Corporate Social Responsibility in Kazakhstan:

tendencies, obstacles, opportunities.

Rinad Temirbekov

Executive Director

Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia

April 26, 2012

About us

Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia (EFCA) is a non-profit organization founded in the region in 2005 to promote civic engagement and support local initiatives in private enterprise, education, and public administration in Central Asia based in Almaty, Bishkek, Osh and Dushanbe.

OUR PROGRAM AREAS

Developing civil society and improving quality of services for citizens Improving the quality of education and supporting youth Developing entrepreneurship and supporting economic growth Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Providing consulting services for companies in the area of CSR

Professional and innovative solutions for social issues!

CSR in Kazakhstan development stages

«Infant» stage

USSR – 2000

• Soviet patronage and mentorship in place as first CSR practice

• Sponsorship and charity terms introduced by foreign companies

• NGOs start to appear to pick up on social issues and partner with local and international business

«The Formation» stage

2000 – 2008

• First CSR research done by EFCA and UNDP

• CSR working groups formed by AmCham, UNDP

• Global UNDP agreement signed by 12 Kazakhstani companies

• First CSR forum held in Zheskazgan in 2008

• First CSR competitions organized such as Paryz and AltynZhurek

«The Awareness» stage

2008 – 2011

• Regional CSR public committees formed and MoU signed

• National companies start to integrate some CSR practices in business

• First CSR website and CSR Club launched

• Some companies start to report on social investments

• Increased interest for CSR in 2011

Major obstacles to the promotion of CSR in Kazakhstan

Lack of transparency and access to information about companies’ CSR

activities (CSR reports)

Limited awareness of CSR as a concept

Lack of systematic approach in CSR promotion from government,

business and society

Kazakhstan business still does not have enough interest in CSR

Business is pressured by local authorities to contribute to social

domain

Poor mass media attention to CSR

Lack of legislative and tax mechanisms as incentives to stimulate CSR development

Government

CommunityBusiness

CSR stakeholders interaction model

Tools for Collaboration:

Needs assessment Public hearings Public committees and MoU

EFCA recommendations to better integrate CSR in Kazakhstan

• Create a government interagency group between responsible Ministries to improve coordination on CSR promotion;

• Stop soliciting business for social investments – only on voluntarily basis;

• Develop tax or other incentives for companies to practice CSR;

• Organize awareness campaigns for business, government, mass media and NGOs on concept of CSR;

• Introduce social reporting as one of indicators on IPO market and in general;

• Start using a comprehensive approach when solving social issues (needs assessment, stakeholder engagement, public monitoring and reporting).

Thank you for your attention

Any questions?