AE ARMA-ELEKTROPANÇ, the Turkish joint venture MEP contractor, will launch a Corporate Social Responsibility programme by the second quarter of next year, a company official said on Thursday.

Based all across the Middle East, with offices and projects in Qatar, UAE, Algeria and Lebanon, the contractor is one of the most wide-ranging in the region. In total, the company operates on three different continents.

As a result of this success and expansion, the contractor has decided to implement a comprehensive CSR programme for the benefit of their staff, Burak Kizilhan, business development manager, told MEP Middle East.

“We are operating in three different continents with different cultures in different societies. To integrate with these societies is inevitable.

So in order to establish an awareness of the impact of the company in these societies, we will provide economical, political and social feedback to create new business opportunities, divert risks and sustainability,” he added.

The CSR program will be based on ISO 26000 standard requirements. These standards include general principles, organisational governance, implementation, human rights, labour practices, environmental standards, fair operating practices, consumer issues and community involvement and development.

One of the biggest problems that companies encounter when implementing CSR is different cultural expectations and legal requirements, Kizilhan said. Because of this, achieving a legal and ethical standard is difficult and challenging.

“To understand and digest the society’s cultural expectations, your communication and feedback should be reliable and measurable, whereby it enables you to improve your effectiveness,” he explained.

“Your communication plan should involve the cultural, social, educational, economic and political background of the target audience, resource and time constraints and ease of access to information,” he added.

Another problem that crops up is the establishment of best practices for sustainable sourcing due to the increased economical concerns, Kizilhan said. This made it more difficult to incorporate sustainability into the final business case, he concluded.