. Tanzeed has an MSc in Conservation from University College London and a BSc (hons) in Zoology from the University of Edinburgh.

Mr. Ibrahim Al Zu’biIbrahim joined Majid Al Futtaim Properties in 2011 as the head of Sustainability for Majid Al Futtaim Properties. He brings with him over sixteen years of experience in Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. Ibrahim oversees the Sustainability strategy of Majid Al Futtaim Properties and is in charge of raising the company’s Sustainability Profile in the Middle East. Ibrahim is also the Senior Advisor - Economy and Sustainability for the Dubai Land Department, Government of Dubai where he leads Dubai’s Sustainable Real Estate Initiative. Selected as one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Europe and the Middle East by Center for Sustainability and Excellence in the US, he has taken environmental and CSR initiatives to another level in the Middle East.

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