Fazle Hasan Abed, chairman of BRAC, a leading non-government organisation, speaks at the launching ceremony of CSR Centre in Dhaka yesterday. Farooq Sobhan, president of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, and Iftekar Ahmed, chief executive officer of the CSR Centre, are also seen.Photo: STAR

The CSR Centre was formally launched at BRAC Centre INN in Dhaka yesterday with the aim to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a key strategy for corporate excellence in Bangladesh and maximise stakeholders' benefit.
The centre also aims to be the leading provider of complete solutions for CSR business needs in Bangladesh through the provision of commercial products and services.
Fazle Hasan Abed, chairman of BRAC and the chief guest of the ceremony, said business can no longer rely on sporadic acts of charity and philanthropy to offset growing concerns over issues of sustainable development, environmental degradation, and health and safety practices.
CSR has become a matter of survival for companies as consumers are starting to value responsible and ethical business practices, he added.
Farooq Sobhan, chairman of the CSR Centre Board of Trustees and president of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, introduced the CSR Centre as an independent autonomous organisation that has been set up to provide dedicated CSR service in Bangladesh to facilitate, promote and advance CSR understanding and learning.
The centre has been launched with private sector start-up funding from eight corporate and non-corporate members.
Iftekar Ahmed, the CSR Centre's chief executive officer, highlighted various features of the centre and explained how CSR can be a strategic tool to facilitate sustainable growth of organisations through direct engagement in activities that augment stakeholders' interests.
To mark the launch of the CSR Centre, a CSR fair was organised where CSR strategies and projects from CARE Bangladesh, Changemaker, Development Research Network, Hathay Bunano and Warid Telecom provided practical examples of how corporate Bangladesh can use CSR to boost competitiveness.
The primary objective of the centre is to become the principal source of information, resources and advisory services on CSR in the country.
The CSR centre defines corporate social responsibility as a set of business practices based on ethical norms and transparency that contributes to sustainable development of internal and external stakeholders in the best interest of business, society and environment.
The majority of organisations in Bangladesh do not have sufficient resources necessary to act on the CSR opportunities.