Best practice makes good business sense

The Life: Imelda Dunlop, executive director of the Pearl Initiative, talks about the not-for-profit organisation's activities to promote best business practices in a way that is culturally relevant here.

Imelda Dunlop says it is important to get it across businesses that there are benefits in following best practices. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Just over a year ago, Imelda Dunlop became the executive director of the Pearl Initiative, a not-for-profit agency based at the American University of Sharjah that encourages corporate governance and transparency. The 46-year-old British national, who has lived in the UAE for almost a decade and is a former World Economic Forum director, promotes best practices for global businesses in a way that is relevant to the region.

Who is your audience?

It is the business leaders in the Gulf, and we have to persuade them to improve. First, we have to generate insight because there is so little data on what companies are actually doing, and influence thinking. We are coming out with a report in early November that will be a part of a series of reports. Second, it is about getting business leaders together to share their experiences. We have reached 1,000 business leaders from the Gulf in the past 12 months on issues such as anti-bribery, corruption, ethical labour and socially responsible investing. Third, we have to embed these issues in the business education of future business leaders. We have 25 partner companies and we aim to make that 70 by the end of 2013. And it is Gulf-wide. They make an annual contribution and support us in our activities.

What are some of the companies you have partnered with?

In the UAE, these include Abraaj Capital, Aramex, Majid Al Futtaim and Habtoor Leighton Group. Thomson Reuters is about to join us.

What drives the initiative?

We will not be able to spur economic growth and address social issues, if we don't have the private sector fully engaged in doing business in a way that helps make positive progress on these issues. It also makes good business sense. There are companies that are ahead of the curve, and are implementing the best practices. We need to get that message out, what the business benefits are, and … talk about positive role models.

How can global best practices be made regionally relevant?

Religion is so at the root of ethics here, that is the strength of the region. And code of ethics and conduct need to be written from the point of view of regional culture and sensibility.

What are the challenges that you face when trying to promote good business practice here?

Businesses are driven by incentives and it is really important to get it across that there are benefits in following best practices.

What are your plans to expand the activities of the organisation beyond the Arabian Gulf region?

The efforts are relevant across the Arab world. It will naturally grow across the Arab world in the next couple of years. In medium to long term it will grow to other developing parts of the world.