scholarly journals The Governance of Corporate Sustainability in the Middle East: Preliminary Insights

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 715-731
Author(s):  
Zeeshan Mahmood ◽  
Maha Faisal Alsayegh

This paper explores the extent to which companies incorporate best practices for the governance of sustainability in the Middle East. The empirical content in this paper is based on the analysis of company’s disclosures in the annual and sustainability reports of fifteen companies from the Middle East that are listed in the S&P/Hawkamah Pan Arab ESG Index. The research presented in this paper shed the light on some of the practices currently being employed in Middle Eastern companies to govern and manage their sustainability strategies. This study found that top Middle Eastern companies are catching up the global best practices in incorporating sustainability into some structures and processes. However, sustainability governance structures and processes where middle eastern companies are lagging include sustainability committee at board-level, sustainability related mission, vision and values, sustainability assurance, sustainability related trainings and separate sustainability department. In addition, this paper provide several illustrations of how top middle eastern companies are exhibiting sustainability governance structures and processes in their sustainability reports. This information can be used to better understand the state of play of sustainability governance in the middle east and can inform the policy makers for the possibility of regulation in this area. This research is equally beneficial for companies and managers in benchmarking their practices against sustainability leaders and to learn how to embed sustainability into their business practices.    

Author(s):  
Svetlana Snezhko ◽  
Ali Coskun

The research is aimed at assessing the benefits of compliance for corporate sustainability and sustainable development. The main achievement of the research is the outcome of the survey on companies' public reports to identify the trends and measure the progress achieved in disclosing information on compliance. There are both business and public drivers for disclosure of compliance information in non-financial reporting. Best practices in disclosing information on compliance by the company-leaders were revealed. There is a positive trend in the expansion of information on compliance in sustainability reports in recent years. Some problematic areas in reporting on compliance were identified. The outcomes of the research call for companies to disclose information on compliance in a more explicit way. The results may be valid for the improvement of corporate reporting practices.


Author(s):  
Joana Duarte Madalena ◽  
Suliani Rover ◽  
Denize Minatti Ferreira ◽  
Luiz Felipe Ferreira

This research aimed to analyze and evaluate compliance of social and environmental information disclosed in sustainability reports in 2013 by Brazilian companies in the G3 A+ application level of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) organization. The methods approach was descriptive, utilizing performance indicators collected from the reports. GRI classifies performance indicators in aspects and then further into categories, which were used as score in order to compare results between reports. The firms were selected by utilizing the Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial – ISE (Corporate Sustainability Index) from BM&F Bovespa, which served as a filter for good business practices. Results show that, considering G3 A+ model, six out of nine companies disclosed according to what was proposed by GRI. Thus, three out of nine firms did not disclose the indicators suggested by the model. These results, when compared with previous research, shows that there was an improvement in the amount of disclosure contained in sustainability reports.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-116
Author(s):  
Muatasim Ismaeel ◽  
Zarina Zakaria

Purpose This study aims to explore the preparers’ perceptions of sustainability reporting as a distinct voluntary corporate reporting practice in the Middle East. It links these perceptions to the influences of local and global institutional contexts and how companies respond to them. Design/methodology/approach The study is informed by a discursive institutionalism theoretical framework that incorporates concepts such as multiple institutional logics, hybridity in social practice and interpretive role of social agents. Its empirical findings are built on seven interviews with officials involved in the practice to explore their perception of sustainability reports. Findings Sustainability reporting is not understood and perceived in the same way among reporting companies in the Middle East. The difference in perception is linked to the scope of operations of the company, whether it is global or local. The results provide evidence supporting the theoretical framework. Different institutional logics are identified that interact at the structure level to influence sustainability reporting practice, and companies act at the agency level by selecting from the institutional influences what match their interests and priorities. Consequently, the practice itself will be hybrid and will include various ways and forms of reporting. Originality/value The study contributes to knowledge about how global business practices are adopted by companies in the developing countries.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Muhammad ◽  
Mohammed Kurdi ◽  
Ali Momin ◽  
Muzzammil Shakeel ◽  
Roberto Vega ◽  
...  

