Horizon 2020, in support of the Tunisian Ministry of Environment’s efforts to develop and implement a National Pact for Sustainable Development with Tunisian companies, “locomotives” of the economy, organized a workshop in Tunis, on 5-6 December 2012, which focused on the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Horizon 2020, in support of the Tunisian Ministry of Environment's efforts to develop and implement a National Pact for Sustainable Development with Tunisian companies, "locomotives" of the economy, organized a workshop in Tunis, on 5-6 December 2012, which focused on the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Organised within the framework of the EU project Capacity Building/Mediterranean Environment Programme (CB/MEP), this workshop is part of the Ministry's efforts to accelerate the transition of Tunisia towards a green economy.
Mr. Stefano Corrado, in charge of Environment and Energy issues at the EU Delegation in Tunisia, said: "Corporate Social Responsibility is part of the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It is the key component to build a more responsible society upon which the transition to a green economy can be based. This workshop provides one more opportunity for Tunisia to take full ownership of this concept, in order to shift to a more sustainable business model."
Over fifty participants representing public and private agencies, as well as professional organizations, attended the workshop to improve their knowledge on the various necessary components of the national pact for sustainable development.
Despite the numerous institutional tools available to small and medium Tunisian enterprises for its implementation and although it appears as a necessary condition for succeeding in the world economic space, CSR is poorly integrated into the work environment of Tunisia. The workshop was successful in addressing this need for information and training of the enterprises and at the same time it was an opportunity for the Ministry of Environment to raise awareness about the National Pact for Sustainable Development.
The various modules of the 2-day training focused on the international context of CSR, the different methodological tools for enterprises, the sectoral approaches of CSR and the public policies in favour of CSR. Exercises and a round table discussion on the strategy to be developed for the implementation of the National Pact of Sustainable Development were also part of the workshop.
This workshop was organized by the Regional Activity Centre for Cleaner Production (CP/RAC) of the Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) with support from the Tunisian Ministry of Environment (Directorate General for Sustainable Development) and the Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development (MIO-ECSDE).
