Pakistan Business Council sets up Centre of Excellence

It will contribute to economic growth, assist businesses in value creation

KARACHI: The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) has announced that it has set up the Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (CERB), which will assist businesses in pursuing long-term sustainability and value creation.

The mission of CERB would be to contribute to inclusive social, environmental and economic development, the PBC said in a statement on Tuesday.

Under its strategic objectives, the Centre of Excellence will engage with businesses and industry leaders to provide a clear direction towards conducting responsible business in the country.

It will leverage private-sector growth as a means for development and poverty reduction by following the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals framework.

CERB will have two interdependent units - Inclusive and Sustainable Development Forum and Ethics, Values and Governance Forum.

The former will focus on generating livelihoods, promoting women’s empowerment and decoupling growth from the impact on environment. The aim of the second forum will be to promote responsible practices, which strengthen the formal sector in the pursuit of sustainable value creation.

Fuad Hashimi will lead CERB as its executive director. Through leadership of the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance from 2007 until recently, Hashimi has played a key role in furthering corporate governance practices in Pakistan. He has also been associated with AF Ferguson & Co as a partner for 10 years.

Commenting on the development, PBC Chairman and Bank Alfalah President Atif Bajwa said, “As a pre-eminent body of leading businesses, PBC sees as one of its objectives the need to uplift medium-sized enterprises of today to world-class businesses of tomorrow. In the process, we will not only promote employment, exports and the image of Pakistan Inc, but will also expand the eco-system of responsible businesses and thus strengthen the formal sector.”

PBC CEO Ehsan Malik added: “In the long run, you can’t have thriving businesses in failing communities and environment. It is directly in the interest of large businesses which have PBC’s membership, to take the lead to put the entire value chain on a sustainable footing. This must start with values and behaviours and lead to inclusive and environmentally sustainable actions.

“Generating livelihoods to alleviate poverty, women’s empowerment and managing the carbon footprint are responsibilities that must be owned by everyone.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2016.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.