‘Business sustainability depends on company’s relationship with employees, communities’

The sustainability of a company depends on how effectively it manages its relationships with its employees, suppliers, customers, and the community.

Today's entrepreneurs are taking commendable steps by educating their employees about climate risks, environmental threats, and various corporate social responsibilities (CSR), speakers said this on Saturday during a webinar on environmental, social, and corporate governance organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (Icab).

Local Government Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Md Tazul Islam was present at the event as the chief guest, read a press release.

He said successful businessmen attain sustainable business growth by giving equal focus on the corporate, stakeholders, public interest, and the environment.

"The role of auditors, in this case, is commendable, as auditing is essential to corporations and society because it is a medium to build a good relationship between corporations and its stakeholders," he added.

Icab President Mahmudul Hasan Khusru, who was present during the discussion, said, investors, regulators, consumers, and media see how a particular company uses energy, manages its wastes, deals with environmental risks, and acts in the wake of disasters.

Underlining the importance of corporate social responsibilities (CSR), he said, the practise of CSR in Bangladesh often lacks practical applicability due to structural problems.

He suggested that chartered accountants, as information providers to the top management and the stakeholders, should take the environmental, social, and corporate governance rules into consideration while they plan future oversight functions of the company for business.

The webinar was conducted by Nasir Uddin Ahmed, member council and past president of Icab.

Asif   Chowdhury, senior manager, Ernst & Young LLP, United Kingdom and Adeeba Nuraina Risha, research associate, Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) jointly presented the keynote paper.

Icab CEO Shubhashish Bose made introductory remarks and Vice President Sidhartha Barua made concluding remarks during the event attended by many others.