Overview
The MENA Responsible Business Forum was launched in Cairo in October 2008 as an initiative of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme. Its aim is to help governments in the region, in cooperation with business and civil society organisations, to create a climate that seeks to maximise the potential for investment to contribute to sustainable economic and social development.
The Forum will pursue this aim through promoting co-operation and partnerships to raise awareness of the positive contribution that responsible business conduct can make to both the success of the enterprise and the sustainable development of the wider community. It will provide a framework for sharing best practice and facilitate the availability and development of tools and guidelines, relevant to the MENA region, to assist governments and businesses in this endeavour, and guide them on how to measure the impact of policies.
It is envisaged that the Forum will initially focus on the following themes:
- Business integrity and anti-corruption
- Labor standards and skills development
- Health and environment
Structure
The Responsible Business Conduct Forum regularly brings together governments, business associations and civil society to engage in a dialogue on the most pressing issues regarding responsible business conduct in the MENA region.
The Forum has a Co-ordinating Committee of national, regional and international partners who are committed to driving the initiative forward and liaising with those organisations which are pursuing similar goals within each MENA country. The Responsible Business Forum Secretariat is provided by the Egyptian Corporate Responsibility Center (ECRC).
The Forum itself is divided into five taskforces, addressing the following issues:
- Development of tools to assess public policies in responsible business practices.
- Development of a databank to share and promote tools, guidelines and initiatives relevant to the MENA region.
- Business integrity and anti-corruption.
- Labour standards and skills development.
- Health and environment.
Partners
Partners currently include InWent, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank Institute, UN Development Programme, UN Global Compact, Center for International Private Enterprise, Egyptian Corporate Responsibility Center, Egyptian Transparency Center, Transparency International, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, International Business Leaders Forum, Bertelsmann Foundation, Global Reporting Initiative and Schema Tactical Thinking.
Becoming a member?
The Forum is open to all. Anyone interested in participating may click here to fill the membership form or obtain further information by contacting the Secretariat of the Forum, provided by the Egyptian Corporate Responsibility Center (ECRC), at the following address: info@mena-rbcf.org
