PROMOTING "CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN IRAN"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISTANBUL 000175 SIPDIS LONDON FOR GAYLE; BERLIN FOR PAETZOLD; BAKU FOR MCCRENSKY; BAGHDAD FOR BUZBEE AND FLINCHBAUGH; ASHGABAT FOR TANGBORN; DUBAI FOR IRPO E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/19/2019 TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL IR TU SUBJECT: PROMOTING "CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN IRAN" REF: 2008 ISTANBUL 518 (NOTAL) Classified By: ConGen Istanbul Deputy Principal Officer Sandra Oudkirk; Reason 1.5 (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: A Turkish NGO that promotes "corporate social responsibility" (CSR) principles in Turkey has briefed us on its efforts to train an Iranian CSR NGO to survey 100 Iranian companies on the extent to which they implement CSR principles in Iran. Not surprisingly the initial results are: not much. While many multinationals in Iran implement CSR principles and practices, most Iranian companies (with a few notable exceptions) do not. CSR-Iran will finish its survey in August. CSR-Turkey and CSR-Iran will then hold workshops this autumn in Turkey and Iran to compare "best CSR practices" and explain to Iranian companies how principles like transparency and accountability can help draw more foreign investment. They hope Tehran Mayor Ghalibaf, a supporter of CSR-Iran's work, will participate. Comment: Most Iranian companies believe CSR practices are a GOI responsibility, not the private sector's. At a minimum they are looking to the GOI to define acceptable CSR practices so they don't find themselves targeted for following "western" ideas. They are uneasy about spending money on projects that don't create profits, and they are reluctant to pursue such activities unless the GOI requires it through legislation or incentivizes it through tax breaks. Nevertheless, CSR-Iran is optimistic that similar Iranian cultural values (like "zakat" and "waqf") and a desire among Iranian companies to be more competitive internationally will reinforce its efforts this year to firmly implant CSR principles throughout Iran's nascent private sector. End Summary. ¶2. (C) We met recently with the "Corporate Social Responsibility Association of Turkey" (CSR-Turkey, please protect) to discuss its efforts to partner with a sister organization in Iran, the "Corporate Social Responsibility Development Center of Iran" (CSR-Iran, please protect). CSR-Turkey is registered with the UN Global Compact and sees itself as Turkey's lead NGO responsible for promoting "CSR principles" like promotion of labor rights, anti-corruption practices, and environmental protection policies with Turkish businesses, civil society, and government. In January, CSR-Turkey, eager to expand contacts with counterparts in neighboring countries, reached out to CSR-Iran to offer training and assistance; CSR-Iran eagerly accepted. CSR-Turkey officials recently shared with us their impressions to date from partnering with CSR-Iran. A recent history of CSR in Iran -------------- ¶3. (C) CSR-Iran founding members told CSR-Turkey contacts that although the current environment is difficult, Iran offers potentially fertile ground for their work. Persian and Islamic culture offer precedents strikingly similar to today's "CSR principles." Examples include giving charity to the poor, often through charity funds or foundations; the construction of local schools and mosques by wealthy community leaders; and the issuance of loans or even donations by employers to employees, especially for important family events. Such traditional approaches were broadly supported and encouraged prior to the 1979 revolution, these contacts claimed. ¶4. (C) After the revolution, however, Iranian authorities adopted a more adversarial view of the private sector, especially companies with foreign connections. The GOI's prosecution of businessmen and confiscation of assets in the 1980,s, which allowed it to take control of over 80% of the economy, created a climate of fear in the business community. Among Iran's key economic actors, only traditional bazaari merchants, strong supporters of the revolution, continued to conduct business unscathed. In the mid-1990s, however, the GOI under Rafsanjani realized that Iran's economy could not function without increased foreign private investment, and took important steps to modernize the economy, culminating (under Khatami) in the re-launching of the Tehran stock