Dubai: On the 30th of November 2010, the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) organized its 10th Community Lecture of the year at Emarat Atrium. As is custom, the lecture, titled "Social Return on Investments" was free and open to all members of the general public.
The evening was kicked off with a welcome address by Mrs. Habiba Al Marashi, Chairperson of the EEG, who began by thanking those present and outlined EEG's activities for the last two months.
She started by talking about the major highlight in EEG's yearly educational programme - the annual 'Students Workshop' - which was organised under the banner of 'Time to Act: Youth and Climate Change'. The 4-day workshop provided students from 10-18 years first hand information on the initiatives that can be taken to achieve a low-carbon world and focused on engaging and motivating students to become a part of, or create, local initiatives or green movements in their institutions and communities.
The audience was briefed about the recently concluded annual Inter College Environmental Public Speaking Competition that witnessed teams from all across the GCC region. The students battled it out with brilliant oratory skills, well-researched presentations and impressive team work.
Mrs. Al Marashi ended her address by thanking the sponsors of the Community Lecture, namely, Emarat Atrium, Crystal Gallery and Abela Catering.
The speaker for the day, Mr. Peter Scholten was then invited to the dias. Mr. Scholten is currently a partner in Scholten and Franssen Consultancy BV, which is a consultancy firm focused on social entrepreneurship in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
In his lecture, Mr. Scholten focused on the topic of Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology as one of the most practical ways to manage the impact of a business or establishment. In today's business scenario, the SROI is said to be based on the stakeholders' standpoint and is treated as a platform to assign financial values to those impacts that otherwise do not have a market value.
His lecture highlighted the basic principles of SROI and how these could be implemented in a cost-effective, yet effective manner in businesses. The SROI methodology was discussed in details with its 7 important principles that include involvement of stakeholders, understanding changes and valuing the things that are important to an organization and others.
At the end of his lecture, Mr. Scholten helped the audience understand the concepts of SROI better by providing valid and important case studies. The lecture was followed by a Q&A session, which the audience took full advantage of. They asked how they could implement SROI principles more effectively in their organizations and businesses as well as how one could measure SROI accurately.
The event ended with a thank you address by Mrs. Al Marashi as she expressed her gratitude to everyone for their participation in EEG's lecture series.
-Ends-Editor's Notes:
The Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) is a professional working group devoted to protecting the environment through means of education, action programs and community involvement. Established in 1991, EEG is actively encouraged and supported by concerned local and federal government agencies. It is the first environmental NGO in the world to be ISO 14001 certified and the only organization of its kind in the UAE with accredited status to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP)'s Governing Council. It is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and also a member of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) as well as a focal point for the UN Global Compact for the GCC States. EEG is open to men and women of all nationalities, as well as to public and private organizations, academic establishments and international institutions.
For more information contact EEG:
Tel: 04-3448622
Fax: 04-3448677
Email; eeg@emirates.net.ae , www.eeg-uae.org
© Press Release 2010
