Corporate donations: Listed firms’ contribution nearing 1pc of profit after taxes: SECP chief

KARACHI: The contribution of listed companies to corporate donations is approaching the globally accepted level of 1.0 percent of profit after taxes, said SECP Chairman Akif Saeed at the launch and award ceremony of Corporate Philanthropy Survey Reports, by Pakistan Center for Philanthropy (PCP).

Akif Saeed said that, in Pakistan the understanding and practices around concepts of philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, sustainability and ESG practices are evolving and generally intertwined. Speaking on the role of SECP in this regard, he said that the preliminary landscape to inculcate awareness about corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Pakistan was developed by SECP through consensus-based CSR Guidelines in 2013.

These guidelines facilitated in not only raising awareness among the corporate sector, they also encouraged collaboration through public-private partnership, he added.

These guidelines also paved the way for more formal legislative intervention through Companies Act, 2017, by moving towards Environmental, Social, and Governance or ESG agenda, by introducing more inclusive boards better disclosure and transparency regime for listed companies to communicate to shareholders, the impact of company’s business on the environment, CSR activities undertaken during the year and a description of principle risks and uncertainties faced by the company.

He said that the corporate sector can enhance its contribution to the social and economic development of Pakistan through long-term strategies focusing on outcomes, with better employee engagement and better synergies.

He said that these four factors are also mirrored in SECP’s objectives, “as we move away from our traditional role of a regulator, to strategically redefining the role of SECP to align with economic and social development needs of the country.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023