Mrs. Feryal Tawakul receives Dubai Customs’ award from Mr. Marc Moody
in the presence of Mrs. Habiba Al Merashi.
Dubai Customs won the first place in the Arabia CSR Awards of the Arab large organizations category which is organized by Emirates Environmental Group in cooperation with the United Nations Global Compact. The Awards is instituted under the patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the President of the Department of Civil Aviation and Chief Executive and Chairman of the Emirates Group.
The Awards awarding ceremony was recently held for the third cycle in Raffles Dubai Hotel in the presence of many officials from government authorities and private organizations in the region in addition to a high official delegation from the UN.
Dubai Customs received the first place of the Awards in recognition of its initiatives and social activities as well as meeting the requirements of the Awards. 62 government and private organizations from 12 Arab countries have made it to the finales to qualify for winning the three categories of the Awards which are; large organizations category, medium organizations category and small organizations category. The competition was intense among the finals.
The judging panel which comprises of world-class specialized experts in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) commended Dubai Customs for integrating high professional and sustainable CSR projects.
Mr. Ralph Thurm, Director of Sustainable Strategies at Deloitte and Head of Jury for the Awards said:" Dubai Customs CSR actions which combined both economic and social aspects as well as sustainable social development have impressed us all as the jury of the Awards. We also admired the transparency of these initiatives through announcing and publishing them on the official website of the Global Reporting Initiative. Dubai Customs is classified as (B) category and is considered a pioneer in this domain.”
On behalf of Dubai Customs, Mrs. Feryal Tawakul, Executive Director of Community Affairs and Government Partnership received the Award from Mr. Marc Moody, United National Global Compact in the presence of Mrs. Habiba Al Merashi, Chairman of Emirates Environmental Group.
The Arabia CSR Awards has 20 criteria including the availability of the best international practices in the field of CSR and the availability and implementation of international standards in the company.
On this occasion, H.E. Ahmed Butti Ahmed, Executive Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zones Corporation and Dubai Customs Director General congratulated Dubai Customs staff for this new international achievement which is added to the Department’s successes in the different domains. “CSR causes are top priority of the Department’s business strategies. We have managed to successfully transform social responsibility into an added value to the organization instead of being a burden which fosters Customs well-reputed status through the economic and social outcomes of these initiatives.” He said.
He added:" We are very proud of receiving this Award and the jury’s assessment, which comprises a group of unbiased international judges. This definitely reflects on implementing the international standards of social responsibility and supports the steps we have taken in this road such as earning the international standard SA 8000 last year and focusing on our employees and clients’ rights besides our interest in the different society segments and the environmental issues. Adding to that, increasing the society’s awareness about intellectual property issues and the dangers of consuming counterfeited products.”
H.E. Ahmed Butti expressed his appreciation to the project’s team and praised the cooperation among the different departments at Customs which rendered this success.
Mrs. Tawakul expressed as well her thankfulness to the Awards’ providers especially Emirates Environmental Group and for giving the government and private organizations the opportunity to participate and showcase their efforts in the field of social responsibility. She also commended the Department’s upper management for supporting the social activities and fostering the charitable action culture among the employees.
Mrs. Tawakul stated that Dubai Customs social initiatives was focused this year on the employees and clients’ rights and transparency of treating them through the Client Charter “ in addition to our attention to the different society segments including the sick and the people with special needs.” She added.
Moreover, Dubai Customs integrated CSR initiatives such as recycling, cleaning the beaches, combating the illicit trading of endangered animals, providing support to women, fostering charitable and voluntary action, increasing society’s awareness about the dangers of consuming counterfeited goods and Customs role in maintaining intellectual property rights. She further noted that the employees’ joint efforts helped achieve the social and economic outcomes of the initiatives.
Mrs. Tawakul stated:" the concept of social responsibility has changed at Dubai Customs from being charitable action into becoming a comprehensive business system within the Department’s strategy which enhances its Customs business. Besides, collaboration amongst all the departments of Customs and believing in the importance of social responsibility played a major role in accomplishing this achievement.”
It is worth noting that there were 215 government entities and private organizations in the Arab world have participated in the Awards since it was launched three years ago including the international companies operating in the Arab countries. Dubai Customs won the second place of the same category in this award during the second cycle last year.