Dubai, 12th April 2012: An evening networking workshop was held by the Arabia CSR Network on Wednesday, 11th April 2012 in Dubai, in collaboration with the Swedish Business Council and the Swedish Trade Council, and with the support of the Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa.

The event, titled 'CSR: Building Alliances for Effective CSR', focused on comparative learning within CSR where expertise and business cases were shared from the UAE.

Speaking at the event was Mrs. Habiba Al Marashi, President and Founder of the Arabia CSR Network, an organization focusing on fostering an understanding about corporate social responsibility and promoting sustainable development in the Arab countries. Mrs. Al Marashi stated that today sustainable business is much more than just managing risks and creating market reputation. It is increasingly focusing on creating value by converting challenges into opportunities.

Today, the United Arab Emirates is Sweden's second largest trading partner in the Middle East. More than 150 Swedish companies are represented there. Mrs. Al Marashi also stated that Swedish businesses have a global reputation of being very good at advancing their competitiveness through responsible business practices. Sweden was also the first country to demand sustainability reports from state-owned enterprises. Therefore, it is important for Swedish businesses in the UAE to operate as models for sustainable development, especially in aspects such as occupational safety and environmental preservation.

One of the components of the workshop was an interactive group exercise which was facilitated by PricewaterhouseCooper's (PwC) Energy and Sustainability team in Abu Dhabi. This exercise helped the participants determine some of the most important CSR related issues and challenges for companies in the UAE.

The highlights of the day were the presentations by Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa, Tristar Transport and Bank Sarasin-Alpen on how they have been able to integrate sustainability for creating organizational value while also contributing to various social issues and environmental challenges. Some of these companies have been recipients of the Arabia CSR Awards in the past. Their presentations served as excellent examples for other participants present at the seminar.

 

The Seminar's key objective was to provide networking opportunities amongst local businesses and Swedish companies so that they could learn more about each other's sustainable business strategies and CSR initiatives. This Seminar was the second CSR and sustainability related event organized by the Arabia CSR Network and Swedish Trade Council. The informative seminar was appreciated by all participants and speakers.

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Arabia CSR Network
The Arabia CSR Network grew out of the EEG CSR Network, which has been actively advancing CSR in the UAE and Gulf region since 2004. The Arabia CSR Network was officially launched in October 2009 as an independent network, and offers its members a multi-stakeholder platform to network, learn and share their experiences and knowledge in matters of Corporate Social Responsibility with each other.

For more information please visit www.arabiacsrnetwork.com or call: +971-4-3448622

 Swedish Trade Council in the UAE
The Swedish Trade Council in the United Arab Emirates assists Swedish companies wanting to establish themselves, or grow, on the market of the UAE and on other markets in the Middle East. In cooperation with the Swedish Trade Councils in Cairo (Egypt) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), via the office in Dubai, the Swedish Trade Council in the UAE is also covering the markets of Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Syria and Yemen.

For more information please visit www.swedishtrade.se or call: +971-4-4298600

Swedish Business Council in the UAE
The Swedish Business Council supports and promotes Swedish business interests in the United Arab Emirates, UAE and encourages and promotes relations between Sweden and the UAE. SBC works closely with, not only the Swedish Embassy and STC, but also with other Business and Trade Councils, Chambers of Commerce, both in Sweden and in the UAE, as well as the Swedish Travel and Tourist Council

For more information please visit http://www.sbcuae.se/or call: +971-4-4298600

© Press Release 2012