For the sixth consecutive year
Dubai Customs releases its corporate Sustainability Report 2013
Ahmed Mahboob Musabih: We are committed to making sustained efforts to modernize and improve our services and stakeholders satisfaction
As part of its strong commitment to social responsibility and organizational sustainability, Dubai Customs has released its sixth annual sustainability report for the year 2013. This report is designed to highlight the efforts and activities undertaken by Dubai Customs to address social, environmental, economic and organizational impacts within its scope of work for the past year. It outlines how DC’s business model supports its sustainability values for today as well as for the future.
Dubai Customs’ sixth annual sustainability report is in accordance with the fourth generation (G4) of the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) guidelines.
H.E. Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director of Dubai Customs, said “Proceeding from the forward-looking vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, for Dubai to be the world’s center of now and tomorrow, we firmly believe that an effective sustainability management is the road map into securing a brighter and happier future for Dubai and its people.”
“With an aim to contribute towards the economic and social development of Dubai and UAE, we are committed to making sustained efforts to modernize and improve our services and stakeholders satisfaction. As we continue to support regional and global initiatives towards economic and environmental sustainability, we understand the importance of increased awareness-raising and contribution across all our organizational units to improve DC’s corporate sustainability performance,” Ahmed Mahboob Musabih added.
In 2013, Dubai Customs was the first government department to deliver 100% mobile-enabled services through smartphones 24/7. This smart approach supports DC’s vision to be the leading customs organization in the world.
“We have clear objectives and goals that guide our efforts as well as measure our progress on each of these objectives. I am proud to head an organization with a long-standing commitment to good governance, social values, environmental concerns and employee engagement,” Musabih further noted.
In 2013, Dubai Customs carried out numerous projects and initiatives that fall within our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) framework. In recognition of DC’s distinguished efforts in the area of social responsibility, it was awarded the first prize in the Arabia CSR Awards for Organizations of the Government Sector in the MENA region. This prestigious accolade adds to other myriad accolades DC has accomplished in its quest towards global excellence.
World-class Environment
Dubai Customs aims towards contribution to the global environment through its long term goal of becoming a carbon-neutral organization. The main focus of DC’s initiatives in the area of environmental support is towards energy and water conservation, recycling efforts, waste management, radiations emissions from equipment, greener infrastructure and trade control on items which are against international laws. During the year 2013, the total energy consumed by the organization was 7,193,596 KWH which is equivalent to 25,876 gigajoules.
During 2013, in collaboration with Al-Futtaim Motors, the organization provided free check-up for more than 400 employee vehicles with special attention towards tyres with an objective to improve vehicle performance and thus reducing carbon footprints.
Smart services
During 2013, Dubai Customs became the first organization in Middle East to receive the accredited version of ISO 20000-1:2011certificate which is a service management system standard. It is the first IT Service Management System standard adopted world-wide. This accreditation confirms DC’s commitment to meet high key performance indicator (KPI) levels and provide internal customers with a high level of quality services in line with international standards.
In line with the Mobile Government initiative by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, and Smart Government Programme by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, Dubai Customs proudly introduced its Mobile Website in October 2013. This enabled the organization to make available all the 19 client facing services of the organization through the smart mobile website.
A follow-up customer survey was conducted to assess the performance of this smart launch which indicated that our services are 90% Seamless, 100% Multi-channelled, 84% Accessible, 89% Reliable and 82% Timely. The overall result was a 88% satisfaction level.
Community Initiatives
Dubai Customs, from its inception, has been engaged in combating counterfeiting and protecting IPR. The organisation supports this community initiative through a dedicated department which aims to protect and maintain the safety of the society as well as its customers against the negative impacts of counterfeit and fake products. During 2013, a total of 11,500 people benefitted from the IPR awareness campaign through 4 workshops and visits to more than 11 educational institutions.
Dubai Customs also launched a new awareness campaign during 2013 which aims to communicate the impacts of the bladed weapons and their misuse, specially by the younger generation. The team presented lectures and related information to students and children of various educational institutions and more than 100 attendees benefitted from this campaign.
Kidzania
Since 2011, Dubai Customs has a children’s pavilion in Kidzania (Dubai Mall) where children are taught about the role which Customs Inspector plays towards the protection of borders and trade. More than 100,000 children have so far attended this pavilion and have benefitted from the program. In addition, a Dog Show was also organized at Kidzania by Dubai Customs, showcasing the skills and efficiency of the trained dogs to detect drugs and illegal items being smuggled into the country.
Fishermen Community
In the efforts to improve living standards of the community and promote a culture of responsible citizenship Dubai Customs continues to conduct its campaign for the fishermen community. During 2013, more than 500 fishermen attended lectures and workshops organized by the organization in collaboration with other government entities such as Civil Defence, Electricity and Water Authority and Ambulance service. Through these sessions, they were provided with basic and important knowledge about contingencies, emergencies, energy conservation and so on.
Human Resources
In 2013, The Human Resources Gate was introduced which is an initiative aimed at establishing a Human Resources Department interface that allows employees to submit and follow up all HR related requests, and obtain responses to all inquiries dealing with HR policies, rules, and regulations through one-stop focal point that provides its services over the phone, via email, or over the counter.
Employee well-being is an integral part of the CSR practices at Dubai Customs and thus dedicated activities, programs and projects are always organized with the involvement of internal and external volunteers. During 2013, awareness programs and workshops for employees were conducted which included areas such as anti-smoking, breast cancer, sports benefits, obesity, diabetes and free medical check-ups.