The Protection Project engages in various initiatives to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate compliance with international standards on human rights, labor rights, environment, anti-corruption policies, and fair business practices. Through collaboration and partnerships with multinational companies, local business, NGOs, academia, and other members of civil society, The Protection Project advances education and awareness of CSR work, and assists corporate bodies to implement CSR practices in the MENA region and beyond.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be understood as a management concept or process where a company or business entity addresses social and environmental concerns and integrates such concerns into its business model, daily operations, and interactions with stakeholders. For example, companies in the travel and tourism industries are now training their employees to identify victims of trafficking and child sex tourism. In the manufacturing industry, corporations are adopting comprehensive codes of conduct to ensure wider respect of labor rights and environmental standards.
CSR is a growing movement. Corporations are increasingly recognizing the benefits of incorporating socially responsible practices into business strategies, and how failure to address both short and long term social and environmental impacts may render its business practices unsustainable in the future.
While some businesses are beginning to positively impact the communities they operate in, much more needs to be done. Our CSR initiatives aim to enhance business integrity, transparency, and cooperation in order to grow economic markets and financial investments in socially responsible ways.
About our Corporate Social Responsibility Work
The Protection Project is working with U.S., foreign-based, and multinational companies operating in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region, along with NGOs, academia, and other members of civil society to promote compliance with international standards on human rights, labor rights, anti-corruption policies, and fair business practices in the region. By working directly with international and national representatives of the private sector, The Protection Project also assists companies to implement socially responsible practices in business models that advance economic and business objectives in developing countries by collecting data and publishing reports on CSR, by training members of the private sector on CSR principles, by teaching of CSR classes at universities in the United States and the MENA region, and by holding seminars and conferences on CSR for members of government, civil society and the wider public. For more information about our CSR initiatives, please click the following links:
On September 10, 2013, The Protection Project hosted a Corporate Social Responsibility Luncheon at the Johns Hopkins University SAIS Washington DC campus. Business representatives and experts of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) discussed current trends and obstacles to promote and implement CSR initiatives and programs throughout the world, and specifically in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region. The expert talked about how academia can assist the corporate sector in advancing its CSR agenda and help enhance responsible business practices, human rights, and sustainable development and answered questions from students and faculty. On June 19-20, 2013, The Protection Project held the First Regional Conference on “Corporate Social Responsibly in the Middle East” in Istanbul, Turkey. The conference facilitated discussion between various stakeholders, and resulted in new initiatives aimed to expand CSR work in the MENA region. The conference resulted in the establishment of various activities, including: reparing a publication on the proceedings of the conference; reparing a publication entitled, “100 Best Practices on Corporate Social Responsibly (CSR) in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) Region”; stablishing an Expert Working Group on Corporate Social Responsibly (CSR) with representatives from each MENA country; rafting model law on corporate social responsibility; stablishing the first business clinic on corporate social responsibility in partnership with Beirut Arab University’s Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration in Beirut, Lebanon; ostering partnerships and establishing MOUs with NGOs and other stakeholders to grow CSR initiatives in the MENA region; and econvening at a second regional conference in about a year to track progress and discuss future projects.
Teaching Corporate Social Responsbility Courses: The Protection Project promotes business compliance with international standard by advancing education in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility in the MENA Region. For example, in December 2011, staff of The Projection Project travelled to Beirut, Lebanon to teach a course on Corporate Social Responsibility to 293 Business Faculty students at Beirut Arab University.