market in 2004, the emergence of private banks, and the commitment of the GOI to pursue privatization of key sectors under Article 44 of Iran's Constitution. ¶5. (C) Since then, Iran's private sector has been "on a slow road to recovery" in the view of CSR-Iran members. This has supported the emergence of modern management concepts and practices like CSR. According to our contacts, CSR-Iran's director (please protect) helped organize an inaugural CSR conference in Iran in February 2004, with support from Iran's Chambers of Commerce, the Confederation of Industry, and ISTANBUL 00000175 002 OF 003 several other commercial associations. CSR-Iran was established the next year, in 2005, and was the first Iranian NGO member of the UN's Global Compact. ¶6. (C) Since then, CSR-Iran has offered advice to Iranian companies on how to qualify for "European Foundation for Quality Management" (EFQM) certificates, to make them more appealing to foreign investors and partners. In 2006, CSR-Iran (and other NGOs) started working with UNDP in Iran to organize workshops to explain CSR principles to private companies and to gain their support in trying to achieve the UN's Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) in Iran by 2015. Also in 2006, CSR-Iran worked with the GOI's leading think-tank, the Expediency Council's Center for Strategic Research, to host an educational workshop for GOI officials and publish a CSR research journal. ¶7. (C) Since 2007, CSR-Iran has teamed up with UNDP to host several workshops to explain CSR principles to Iran's media, and has held sector-specific CSR workshops, including for oil, automotive, and telecom companies. CSR-Iran also offers "supervisory services" to advise companies (typically multinationals, like Austria's OMV, Sweden's Tetra Pack, and Norway's Statoil) on how to contribute effectively to local communities. Creating a Turkey-Iran CSR Network -------------- ¶8. (C) In September 2008, CSR-Turkey, eager to reach out to sister NGOs in Turkey's neighbors, approached CSR-Iran. CSR-Turkey offered to help CSR-Iran conduct a multi-sector survey of Iran's private sector, to assess the extent to which CSR principles are being implemented, and to raise awareness in Iranian business, media, and academic sectors of CSR practices and principles. ¶9. (C) According to CSR-Turkey, that survey is ongoing, with initial results described below. Once the survey is completed, CSR-Turkey and CSR-Iran plan to hold two workshops in the Fall, in Turkey and Iran. The goal is to bring together Turkish and Iranian NGOs, business leaders, trade union activists, academic experts, and other CSR advocates to share and compare CSR best practices and agree on a "Roadmap to CSR Implementation in Iran." To gain high-level buy-in, the CSR NGOs plan to invite the Mayors of Istanbul and Tehran to participate. CSR-Iran considers Tehran Mayor Ghalibaf, a once and future Iranian presidential candidate, to be a strong supporter of CSR practices based on his record of managing the Tehran municipality. CSR-Turkey's director hopes these workshops lead to a long-term partnership between CSR advocates in Turkey and Iran. CSR-Iran's Private Sector Survey -------------- ¶10. (C) At a February 2009 workshop in Istanbul, CSR-Turkey officials shared with CSR-Iran members their experiences at conducting multi-sector CSR surveys, training CSR-Iran staff in the latest "stakeholder analysis methodologies" used by western firms to survey U.S. and European economic sectors. Since then, CSR-Iran has been using face-to-face interviews and desktop research to survey 100 companies in Iran, as well as trade associations, other NGOs, and national, municipal and local government institutions, to assess the extent that they understand and implement CSR principles. CSR-Iran expects to complete the survey by August 2009 and will publish the results. ¶11. (C) Among the foreign companies in Iran that CSR-Iran is surveying are: Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Vodafone, Nokia, Nokia Siemens, HBOS and Lloyds, Italy's ENI, Austria's OMV, and Norway's Hydro and Statoil. Among the domestic companies, by sector, that CSR-Iran is surveying are: Iran Khodro, Tam Iran Khodro, Saipa, SAPCO, and Pars Khodro (automotive); Chin Chin Agso, Damavand Mineral Water, and Kaleh (food industries), Cobel Darou (pharmaceuticals),Pars Online and Avazhang Computers (Telecommunications and IT),Pakshoo (detergents), Melli Bank Investment Management and Bank Pasargad (banks and financial