The 4th Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Conference, started here on Tuesday under the theme “Responsible Practices in the Business Community” with the participation of number of local, regional and international expert speakers on CSR as well as organizations working in this field.
HE the Undersecretary of the Business and Trade Ministry, Mr. Sultan bin Rashid Al-Khatir said that the private sector is an important partner and a major contributor to the march of sustainable development. The ministry expects further contribution, from this vital sector, to putting Qatar in the vanguard among the countries of the world in all areas of development.
In his speech in the opening session of the CSR conference, HE the Undersecretary lauded the great achievements in consolidating the culture of corporate social responsibility through constructive cooperation between the ministry and the business community in Qatar.
He pointed that the ministry took the initiative of adopting this concept, which was globally launched by the UN, explaining that the Ministry of Business and Trade has held three conferences those set the rules and the basis of the corporate contribution to the rise of the Qatari  society through the implementation of various social projects that are in the direction of achieving the goals of sustainable development plans leading to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the Qatar National Vision 2030.
For his part, HE Sheikh Khalifa Bin Jassim Al Thani, the Chairman of Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) stressed that Corporate Social Responsibility is, first and foremost, a moral obligation, towards the society in which they operate, on investment in human resources, creation of job opportunities and provision of healthy and safe work environment, within commitment to maintaining environment preservation, transparency and combatting financial and administrative corruption.
The assessment of private companies, no longer depends on their profitability, but on their ability to deal with the rapid developments in the economic, technological and administrative aspects, taking into account the three pillars of sustainable development, economic growth, social progress and environmental protection, he added.
In a similar address before the conference, HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Director General of Qatargas – Diamond sponsor of the Conference – said that the conference comes at a time of growing local and global interest in CSR, as the classification of companies, is no longer based on only financial performance, but through its clear commitment to the communities and the environment in which it operates.
At the 4th CSR Conference opening session, Qatari Businessmen Association’s member Mr. Salah Mohamed Al-Jaidah, CEO of Qatar Fertilizer Company (QAFCO) and the CEO of ExxonMobile, Qatar Mr. Bart Cahir delivered speeches, in which they presented live examples of CSR stressing its importance to sustainable development.
It should be noted that the fourth CSR conference will address a number of topics including: the role of governments in the implementation of policies and programs of corporate social responsibility, Qatar National Vision 2030 within the framework of the application of the principles of social responsibility, as well as discussing how to build a local network of Qatari companies committed to the principles of social responsibility.
Through multiple sessions, the conference will examine how to take advantage of the practices and experiences of international companies in this regard, in addition to discovering the obligations of companies towards society as defined by international organizations, and other topics including social responsibility as defined by the ISO guidance standard 26000 for corporate social responsibility.
The Ministry of Business and Trade has engaged in organizing the current CSR conference a number of people with special needs, paying attention to that segment of society, within the concept of corporate social responsibility which is witnessing increasing attention in the state.