Webinar: “CSR policies: A new approach to corporate co-development”

Webinar “Industrial Property, an accelerator of innovation and access to medicines”

The notion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) up for debate! The Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Morocco (CCSM) organised on 17 March a webinar on the theme “CSR policies: A new approach to corporate co-development”. An opportunity to debate the various aspects of CSR, define its scope and set out its main focus areas.

“CSR policies: A new approach to corporate co-development”. That was the theme of the webinar organised on 17 March in coordination with the Embassy of Switzerland in Morocco, CGEM, Nestlé Maroc and Swisscontact. Christophe De Figueiredo, President of the CCSM, and Pierre-Yves Morrier, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Switzerland in Morocco, moderated the meeting. On the speakers’ side, Malika Youssoufine and Stéphanie Dreifuss, respectively Vice-President of the Responsible and Citizen Enterprise Commission at CGEM and Director of Partners and Clients at Swisscontact, presented the state of play of CSR policies in Morocco and explained Swisscontact’s CSR strategy in Morocco. The “model village concept” segment was led by Mr Othmane Berrada, Head of Agricultural Services at Nestlé Maroc, and Mr Didier Krumm, Director of Swisscontact Maroc.

Legal framework

The Swiss experience shows that CSR is important both nationally and internationally. In this respect, Mr Morrier explained in his introduction the emerging challenges facing CSR, citing in passing “soaring prices” and “the disruption of value chains”. These factors are decisive because they stimulate companies’ commitment to CSR and, consequently, enable them to stand out from one another. “ Given the strategic importance of CSR, Switzerland encourages its coordinated implementation at national level, but also internationally. Switzerland is thus working to ensure consistency between the CSR standards adopted at national level and the instruments used locally ”, he explained. The actions carried out and the mobilisation of all stakeholders on this subject share a common objective: meeting the expectations of the “2030 Agenda”, namely employment, poverty reduction, climate protection, economic growth, etc.

Switzerland is supported by other governments in establishing a legal framework within which private sector companies should operate for “better sustainability”. Indeed, the Confederation monitors the activity of companies based in Switzerland and of Swiss companies based abroad to ensure that they “contribute to the long-term development of partner countries”, such as Morocco.

Morocco incorporated the notion of sustainable development into its 2011 constitution. Major Moroccan groups have made significant efforts to drive change, such as the OCP Group, which has worked in this direction. The Moroccan legal framework includes a law on the national charter for the environment and sustainable development (Law 99-12). Morocco thus adopted a national sustainable development strategy in 2017, under the impetus of King Mohammed VI. The latest roadmap ordered by the sovereign – the new development model – also gave a “special” place to CSR in order to promote its culture and contribute to the development of the private sector.

The state of play in Morocco

The General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) has 900,000 members, of which only 108 companies hold the CSR label. Yet no eligibility condition regarding size or stock market listing is required. According to Ms Youssoufine, 32% of the companies that have obtained the CSR Label are SMEs, 30% are listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, 30% are subsidiaries of multinationals, 40% operate in industry and 60% in services. “ A low volume given the number of CGEM members ”, she pointed out. She added: “companies need to mobilise more and redouble their efforts to ride the wave of CSR commitment”.

Within CGEM, the notion of CSR emerged in 2006. A CSR charter was then adopted and updated in 2017 owing to changing societal issues. CSR is indeed part of Morocco’s entrepreneurial culture.

To succeed in committing to a CSR approach, four rules must imperatively be followed, according to Ms Youssoufine. “First, you have to identify your issues in order to better grasp the fundamental CSR issues. Next, engage in dialogue with your stakeholders to develop actions in order to act better on CSR issues. Engage and integrate the whole company in the approach. And finally, you have to focus your efforts on one central issue of your business rather than on a dozen issues where the efforts will be marginal. ”.

Swisscontact, acting effectively

CSR contributes greatly to the development of companies and guarantees better employability of their resources. Committing to such an approach is entirely beneficial for companies. For identifying the issues in one’s environment and working to address them through appropriate means enables companies to act effectively on their areas for improvement. The cooperation between Swisscontact and SCPP Indonesia is proof of this. Indeed, the foundation has forged one of its largest public/private partnerships, for the benefit of 165,000 farmers in the cocoa sector.

“The results of this cooperation are commendable, and the foundation’s partners have seen their productivity increase”, said Ms Dreifuss, Director of Partners and Clients at Swisscontact. She added: “we work in several fields and, through our actions, we strive, among other things, to reduce poverty and greenhouse gas emissions, and to raise the productivity of our partners”

Model village

As part of its societal commitment, Nestlé Maroc is undertaking social initiatives that enable young people to enter the job market. These actions enable young jobseekers to acquire the appropriate know-how in their respective specialities, and offer them the opportunity to do internships within the firm. The multinational is aligned with the strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture, which encourages sustainable agriculture and gives top priority to the development of local farmers. It is in this spirit that it launched “Agripreneurship”, an internal programme designed to help with economic development and to guarantee the sustainability of its agricultural partners.

“The Farsi farm, one of Nestlé Maroc’s suppliers, has grown from 11 to 500 head of cattle, including 160 dairy cows (between 2009 and 2022). Milk production has also risen from 300 to 5,000 litres. The workforce has grown from 2 to 12 employees – with more than 40 seasonal workers” explained Othmane Berrada, Head of Agricultural Services at Nestlé Maroc

Support and transformation.

Nestlé Maroc thus assisted a traditional cooperative with a view to transforming it into a professional cooperative. The Group supported it, notably in acquiring milking equipment and other auxiliary equipment. The first phase having been successful, the second phase of the project will be conducted by the Swisscontact foundation.

As regards training, Mr Krumm recalled the importance of establishing partnerships with veterinarians and scheduling technical training. He also advocates going into cowsheds to provide training so as to identify the real constraints. And Swisscontact’s interventions are not limited to simple training and coaching. “At Swisscontact, we help young people draw up business plans. We also support young people in thinking formally about the cross-cutting aspects that concern their activity”, said the director of the foundation.

At the end of the webinar, the speakers answered participants’ questions, which included the financing mechanisms for agricultural projects, the geographical limits that condition the strategy for supporting cooperatives, and the inclusion of the gender dimension in the awarding of the CSR Label.