In October Fairmont Baku hotel hosted the first Azerbaijani Conference on Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility - Baku CSR Conference 2015. The aim of the conference was to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current situation in the country, as well as to increase the dialogue and cooperation between different structures, private and non-governmental organisations for the development of this sector.
The relevance of the Baku Conference is also underlined by the fact that in September 2015, 193 UN member states agreed on a new programme of sustainable development entitled ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,’ which lists 17 goals aimed at eradicating poverty, promoting prosperity and well-being of all people and the environment by 2030.
The necessity to raise contribution to sustainable development assigns companies complex tasks addressed within the framework of introduction of the corporate social responsibility program. Social responsibility of business or corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a new concept involving a voluntary willingness for companies to participate in the improvement of society and the environment. A number of companies in Azerbaijan have their own CSR policy, providing solutions to socio-economic problems, improving the quality of life of local communities, striving for the common good, as well as maintaining environmental stability and the conservation of the environment.
The debut conference brought together about 300 delegates and 34 speakers and became a splendid ground to study local and foreign techniques in the field of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. Among the delegates to the conference representatives from leading companies in Azerbaijan, such as SOCAR, Azercell, Access Bank, BP, EY, SAP, TeliaSonera, Temiz Sheher and XalqBank can be named. The conference also was attended by representatives of various ministries and other state structures, consulting companies, international organisations and foreign experts.
The theme of the plenary session ‘Sustainability. Concept, Global Trends and Standards’ also attracted great attention. The following participants delivered their presentations at plenary session: Suleyman Gasimov, Vice-President of Economic Issues, SOCAR, Wayne Visser Associate Partner, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, Chair & Professor, Gordon Institute of Business Science , Prof. Dr. Urkhan Alekberov, Rector of the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Vilayet Veliyev, Director, Institute of Scientific Research for Economic Reforms of the Ministry of Economy and Industry of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Bakhtiyar Aslanbeyli, Vice-President, BP.
The main topics discussed during the conference were: ‘Green Economy. Sustainable Infrastructure. Public Private Partnerships (PPP). Role of Science and Innovations in Sustainable Development’; ‘Effective Youth Policy as a Key Driver for Bright Future of Sustainable Development of the Country. Role of Universities in Growth of Responsible and Educated Young Generation. Partnership With Private Sector. Strategy, Projects, Challenges.
Addressing the session ‘Agriculture Sector in Economy of Azerbaijan, Prerequisites for Sustainable Growth. Food Security. Food Safety. Value Chain Management’, Head of the Department for Analysis and Statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan Firdovsi Fikretzade noted Azerbaijan’s success gained in the field of agriculture. He said: “Our country managed to gain success in ensuring food security. Azerbaijan almost fully supplies itself with main food products: beef 87%, lamb 97% and poultry meat 98%. We also fully meet our needs in chicken eggs. Supply of dairy products has reached 76%. The country provides itself with grain and dairy butter by 60% and 52% respectively.
The themes of panel discussions 5 and 6 are entitled respectively as ‘Business for a better society - responsible finance, responsible business’ and ‘CSR Activities and its Impact on the ICT Sector’. And the final 7th session was ‘Sustainable Development of Public, Corporate and Non-Governmental Sectors”.
Furthermore, the exhibition dedicated to the Baku CSR Conference 2015 was held with participation of such companies and organizations as Azercell, AccessBank, ASAN Khidmet, EY, FAO, SOCAR, the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, as well as a number of youth and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Visitors had the chance to be acquainted with the organisations’ activities and projects in the field of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility at participants’ stands. NGOs, youth organisations and start-ups presented topical projects to potential investors and participants within the framework of the exhibition.
The debut conference and exhibition were a good platform for discussing significant problems of the modern society such as eradicating poverty, promoting prosperity and well-being of all people and the environment.
Honorable guests, who attended the conference, managed to exchange their knowledge, discuss important projects that will are to play a big role in further cooperation and expansion of dialogue in this direction. Besides, during the coffee-break the guests managed to establish trust-based and long-term relations as well as useful business contacts.
In this way, the Baku CSR Conference provides a unique opportunity for the study and comparative analysis of local and international experience in the field of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. All theses reports have been published in the e-collection of the conference materials at the official website of the event www.csrconference.az. To ensure availability and comfort, a special mobile application, sponsored by Access Bank, was developed for CSR Conference. The conference will be an additional impetus for further actions in the field of sustainable development in Azerbaijan.
The General Sponsor of the 1st Azerbaijan Conference on Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility is SOCAR, the bronze sponsor is Access Bank and the conference’s consulting partner is EY. Official support for the conference is provided by the United Nations’ Development Programme, UNDP Azerbaijan.
The conference is held under the initiative and organisation of Caspian Event Organisers, CEO. Thus, the conference has been arranged for November 2-3, 2016.
Opinions of CSR Conference’s participants
Suleyman Gasymov, Vice President of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR): “This particular conference reflects ways of effective economic growth of Azerbaijan, environmental protection and increase of social responsibility. Sustainable development of all sectors of economy of the country can be obtained at the expense of the capital from the oil sector.
Bahtiyar Aslanbeyli, Vice President of BP: “We have been seeking every opportunity in order to support sustainable development. We wish this conference success and hope that together we will make a big joint contribution to the sustainable development of the economy”.
