(MENAFN- Gulf Times) College of the North Atlantic — Qatar (CNA-Q) has hosted the Unesco-Unevoc Centre Qatar Seminar Series on its campus.
As part of the series, Dr R Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank, spoke on 'Environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility in banking sector yesterday.
The event was chaired by Dr Ken MacLeod, president of CNA-Q, while an introduction of the Doha Bank CEO was given by Dr Rupert Maclean, Qapco Professional Chair of Vocational Studies and Unesco Chair on Technical and Vocational Education and Training and Sustainable Development.
Dr R Seetharman gave an insight into global economies, saying: 'We need to anticipate what policy shifts could do for the world's economic outlook. Technology, consumerism and re- regulation define the banking sector. The capital rules for the banking sector are getting redefined and the financial markets are getting more volatile on account of the changing dynamics.
'Contentious issues are coming up between the developed and developing world on global trade and investment, also reflected in the recent G20 finance ministers' meeting. The lack of convergence between politics and economics could impact global growth.
'Global sustainability relies on building of green economies, he stressed.
Dr Seetharaman, who spoke on the causes of global warming, also offered insights into sustainable development and said: 'Banks should adopt Green Banking as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development.
Green Banking considers all social and environmental factors with an aim to protect the environment and conserve natural resources.
Highlighting the initiatives of Doha bank in the area of CSR, he said: 'Doha Bank Group, as part of its corporate social responsibility, demonstrates fair, open, efficient and consistent business practices to mitigate climate change and promote sustainable development.
It advocates and practices Green Banking, which is one of its core business philosophies that would support sustainability into the future.
It has tracked the developments pertaining to various Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings and involved with various COP meeting delegations, including COP18 in Doha.
Further, he noted that the bank has worked on the ECO-Schools Programme with Unesco.
Also, it has a dedicated Green Banking website and provided facilities for district cooling as well as project financing for water projects.'It has Doha Sooq, an e-commerce initiative of Doha Bank, he added.
In his concluding remarks, Dr Seetharaman highlighted the uncertain global scenario and challenges faced in implementing climate change reforms.
The event also had a question-answer session.
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