Sharjah24: Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) shared its positive experience in implementing corporate social responsibility initiatives at the recently launched “Sharjah Chamber Platform for Social Responsibility”.

Jassem AlBlooshi, head of organizational excellence at Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB), spoke during the launch of the virtual event and highlighted the experience of the SIB in particular and the UAE in general in community work, pointing out the strategic and important role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in achieving positive organizational outcomes for businesses and in contributing to the economic development of the emirates. 

Organized by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the social platform event aims to inspire sustainable practices in the business community in the emirate, by consolidating and raising awareness of the concept of social responsibility and enhancing cooperation between government and private agencies in this field.
Jassem AlBlooshi said: "Social responsibility today has become a social requirement and a human need. The UAE, for its part, has been unwavering in its efforts to bring about social transformation and launch development initiatives that have had a positive impact on the global community. Thanks to the compatibility of the national agenda with social responsibility, the Emirati nation has become one of the most generous countries in the world. This is reflected on all institutions in the country that are working to improve people's lives and societal issues to achieve sustainable development."

Social responsibility has reduced cancer deaths
As an example of the compatibility between the national agenda and social responsibility, AlBlooshi stressed that the state seeks in its national agenda to consolidate the preventive aspect and implementation of a health system based on the highest international standards, and therefore sought to reduce cancer mortality rates down to 18.6%. 
“Sharjah Islamic Bank has been actively pushing for the achievement of this goal of by launching and supporting several health and awareness initiatives in cooperation with the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, the Pink Caravan, Sharjah Health City, and the Friends of Cancer Patients Association, to raise awareness about cancer in the community, which contributed to a decrease in deaths among people with cancer from 40 cases per 100,000 people to 27,” Jassem AlBlooshi added.

AlBlooshi pointed out that social responsibility is an important undertaking especially in the modern era, a period characterized by rapid progress and development in all fields, which could not have happened without effective community participation. 

He continued: “The bank is keen to adhere to its responsibility towards society by supporting initiatives and activities of charitable organizations in the implementation of the vision of the UAE’s wise leadership, and the need for private and governmental entities to abide by their societal responsibilities to ensure the success of community work.

 
Societal return on investment initiatives
The head of organizational excellence at Sharjah Islamic Bank says that the bank assesses the social return on investment (SROI) of community work to determine and measure the impact of social sponsorships and initiatives, and that the bank is willing to work with the government and private entities to come up with a methodology to figure out the Social impact of CSR initiatives.

Social responsibility is an integral part of the work of Sharjah Islamic Bank, as embodied in three main frameworks: a professional framework linked to the impact of the Islamic banking profession, a charitable framework that involves providing financial aid and support to organizations, and the community partnership framework that relates to sponsoring community activities, events and programs.

Charitable aid and community care
Within the professional framework, the bank works to enhance the concepts of justice, equality and social solidarity; spread the concepts of dealing with transparency and clarity away from ignorance and deception; consolidate the concept of partnership with various stakeholders while bearing part of any loss, damage or risks; and encourage dealing in assets, investment and wealth management for the development of society.

As for the charitable framework, the bank works through the zakat banks to implement the obligation of zakat on an annual basis after the Fatwa and Sharia Supervisory Board reviews the annual zakat funds that must be taken out from the bank. It also informs the shareholders individually of the amount of zakat due on their profits. In addition, the bank allocates specific funds to support community organizations and welfare societies looking out for people with special needs.

In the community partnership framework, Sharjah Islamic Bank enters engages in partnership and sponsorship initiatives with the government sector, whether federal authorities or local institutions, as well as the educational sector such as universities, colleges and schools. The bank also sponsors many events, competitions and championships, and supports employee participation in community service.

Refining the skills of employees to serve the community
At the height of the pandemic, the bank supported the initiative of the Sharjah Private Education Authority to provide distance education to children of needy families. It also launched the Ramadan community project “Mirk at your doorsteps”, which provided Ramadan Mir to 4,000 families affected by the Covid crisis in coordination with the Sharjah Charity International. 
Furthermore, the bank involves its employees in all its community work, such as in organizing many events, taking into account the precautionary measures, including the celebration of the Flag Day and the National Day, and the annual competition for employees “Knowledge Marathon”, as these activities contribute to inspire the passion of bank employees for volunteer work and community service.

Sharjah Islamic Bank continuously strives to provide all electronic services and facilities, which are designed to meet the requirements of the retail and corporate customers during the current period. The bank seeks to support the nation’s efforts to contain the Coronavirus under the slogan " We Commit Until We Succeed,” and aligns with the UAE’s vision 2021, aimed at achieving a competitive and technology based advanced knowledge economy through  innovation, along with the bank’s strategy to keep pace with the latest global digital banking technologies.