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Dubai / Emirates Business
The UAE currently leads the Mena region in organisations adopting a holistic strategy towards sustainability, according to a study sponsored by Emirates NBD that sheds light on the practices of sustainability and Corporate Responsibility management in the region.
The study, which was conducted by Sustainable Square, a boutique advisory firm specialised in responsible investment, sustainability and social impact, surveyed 638 organisations across 18 Mena countries. Out of all respondents, 31% claimed to have a holistic sustainability strategy including topics related to environmental, social and governance management. The UAE was the country with the highest number of respondents claiming that they have a holistic sustainability strategy, with 64% of respondents being based in the UAE. Meanwhile, 27% of organisations have only a CSR strategy, focussing mostly on social and local community topics, while 6% of organisations have only an environmental strategy.
The survey also found that the top drivers for regional firms to invest in sustainability are improving organisational reputation (according to 21% of respondents) and a sense of responsibility (19%).
Looking ahead, the majority of participants see 2019 as a time to increase external communications regarding their sustainability practices. However, many predict that budgets for sustainability will not increase.