“Many small people, who in many small places, doing many small things will alter the face of the world.” – African proverb
Earthwitness has many new friends now – fellow travellers who believe in a common cause: a cleaner, greener and safer world. The entire Earthwitness team felt the warmth of your friendship and camaraderie, when we had to endure a sad loss in March this year.
This issue of Earthwitness is dedicated to my father, who passed away in a tragic accident. The best advice he ever gave me: “You’ll find more happiness in giving than in taking,” has helped me form an understanding of what social responsibility is.
Our species has embraced material happiness with both hands. In the mad rush for more and more – and consumed by our own insatiable greed, we have lost our real human nature. I have always wondered: why do people make it a business to shout from their roof tops that they did something good today? Shouldn’t being good be a rule than an exception? Similarly, shouldn’t all business be socially responsible as a rule?
For any CSR activity to be meaningful there has to be corporate participation right through the entirety of its life cycle. CSR not only benefits the community around you and beyond but also results in a great deal of internal benefits. CSR activities can help create a new positive work environment and develop a new corporate culture.
That said, businesses have come to realise that for trade and commerce to prosper, they need a stable social, political and economic environment. CSR is a first step for businesses in understanding the realities that surround them – may it be in fighting the food crisis, providing better healthcare for the community, or in protecting the environment.
CSR initiatives are most meaningful when they produce real benefits. For instance, a bank can look at putting together an agricultural/ farm fund that builds a partnership with the farmers. It creates new jobs for the poor, and more importantly increases food supply. Extending funds and grants to the rural population, particularly in the third world, to set up a small business, and imparting technical and business expertise to these communities are all socially responsible steps that a corporate can undertake.
There are countless CSR activities for the corporate world to get involved in. Earthwitness has been sharing possible CSR ideas with the business community in the region; hopefully we will soon have a major announcement to make.
It is really heartening to see governments in the Middle East getting more focused on their own energy requirements. In October last year, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE instructed that from January 2008, all buildings in Dubai will have to be constructed to meet the ‘green building’ standards. Ever since, there has been a great deal of discussion in business circles with regard to going green.
However, you can’t be ‘going green’ for the sake of it or to comply with government regulations and standards. There has to be an inner belief that green business is good business.
Talking of conservation, in this issue of Earthwitness, we discuss the plight of other living beings who share this planet with us, without having a voice or choice to protest against the treatment dished out to them. The biggest threat they face is from people, that too from governments and organisations. Human population is guilty of organised crime against the South African elephants, harp seals in Canada, and bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean. How difficult is it to provide safe havens and new homes for elephants? How difficult is it to stop using fur? How difficult is it to stop illegal fishing practices which endanger the bluefin tuna?
Not many people in the Middle East are aware that the Hamour is facing extinction. WWF have been trying to raise funds to launch a Save Hammour campaign; isn’t it an honourable thing for businesses in the region to support WWF in this noble campaign?
Another pressing issue in the region is the widespread pollution; air quality has deteriorated considerably in the last couple of years. Is there something we could learn from London, which has slapped a higher levy on polluting cars? British Columbia in Canada too has come up with a carbon tax. Is the UAE or Qatar or another Gulf state planning to introduce carbon tax? What are your views on carbon tax? Would it help reduce pollution in the region? Isn’t it a social responsibility to ensure clean air for all?
We would like to hear from you – send email to editor@earthwitness.net