consulting),and Atieh Bahar (business consulting). CSR-Iran is also surveying the Iranian Chambers of Commerce, the Iranian Ministry of Labor, Iran's "Consumer and Producer Support Organization", Iran's "Institute of Standards and Industrial Research" (ISIRI),several municipal and local governments, and UN offices (UNDP and UNICEF) in Iran. ¶12. (C) Results so far: Although CSR-Iran is in early stages of its surveys, it has shared initial findings with CSR-Turkey, including that: ISTANBUL 00000175 003 OF 003 -- Multinationals in Iran largely understand CSR principles. Some have already worked with CSR-Iran to design community assistance projects. For example: OMV has a program to refurbish Tehran's secondary schools; Shell provides educational grants for medical students, has built schools in Bam, and pays for internet connections in Ahvaz; Tetra Pak provides free milk to hundreds of Iranian primary schools. -- Most Iranian companies now understand the value of securing internationally-recognized management certificates, such as EFQM. -- A few larger Iranian companies provide charitable services to local communities. For example: Saipa plants one tree for every car it sells in Iran; Damavand Mineral water donates a portion of bottled water sales to rural schools and compensates employees who do volunteer work; and Pasargad Bank donates meals to prisoners. -- Very few Iranian companies, however, align CSR principles with their strategic business objectives. Moreover, very few Iranian companies understand the importance of treating company employees like stakeholders, enforcing international labor and safety standards in the workplace, or offering long-term training to employees to enhance their promotion and career advancement prospects. -- Most Iranian companies believe that areas like environmental protection, sustainable development, and anti-corruption are the GOI's responsibility, not theirs. -- Most Iranian companies, while interested in attracting foreign investment and/or partners, paradoxically remain suspicious of foreign commercial practices and standards, including CSR. This suspicion is exacerbated during the periodic efforts by the GOI to crack down on civil society activities and activists that it deems too western. Comments and bio notes -------------- ¶13. (C) Overall, CSR-Iran's survey results to date suggest that most Iranian companies are looking to the GOI to define an acceptable scope of CSR practices, so they don't find themselves targeted by the GOI for following "western capitalist" ideas. They are also uneasy about spending resources that do not directly add to profits, and are reluctant to pursue community outreach unless the GOI either requires it through legislation or incentivizes it through tax breaks or subsidies. Finally, some Iranian companies have told CSR-Iran that the overall business climate in Iran will not be conducive to full implementation of CSR principles until the GOI fully embraces privatization over statism, and until the most important economic sectors -- hydrocarbons, banking, telecommunications, construction -- are effectively privatized. This is likely to take years in some cases (telecoms),and is simply implausible in others (hydrocarbons). ¶14. (C) Even so, CSR-Turkey remains eager to work with CSR-Iran to explain to Iranian companies how CSR principles like transparency, accountability, and treating the local community like a stakeholder can help draw more foreign investment. CSR-Iran is optimistic that Persian and Islamic cultural precedents related to CSR (like "zakat" and "waqf", charitable donations and foundations) and a desire among Iranian companies to be more competitive will reinforce its efforts in the coming year to firmly implant CSR principles throughout Iran's nascent private sector. We will continue to watch CSR-Turkey's and CSR-Iran's efforts closely. ¶15. (C) Bio notes: The director of CSR-Iran (name and CV emailed to NEA/IR; please strictly protect) graduated from University of Tehran in 2002, received a Masters Degree in Public Policy from the University of Tehran in 2005, and earned a (British Council-funded) Executive Certificate in CSR from UK's Nottingham University Business School in 2008. Before founding CSR-Iran, he worked for the UNDP in Iran, and as a consultant for Atieh Bahar, a leading business consulting firm in Tehran. He currently works as a senior advisor at Arzesh Afarin Paydar, another leading business consulting firm in Iran. He speaks fluent English. Wiener