ACCA-WWF Green Economy Forum 2012

June 25, 2012 - PRLog -- As the world leaders discuss global agenda on Green Economy at Rio, ACCA and WWF Pakistan hosted the Green Economy Forum 2012 on 21 June 2012 in Karachi. The event attracted 150 participants including CEOs, CFOs, ACCA members and other professionals from corporate, public sector and practice, NGOs and Media.
The discussion forum was led by industry experts including Mr Shah Murad Aliani, Country Representative IUCN Pakistan and Mr Amjad Janjua, CEO & Managing Director Asia Petroleum Ltd. The panel comprised Mr Asad Ali Shah, Partner, Deloitte, Mr Syed Javed Hassan, CEO Institute of Capital Markets, Ms Fariyha Subhani, CEO Unilever Foods Pakistan, Mr Ali Hassan Habib, Director General WWF Pakistan and Mr Arif Masud Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan. The moderator of the panel discussion was Ms Rina Saeed Khan, Environmental Journalist.
Mr Asad Ali Shah said “sustainability has to be seen from a new angle - it does not refer only to environmental or social sustainability but also sustainable profitability.”
In his address, the Chief Guest Dr Ishrat Hussain, Dean & Director, Institute of Business Administration Karachi and ex-governor State Bank of Pakistan said “In order to achieve green growth, countries would need to compromise on the rate of economic growth. However, developed economies are unreasonable in expecting that developing countries should make this sacrifice without realising that they are the ones who need to make the biggest contribution toward sustainability and environmental issues.”
Arif Masud Mirza, head of ACCA Pakistan said “businesses in the country have to start realising the potential for the green economy. Businesses are now seen as agents of socio-economic change,” he reasoned. “There is under-investment in ecosystem services and there is a preference for short term gains over sustainability. But, there is also a growing demand for responsible products.”
The tenth annual ACCA-WWF Pakistan Environmental Reporting Awards (PERA) 2011 ceremony recognised and awarded companies that report on corporate environmental, social and sustainability performance to a broad range of stakeholders. The winners for PERA 2011 were:
 ICI Pakistan Limited for best sustainability report
 Hinopak Motors Limited for best environmental report
 Qarshi Industries Pvt Limited for best sustainability report - unlisted category
The CEO, ICI Pakistan, Mr Waqar Malik received the award from the Chief Guest in presence of Mr Arif Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan and Mr Ali Habib, Director General, WWF Pakistan. Mr Waqar Malik said "at ICI our philosophy on sustainability is built on the triple bottom line approach where we measure our progress against economic, environment and social factors. Sustainability is a part of our business strategy."
ACCA Pakistan also celebrated completion of its 10 years operation in Pakistan and also decade celebration of the ACCA-WWF Pakistan Environmental Reporting Awards.
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