Dubai Chamber Sustainability Network members launch Road Safety Campaign

As part of their efforts to promote and share CSR best practices, members of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) managed Sustainability Network Task Group in partnership with RTA and RoadSafetyUAE.com launched a Road Safety Campaign “Be Responsible- Drive Safe” at VOX Cinemas in Deira City Centre on Wednesdayfor businesses

The launch ceremony was attended by senior management from the Sustainability Network members, media and the business community in the UAE. Speakers from member companies included Mohammed Akber, General Manager – HSEQ & Sustainability, Tristar, and Thomas Edelmann, Founder, Roadsafetyuae.com

The speakers gave presentations with statistics from WHO global status report on road safety 2013 as well as the UAE data which showed that sudden swerving and lane changing topped the percentage of fatalities touching 27% and are the major causes of road deaths in the country. These are followed by misjudgment and not maintaining enough distance between cars which took 14% and 11% respectively as other top causes of fatalities on UAE roads.

The Network has 56 members till date and companies that are part of the Road Safety Campaign group are Tristar, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, PepsiCo, ABB, SamTech Middle East, DP World, Zafco FZCO & Zdegree and Intercoil.

The Be Responsible – Drive Safe campaign is targeted at businesses and will allow the members collaborating  to raise awareness on road safety internally within the employees of the member companies and externally with other businesses to share best practices with like-minded companies.

The key deliverables include, developing a communication kit in cooperation with RTA and RoadSafetyUAE.com consisting of facts, tips, posters, templates, and videos which will be disseminated to all the members of the Sustainability Network and pre and post surveys will be conducted to analyse the effectiveness of the Kit. Sessions for businesses to share best practice examples will be also conducted in  2014.

The members will also compile policies and best practices to develop a Case Studies booklet while ZAFCO & Zdegree will offer onsite vehicle inspections whose report will be shared with the members to highlight the importance of the safe vehicle operations.

Dr. Belaid Rettab, Senior Director, Economic Research and Sustainable Business Development Sector, Dubai Chamber, said that the ‘Be Responsible – Drive Safe’ is the first of its kind campaign on road safety targeted at businesses and shows the commitment of the Sustainability Network members to engage in initiatives that directly serve the business community while also enhancing the reputation of Dubai as a safe and responsible business destination.

He added that the participating Sustainability Network member companies get the opportunity to enhance their corporate reputation among various stakeholders including employees, and those interested in improving Road Safety practices.

The Sustainability Network started out with only four corporate members in 2010 and in just 3 years 73 networking events have been held, bringing together 1,049 participants from across the business community. It aims to grow its members to 100 by 2017, not only in the country but also across the region.

At the heart of the Sustainability Network are the business-driven and action-oriented task groups aimed to address CSR and Sustainability challenges within the UAE. The task groups serve as a multi-stakeholder platform to discuss and exchange CSR/Sustainability views and practices.

The Centre for Responsible Business, which was formed in 2004 and celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2014, plays an important role in instilling a culture of responsible business in the UAE. The Centre assists Dubai Chamber members to apply responsible business practices that enhance their performance and competitiveness. It also provides research, training and events related to the concept of corporate social responsibility while raising the profile of Dubai as a sustainable business destination.