Plenary Title: Corporate Social Responsibility and the Environment
Plenary Title: Poverty Reduction through Social Mobilization: Strategy and Challenges
Plenary Title: Communalism in India in the Present Context
Plenary Title: Communalism in Pakistan in the Present Context
Corporate Social Responsibility and the Environment
by Syed Babar Ali*
This talk will highlight the context in which the Pakistani corporate sector operates. Some  positive and negative trends in the corporate sector linked to the environment and nature conservation will be shared, and finally some suggestions will be presented for future action by the corporate sector.
Both Pakistan and the global corporate sector operate in a context based upon the current paradigm of the economic theory. This theory mainly supports the concept of a “free market”, whereby a capital resource is processed to obtain profits. Unfortunately, this model has serious flaws, one of them being the lack of recognition of critical ecosystems such as forests, which are often labeled an “externality” by economists.
The business sector in Pakistan has become much more active in taking steps to reduce its harmful impact upon the environment. Many companies are now certified under the global environment standard the ISO 14000. A few cases of positive business trends, such as the recycling of TetraPak waste and improved production of IKEA cotton products will be shared in the talk. Research done by the Pakistan Center of Philanthropy regarding corporate support shows that the environment sector appears as the third most important area for donation by the corporate sector, after health and education.
The role of the industry associations such as the chambers of commerce, manufacturers associations need to be enhanced. The chambers of commerce often have environmental committees, but they are quite passive. The Pakistani corporate sector needs to become much more active in partnering with nature conservation organizations to support the important conservation work. IKEA, Engro Pakistan, Unilever for example are supporting important activities of WWF Pakistan, but the scale of support is quite small. Increasing this financial support will help reduce the reliance upon international donor agencies.
Businesses that are inherently environment friendly, such as production of wind and solar energy need to be encouraged, with the support of favorable government policies. The recent support for the establishment of private wind energy projects with the support of the government Alternate Energy Board is a good example.
* Syed Babar Ali is the Vice President Emeritus, World Wide Fund (WWF), Pakistan and Former Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs and Planning, Govt. of Pakistan.
 Shoaib Sultan Khan, Chairman, National Rural Support Program (NRSP), Pakistan
Plenary Title: Poverty Reduction through Social Mobilization: Strategy and Challenges
 Visalakshi Menon, Reader, Department of History, Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, India
Plenary Title: Communalism in India in the Present Context
Karamat Ali, Executive Director, Pakistan Institute of Labor, Education and Research (PILER), Karachi, Pakistan
Plenary Title: Communalism in Pakistan in the Present Context
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