Best Practices and Good Governance - An EBM way of life

A lot has happened both in Pakistan and in the world in the last one year. Unfortunately most of it has been negative. World poverty, environmental degradation and civil strife have all increased. In this volatile scenario, the corporate sector's role in countering anti progress and prosperity forces has become vital and certainly more demanding.
A strong commitment to Best Practices by a company today is no longer a matter of choice. It is the need of the hour and a morally mandatory obligation. There was a time when the very concept of Best Practices was an alien notion to all save a few corporations such as EBM who have been pursuing Best Practices as an inherent part of their corporate philosophy and a natural way of doing business since its very inception. A number of developments have changed this. Perhaps the two biggest contributing factors have been the rapid advent of globalisation and the huge improvements in communications and information technology. Globalisation today has advanced Best Practices across borders and into the realm of other local companies as well and the technology revolution has made implementation more efficient.
However the spread of Best Practices across the broader corporate spectrum is still not keeping pace with the demand for Best Practices in terms of resultant societal benefits. The mantle of responsibility thus falls on the leading companies of the country to lead by example and not only put in place Best Practices themselves, but also to 'export' it to all others whom they do business with.
For English Biscuit Manufacturers (Pvt) Ltd the responsibility to society starts right here in their factory. Their mission is to inculcate a high degree of social consciousness not only in their employees, but also in all others they do business with - vendors, suppliers, distributors, retailers and so on. In relation to the Centre of Excellence, this is its human side. The Centre at EBM represents the very soul of the company. It is their way of demonstrating that they care deeply not just for their employees but also for consumers, the society at large, the environment and for the country. There was a time when companies pursued the single goal of profits. But today the company that ignores the community or environment has no future. EBM is a company that truly pursues the Triple Bottom Line of Planet, People and Profits and through which all of their Best Practices emerge.
EBM is one industry leader that is aggressively playing its role as a catalyst of change. The affect of globalisation and exposure to international corporate behaviour has made a tremendous impact on Pakistan's manufacture sector. Our domestic industry not only faces the pressure of presenting a good image of the country in the world, but also to come up to stringent international standards to attract foreign investment.
Working toward progress, Pakistan's premiere companies have adopted a certain code of conduct known as 'Best Practices'. Best Practices enable a company to reform, restructure and remodel their business mode in order to make it more efficient and productive and allow other companies to learn from other experiences. Best Practices, though a newly coined buzz-world these days is not a concept that EBM is new to. English Biscuit Manufacturers has been actively pursuing and implementing self imposed Best Practices as an inherent way of conducting their business since its very inception. The company's Best Practices stem from their aim and endeavour to attain a subliminal state of "Pakeezgi" in the way they conduct themselves.
Since its very inception, EBM has always held its values and ethos in high priority. Never compromising its dream of being a people's Organization, where employees and consumers are valued, EBM has increased internal efficiencies and productivity by investing heavily in state-of-the-art technologies and plant & equipment besides reducing wastages. It has optimised plant capacities and ventured into self-power generation through own power plant while not passing on the cost to the consumer despite exponential increase in raw material/input costs.
As investor in people, EBM made a long term commitment and set in place a learning process that encourages continuous re-evaluation, change and improvement. EBM took a quantum leap forward in Best Workplace Practices and achieved a milestone when it was recognised as an 'Investor in People'. It has thus been certified to be a standard that can be followed by other organisations striving to achieve success. Best Practices have always been an inherent part of EBM, where the flow of cultural ethos streams down smoothly to their employees, resulting in superior quality products and extremely satisfied customer.
At EBM, the management ensures that the Organization delivers every task from a minor undertaking to the most challenging job in the most efficient manner and this is only made possible by their approach towards best practices. Apart from the efficient utilisation of their man power, Best Practices are also applied in their manufacturing processes, but very naturally. This investment in capital and machinery makes a qualitative difference that sets their products and functioning apart from the rest. This being the result of their much believed and followed inbuilt vales.
Best Practices also require transparency, constancy and governance with a human heart. As good corporate citizens, it is imperative that organisations give back to the community and play their active role in promoting the well being of the people at large and the environment in particular. EBM has been aggressively leading the way on these fronts for over 4 decades now and has to its credit several awards in recognition of their selfless contributions in the fields of sports, health, education and the environment.
Never ever compromising on the quality of their products and following strict international self-imposed quality standards that have in many cases exceeded the legal requirements of the country is another Best Practice that the company has been implementing since its very beginning.
It was with these enviable credentials and history that EBM envisions to share its learning with all others. Towards this objective, EBM have been partnering with M/s Sidat Hyder and has been sponsoring the Annual Best Practices Day Conference. EBM has very naturally planted their seeds of Best Practices and good governance in every facts of their business to progress further with integrity and pride. There long going commitment of uncompromising beliefs and caring corporate entity has always proven them to be touchstone to the industry.