Abstract The multistage hydraulic fracturing technique is considered to be one of the most effective stimulation techniques used for exploiting unconventional plays. The use of dissolvable frac plugs in multistage hydraulic fracturing has the potential to reduce well intervention requirements. Applicability of dissolvable frac plugs, as an integral part of plug and perf operations, in Middle East unconventional plays presents a myriad of technical challenges associated with high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) well conditions. Two counteracting drivers coexist in dissolvable frac plug design: 1) The need for the frac plug to withstand well conditions during the entire frac stage operational cycle and 2) the requirement for the frac plug to dissolve as quickly as possible after the stimulation treatment has been placed. The HPHT conditions of the wells utilizing dissolvable frac plugs adds to the complexity of not only the plug design, but also its associated deployment operational procedures. The main premise of the functional methodology of dissolvable frac plugs involves a chain reaction being triggered in the presence of specific fluids under specific temperature conditions. After the commencement of the degradation/dissolution chain reaction process, the useful lifetime of the frac plug begins to deplete, where the degradation chain reaction accelerates with increasing temperature exposure. Site operations will then conform to expedited practices to minimize undesired exposure time. This would minimize the risks of degradation/dissolution before plug setting, plug test, and actual stimulation treatment placement. Based on the HPHT well conditions of Middle Eastern unconventional plays, a structured process was put in place to satisfy the define, assess, select, and execute phases of the initiative The inevitable occurrences of unforeseen complications during operational deployments served to accelerate the learning curve for the continued utilization of dissolvable frac plugs. Operational issues ranging from electric line unit complications to frac pump downtime during the initial frac plug deployments compromised the structural integrity and functionality of the dissolvable frac plugs. Recognizing that exposure time was critical to maintaining the structural integrity of the plug, best practices were derived and enforced to minimize said exposure time. In addition, slight design modifications were made to specific components of the plug to increase its robustness while not compromising the desired degradation rates. The adoption of these mitigating measures has resulted in the acceptance of the dissolvable frac plug as the standard plug option for all plug and perf operations. The vast experience gained during the deployment of more than 1,000 dissolvable frac plugs for hydraulic fracturing stages in a Middle Eastern country has served as a basis to conceive a list of best practices to address mitigating unforeseen complications. These best practices are enforced to minimize plug exposure time, which in turn maximizes the probability of plug utilization success.


1970 ◽  
pp. 36-47
Author(s):  
Fadwa Al-Labadi

The concept of citizenship was introduced to the Arab and Islamic region duringthe colonial period. The law of citizenship, like all other laws and regulations inthe Middle East, was influenced by the colonial legacy that impacted the tribal and paternalistic systems in all aspects of life. In addition to the colonial legacy, most constitutions in the Middle East draw on the Islamic shari’a (law) as a major source of legislation, which in turn enhances the paternalistic system in the social sector in all its dimensions, as manifested in many individual laws and the legislative processes with respect to family status issues. Family is considered the nucleus of society in most Middle Eastern countries, and this is specifically reflected in the personal status codes. In the name of this legal principle, women’s submission is being entrenched, along with censorship over her body, control of her reproductive role, sexual life, and fertility.


Metahumaniora ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Panji Maulani

ABSTRAKProses penelitian ini dilakukan dengan melakukan penelitian lapangan danpenelitian kepustakaan. Analisis mendalam terkait akulturasi budaya pada arsitektur MasjidAgung Jawa Tengah didapat melalui penggunaan metode deskriptif-analitik dengan langkahlangkahobservatif. Langkah-langkah tersebut disesuaikan dengan sumber terkait, sehinggadata pada objek penelitian dapat dideskripsikan serta dianalisis dengan pendekatan budayadan arsitektur. Penelitian ini menjadi penting untuk dilakukan karena Masjid Agung JawaTengah memiliki ornamen eksterior yang sangat khas, berbeda dengan ornamen masjidraya-masjid raya lain di Indonesia, yang umumnya memiliki ornamen eksterior yang hanyaberakulturasi dengan budaya Timur Tengah. Pada Masjid Agung Jawa Tengah kita dapatmerasakan suasana seperti di masjid Nabawi dan suasana Colloseum di zaman Romawi.Terdapat 6 buah payung hidrolik seperti di masjid Nabawi dan gerbang Al-Qanathir yangmenyerupai Colloseum pada pelataran masjid akibat pembangunan Masjid Agung JawaTengah menggunakan paduan tiga unsur budaya: Jawa, Timur Tengah, dan Romawi.Kata kunci: akulturasi, ornamen, masjid agung, Jawa TengahABTRACTThe research process was conducted by field research and library research. Depthanalysis related to acculturation on the architecture of the Central Java Great Mosque obtainedusing descriptive-analytic method with observational measures. The steps are adapted to thecorresponding source, so that data on the research object can be described and analyzed withcultural and architectural approach. This research becomes important thing to do because ofthe Great Mosque of Central Java has a very distinctive exterior ornament, in contrast to theother great mosques in Indonesia, whose the exterior ornament is generally only acculturatedwith Middle Eastern culture. In Central Java Great Mosque we can feel the atmosphere likeat the Nabawi Mosque and the atmosphere of the Colosseum in Roman times. There are sixpieces of hydraulic umbrella like in Nabawi Mosque and Al-Qanathir gate that resembles theColosseum in the courtyard of the mosque as the result of the construction of the Central JavaGreat Mosque using a combination of three elements of culture: Java, Middle East, and Roman.Keywords: acculturation, ornament, grand mosque, Central Java


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document