Winners of the 2nd cycle Arabia CSR Awards 2009

Small Category

Global Village

Global Village, Dubai's exciting new world-class tourism destination, is a unique international entertainment, leisure and culture community, bringing together diverse customs and cultures and covering a broad spectrum of activities including music, dances, arts and handicrafts, theatre, costumes and cuisine of different countries. A star attraction for residents and visitors alike, Global Village offers visitors a unique look into the cultures and traditions of new and exciting lands. In addition to fostering multi-cultural understanding and learning, Global Village also offers a world class leisure destination with all of the facilities that one has come to expect in a global hub like Dubai. In its CSR policy, Global Village focuses specifically on waste management and is constantly exploring new ways to implement the reduce, re-use and recycle strategy into its core business principles.

Global Village actively supports the local authorities' recycling campaigns and contributes to the public debate and awareness with its own waste campaigns. With the reduction of waste as their ultimate goal for sustainable operations, Global Village has adopted recycling initiatives such as environmentally friendly waste management operations, encouraging segregation at source for recycling, and hygiene and safety projects. In addition to Global Village's environmental stewardship, the organization is founded on strong principles of good governance, labor and health and safety. Its code of conduct and guidelines for ethical business practices ensures that the organization is directed, administered and controlled according to the highest
legal, financial and ethical standards.

Global Village regularly conducts site visits to ensure decent living standards for laborers and has an active policy against under-age workers. Global Village is deeply involved in the local community, and donates AED 3 million on a yearly basis to local initiatives, programs and charities. Furthermore, Global Village actively invests in education, arts and culture inthe UAE as well as encourages its employees to make a difference as volunteers
in local organizations.

Medium Category

Abraaj Capital

Abraaj Capital is the premier private equity firm in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region (MENASA). With over 160 employees from 27 nationalities working in five offices: Dubai, Cairo, Riyadh, Istanbul, and Karachi, Abraaj Capital's mission is to create value for its stakeholders by catalyzing sustainable change through investing patient capital. Dubai-based Abraaj Capital is the largest private equity group outside Europe and North America. Since inception in 2002, it has raised about US$7 billion and distributed almost US$3 billion to investors. With Abraaj's extensive reach and penetration, it hopes to instill the virtues of CSR into all of its partner companies, thereby positively impacting the lives of thousands. Its goal is to drive its partner companies into following similar actions, making the Abraaj community of companies a powerful regional force for environmental preservation.

Abraaj believes CSR plays a vital role in the economic and social welfare of the region. It was the first private sector organization in MENA to sign the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI). Abraaj has funded educational, medical and social needs for children in the MENASA region through more than 50 projects since 2007 which includes building schools and libraries in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka; and establishing a US$10 million educational trust for children orphaned in Gaza. Abraaj's Board of Directors has earmarked 5% of its annual revenue to sustainable community investments. The firm also supports NGOs, such as Injaz Arabia which supports Emirati students in developing entrepreneurial skills.

Abraaj is also working to decrease its negative impact on the environment by reducing its use of resources, recycling, and instituting carbon offset initiatives. Abraaj's culture of strong ethics, its community partnership program, and interest in sustaining the environment have all contributed to a solid foundation for sustainability. The successful implementation of this strategy has put Abraaj at the forefront of global private equity firms in terms of sustainability management and to act as a catalyst for CSR strategies to be implemented across a growing number of organizations across the MENASA region

Large Category

Jumeirah Emirates Tower

The Jumeirah Emirates Towers is part of Jumeirah portfolio, which includes luxury hotels and resorts in Dubai, London and New York. The company provides office and retail spaces for major international players and is seen as a global leader in its field. Founded in April 2000, the company has been guided by its mission to become "The world's finest corporate hotel through passion and integrity, stakeholders focus and innovation." Corporate social responsibility is embedded in the strategic framework of Jumeirah Emirates Towers.

 The company's mission recognizes that sustainable growth for the company is strongly connected with their ability to create value for their stakeholders, which is done by earning the support and respect of their colleagues, customers, business owners, and partners, suppliers and communities at large. On top of that, a Jumeirah Corporate Responsibility Team was formed to ensure that CSR strategies are embedded within the operations framework of the business. Furthermore, Jumeirah Emirates Towers is committed to transparency and diligently reports on its progress to its various stakeholders.

 Jumeirah Emirates Towers' CSR initiatives range from successful stakeholder engagement to economic responsibility to drive business excellence through sustainable value creation, as well as energy and water conservation, waste management and recycling. Jumeirah Emirates Group uses the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines to benchmark organizational performance on corporate responsibility. Among many significant awards, Jumeirah Emirates Tower has earned certification by Lloyds Registered Quality Assurance; certified ISO 9001:2000 since 2002 and certified in Codex Alimentations Annex to CAC/RCP 1-1969 (Rev. 4-2003) since 2008.

Finalists