Ensuring our future leaders appreciate the value of sustainability, inclusion, integrity & collaboration
By 2025, it is estimated that millennials will make up 75% of the workforce, and eventually, the entire future customer base. Since the founding of Pearl Initiative, the youth pillar has always been an integral aspect of the programme development.
The Pearl Initiative promotes an understanding of corporate governance, accountability, and transparency through various tailored student engagement initiatives. The organisation equips students with practical business- based learnings to enable them to succeed in their future careers and meaningfully contribute to a thriving economy.
The Pearl Initiative launched the Business Pledge, a youth-centric initiative, in 2017 during the Regional Forum for Sustainability in Action, held in partnership with the United Nations Global Compact. The primary objective of the Business Pledge highlights the key role the Private Sector plays in promoting responsible and sustainable growth based on good corporate governance practices in the Gulf Region.
The Pledge sessions focus on four areas including:
- Setting Targets for Sustainable & Responsible.
- Growth
- A More Inclusive Workplace.
- Promoting Integrity.
- Collaboration & Partnerships.
Since its launch the Business Pledge which has already received more than 150 signatories from across the Region. To date, the Pearl Initiative has hosted 51 pledge sessions engaging over 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students across 51 universities in the Gulf region.
These pledges are conducted by senior key executives from leading companies in the Gulf region. During these sessions, the students learn about different sustainable business and governance policies and practices being implemented by leading regional companies.
The speakers shared practical examples from their individual companies to showcase how the integration of governance practices into day-to-day business operations. They also shed light on the importance of having a strong base of corporate governance and its positive impact on business’s growth.
Looking forward, the programme aims to expand further and provide an opportunity to hundreds of university students to personally engage with business leaders and observe the actions these leaders are taking to honor their pledge to enhance governance within their business.
“It was great to share practical insights with students on how we, as businesses, can incorporate ESG into our business strategy to promote more sustainable and responsible growth. The global commitment to ESG has gained significant traction over the past two years, with 45% of institutional investors opting to invest in organizations with deeply embedded ESG capabilities. In addition, strong corporate governance provides the robust base to build a business agenda that integrates, supports and delivers such strategies for business growth and drives collective global action.”
Wasif Syed Muhammad, Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, Tamer Group
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