Moving Beyond Business as Usual: Next Frontiers for CSR in the MENA region

The Suliman S. Olayan School of Business (OSB) at the American University of Beirut held the first CSR Practitioner's Conference at AUB on May 4 & 5, 2012. The conference is intended as a platform for regional business leaders to address the emerging challenges and opportunities presented by the ascendancy of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Through the gathering of renowned speakers, panels and interactive discussion forums, the conference will offer a regional platform for practitioners to network and exchange best practices in relation to effective sustainability and CSR management. Sustainable business is no longer a luxury, but a necessity in a fast-­‐paced and changing global context. Empowered citizens, consumers, and social movements across the globe are demanding that governments and businesses behave more responsibly. There is also a worldwide call to learn from the current failings of the global industrial economy and move towards more creative forms of capitalism, in which companies embrace responsible attitudes and orientations and engage in practices that expand the pie and contribute to social justice and social progress.