Etisalat boosts adoption of ISO 26000 CSR standards

TELECOMS

By Kokumo Goodie, Lagos, Nigeria

As part of the fulfillment of its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Nigeria, Etisalat has shown its support for raising the quality of CSR practice in Nigeria through its sponsorship of the adoption process of the International Standard on Social Responsibility, ISO 26000, and technical partnership with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Thistle Praxis Consulting Ltd.

The process was kicked off at an opening ceremony organised as part of a national workshop and technical session by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) at Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja recently.

ISO 26000 is an International Standard by the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) elaborated to guide organisations on Social Responsibility.

It is a consensus guidance document that provides support or a reference for all kinds of organisations in both private and public sectors both in developed and developing countries. The standard has been adopted by many other African countries such as Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Ghana. Nigeria now joins the ranks of countries who have adopted the ISO 26000 in CSR.

Speaking on Etisalat’s role in the process, the CEO of Etisalat Nigeria, Steven Evans, said Etisalat is committed to partnering with SON and Thistle Praxis to ensure global best practice when it comes to the practice of CSR in Nigeria. He stated: “Etisalat’s acceptance of the role of technical partner in the Nigerian adoption process of ISO 26000 on social responsibility was driven by its understanding that social responsibility is an ingredient for building sustainable businesses.”

He added that this initiative complements the Etisalat CSR Centre is partnership with the Lagos Business School of the Pan African University which is aimed at pushing the CSR agenda forward in Nigeria through research, executive trainings, conferences and seminars.

The Director General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Joseph Odumodu, MFR, who spoke at the workshop, said that the time had come for Nigeria to experience the application of the standard. He lauded the efforts of companies like Etisalat who have made a commitment to ensuring global best practice as it would set the precedence for other organisations to follow.