An economic report on Sunday has stressed the need to restructure social priorities in Saudi private sector companies and tying them to Vision 2030’s sustainable developmental goals.
The report, by the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) and Access, highlighted the need to rely on social innovation, technological advancement and high flexibility in achieving a positive sustainable social impact, in wake of the challenges posed by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic has tested their ability to address crises and offer community initiatives that help ease the social, economic and health impact of the outbreak.
The report aims at formulating a clear vision on the importance of the private sector’s role in activating social responsibility, in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and the sustainable development goals by monitoring and analyzing private sector initiatives in light of COVID-19 crisis.
The initiatives have had a positive effect on society and contributed in easing the economic and social impact of the pandemic, as well as raising the level of social responsibility practices and stimulating social investment.
The report examined in detail more than 700 initiatives presented by the Saudi private sector and its institutional bodies, represented by the CSC and business establishments, during the pandemic and the efforts of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development to bolster social responsibility in the private sector.
According to the report, innovation can lead to a quantum leap in future social responsibility whereby some companies could dedicate resources to bolster innovation in social practices in order to achieve the sustainability goal that has a positive impact on society and the environment.
Innovation covers business models, products or services provided all aimed at achieving new added value and a competitive advantage to strike a balance between the economic, social and environment goals of companies.
The report further highlights the concept of sustainable investment, which has become one of the world’s major investment strategies. The value of assets managed through this modern concept is estimated at more than $30 trillion whereby corporate social responsibility is seen as a sustainable investment that benefits companies and society.
