March 2017 

About the Speaker

Dr. Ali Awny 

Director at John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement

Over twenty years of management consulting, system development, and business process improvement experience focusing on supply chain management and business operations/logistics in different industries.  Recently, Awni has taught operations and supply chain management courses for EMBA and executive education at Egypt, Romania, and Germany. 

Everyone agrees that the main purpose of making a business is to make profit  and its as important as oxygen is to a person, however you don’t live to just breath oxygen thus it can’t be solely separated from the welfare of shareholders, employees and stakeholders  and thus big companies are moving towards sustainable development  .

• Ethical supply chain should communicate ethical behavior and fair treatment to all its stakeholders. 

•Supply chains must satisfy societal expectations and regulations as :

•International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions,

•United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights,,

•World Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP): independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the certification of lawful, humane and ethical manufacturing throughout the world.

Making profit and reducing cost shouldn't jeopardize safety of the workers.  To become a company of the future you should implement “Inclusive businesses which are private sector investments specifically targeting this low income market with the double purpose of making reasonable profit (i.e. an internal rate of return of 8-20%) and creating tangible development impact through the provision of sustainable decent jobs and better income opportunities, as well as services that matter for the poor’s life.”Many Large “

“Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the community and society at large.” 

Socially Responsible Supply Chain 

Dr. Awni presented successful sustainable development projects carried out by Unilever as “Zeinab” that targets to developing women in poor areas to train them on business basics and sell the company’s products in their communities or from home to generate income. Danone has its program to empower small producers of milk collecting it from them at fair prices with guidance on how to increase volume and maintain safety of the milk.  Fair Trade is a collaboration with an Italian NGO to promote handmade crafts at villages to generate income, market their products and help preserve the heritage of handcraft in Egypt. They have 2 outlets in Maadi and Zamalek and promote their goods online too.  We have many hand craft spots in many governorates in Egypt that needs to shed light on , promote their goods as unique handcraft not to be compared with mass production or price comparison to Chinese goods.  Every Company must engage in developing the community it operates in; through the services it provides. It’s essential to include sustainable development activities within its business plan.