Imperatives of aligning CSR with SDGs

Appropriate corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagements can accelerate realisation of the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs). It is also imperative to bring in behavioural changes in production processes and consumption trends to face the challenges in meeting the SDGs. It is imperative that appropriate environmental friendly technology be used in all production processes while at the same time ensuring that the consumers and beneficiaries receive ethically made products and services with lesser scope of wastage.

This stemmed out of a two-day international conference and expo on CSR that concluded in the capital last week. Bizcare, a local CSR communication and consultancy firm in collaboration with the Seoul-based Global Community Empowerment Forum (GCEF), organised the conference and expo. It was attended by senior government officials, business leaders, academe, CSR and HR professionals, executives and students. Principal Coordinator for SDGs at the Prime Minister's Office Mr. Abul Kalam Azad inaugurated it and led the panel discussions.
In an opening video message Prof. Wayne Dunn, Founder and President of the world-famous CSR Institute in Canada said that alignment of CSR with SDGs is important for today and critical for going forward. He also stated that businesses have a definite role to ensure social value and environmental stewardship.
Giving a layout of the country's roadmap on SDGs, Mr. Azad stressed that while the government had already begun working on it, the private sector had a pivotal role in realising many of the set goals. He said that as business is the biggest employer and user of resources, they have a fundamental a responsibility to ensure sustainability on many fronts. He stressed that CSR activities were needed to be aligned with the UN SDGs and the national level goals such as Vision 2021 and other Bangladesh Long Term Vision Plans.
Power Secretary in the Ministry of Power, energy and mineral resources Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus mentioned about the progress made in the power sector over the years. Power production has been increased manifold with increased possibilities of access to it by as many households. He further urged the nation for behavioural changes in consumption of power so that wastage is minimized.
Chairing the panel discussions President of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Bangladesh) Mr. Mahbubur Rahman mentioned the close link between CSR and SDGs and said that everyone must show prudence in consumption, exploitation of resources, and management.
Leading climate change specialist and Executive Director of Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (BCAS) Dr. Atiq Rahman threw light on the vulnerability of Bangladesh in the wake of climate change impacts. He mentioned that there has to be coordinated efforts among the government, private sector, non-government organisations (NGOs) and communities in mitigation and adaptation plans in this regard. He strongly advocated drawing up relevant CSR engagements by the private sector to face the challenges of climate change impacts.
While portraying successful CSR programmes, Dhaka University professor Dr, Amanullah mentioned about the various community programmes of British American Tobacco that have remarkably contributed to social economic uplift of the community people. He referred to the massive tree plantation programme that has been helping carbon off-setting; installation of pure drinking water to ensure access to safe water; and providing solar home systems in the off-grid areas of the country have been very effective. These initiatives, he reflects, are also aligned with multiple targets of the SDGs.
Dr. Amanullah was an integral part of the research that measured the input and impact of BATB CSR projects in the community. This enabled him to analyse the importance and connection between SDG and CSR.
Apart from his presentation, Md Fariduddin Ahmed, Executive Director of Arannyak Foundation also highlighted Arannyak Foudnation's CSR activities with an emphasis on the importance of forest conservation. Forest conservation has a dual embedded role - saving our ecology and providing livelihood opportunities to poor people.
Alex Mavro, Chief Operating Officer of the Center for Sustainability Management at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, urged for collaborative and concerted efforts at regional and global level to leverage the pursuit for realising SDGs. He said CSR professionals and practitioners have to develop proper mindset and skills to materialise the goals.
This is true that CSR was in a state of confusion due to lack of any proper definition and direction. This confusion has been further precipitated with the announcement of SDGs. As both, CSR and SDGs aim at sustainability, it is thus imperative that the two are aligned.
On the sideline, the attraction of the event was the Expo. Ten organisations including Rahimafrooz, Future Carbon, CMED, MTB and Arannyak Foundation showcased their CSR activities.
The climax of the event was reached on the second day with the Master Classes or training sessions. The topics such as Occupational Health, Safety and Quality; Social Accountability SA 8000, Turning waste into resources; Employee engagement; Cleaner production and efficient use of resources; and CSR engagements for dealing with refugee crisis generated much enthusiasm among the participants. Experts from South Africa, South Korea and Thailand as well as from Bangladesh conducted the training sessions.
The hallmark event was held on Wednesday last with the participation of young entrepreneurs and students. Titled as Nextgen CSR, the discussants brainstormed on future social, economic and environmental challenges.

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