Nearly 100 prominent foreign investors, members of the Overseas Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), have actively participated in supporting the Pakistan’s efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, while maintaining their ongoing commitment to corporate social responsibility activities that benefit marginalized communities across all over the country.
OICCI members have invested Rs. 16 billion in various corporate social responsibility activities and in containing the negative impact of the coronavirus. In addition to monetary contributions, OICCI members ‘corporate social responsibility activities have included investing their employees’ time in a variety of value-added social activities across Pakistan with a fundamental commitment to raising and supporting disadvantaged groups in society during this most difficult time in recent memory, fueled by the emergence of pandemic coronavirus.
OICCI President Haroon Rashid praised OICCI members who contribute to corporate social responsibility initiatives and are recognized as role models for motivating other companies and wealthy people.
He said:
Over the past few years, OICCI members have significantly improved sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives through active engagement between business and all stakeholders in society. OICCI members have adopted corporate social responsibility and sustainability best practices that are in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) to meet the growing needs of society.
Annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report for year 2019-2020 shows that the bulk of corporate social responsibility activities to about half of the OICCI members who Collectively invested 8 billion rupees in corporate social responsibility activities, excluding the aforementioned COVID-19, and accounted for approximately 62 million direct beneficiaries across Pakistan. OICCI members and their staff have spent nearly 1.5 million hours of work and partnered with 160 social and development organizations to deliver their unique CSR programs. Corporate social responsibility activities affected all provinces, and the geographical distribution was 29% in Sindh, 26% in Punjab, 14% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 12% in Baluchistan, 6% in FATA and 8% in each of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azada. Kashmir.
In terms of specific United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, 79% of OIC members in Iraq focused on (1) health and well-being and (2) quality education, especially new primary and secondary schools and vocational training programs for skills development. Several members have also actively supported health and nutrition-related initiatives by making donations to respected hospitals, Medicare camps, and health awareness campaigns.
The OICCI highlighted in its statement that the COVID19 challenge in March 2020 for OICCI members and stakeholders was immense and still remains. However, with the international reach of OICCI members, they have led and shared best practices for protecting the health and well-being of their employees, business partners and other stakeholders.
None of the OICCI members have laid off workers due to business slowdown during the outbreak. Most OICCI members have responded positively to the Pakistani government’s call for support to contain the spread of the epidemic, protect the health and support the economic needs of disadvantaged populations in the face of the imminent threat of COVID-19, and have contributed about 7.8 billion Pakistani rupees. For various reasons, containments are focused on the epidemic.
It is worth noting that 63% of members have focused on gender equality in support of the OICCI Women initiative, which has been gaining traction since its launch in 2017. “We believe the OICCI Women Initiative can catalyze other actions in Pakistan to increase women’s participation, thereby contributing. In achieving the country’s rapid economic growth, ”commented Mr. Abdul Alim, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Iraq.
The 2019-2020 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report released yesterday by the OICCI details the contributions of member companies that operate across the country across a range of different social sectors. OICCI is the collective body of the 200 largest foreign investors in Pakistan, belonging to 35 countries, and they are also the largest contributors to the Pakistani economy, in addition to being the largest foreign investors.
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