Under
the patronage and in the presence of His
Excellency Minister of Environment Mr. Fadi Jreissati, IPT organized a
roundtable on the 10th of May in its headquarters in the presence of
30 figures, to discuss its CSR 2018 report. Member of Parliament Simon Abi
Ramia participated in addition to the Director General of the Petroleum Directorate at the MOEW Eng. Aurore Feghali,
the Prosecutor General of the Audit Bureau Judge Fawzi Khamis, Mayor of Amchit
Municipality Dr. Antoine Issa, General Director of Total Liban Mr. Daniel
Alvarez, Programme Manager of the Energy and Environment Programme at the UNDP
Mrs. Jihane Seoud, General Director and President of Board at the LCEC Eng.
Pierre Khoury, Director of the International Center of Human Sciences Dr.
Darina Saliba, General director of LIBNOR Eng. Lena Dergham and specialists in
the fields of sustainability and development.
Dr.
Toni Issa,Vice Chairman of IPT Group, explained in his introductory speech that what IPT has done so far
might not be perfect, and the goal of this round table is not to show what IPT
has achieved, but it is to criticize, evaluate and listen to different
opinions, observations and ideas, first to validate IPT CSR strategy, and
second to improve its performance in the area of sustainability
and social responsibility in the future.
Minister
Fadi Jreissati assured that the responsibility to protect the environment and
achieve sustainability depends on Municipalities and related Ministries at the
first place and on the private sector initiatives in second place. Jreissati
added that “Dr. Issa is a role model and a leading example of responsible
business practices and social and economic responsibility that we strongly
support.
The
attendees then discussed IPT CSR 2018 report and strategy under the direction
of Head of CSR at Bank Audi Mrs. Hasmig Khoury. The dialogue concluded into
helpful suggestions and experience exchange in the field of social
responsibility.
Afterwards, all attendees headed to the opening ceremony of IPT Sustainable and Eco-Friendly gas station, the first of its kind in Lebanon located few meters away from the headquarters. Minister Jreissati was introduced to the station’s green and sustainable features which concretize IPT’s green vision in compliance with its Energy and Environmental Management Strategy (EEMS), and its constant work towards sustainability in its operations and on its gas stations.
Dr. Issa
IPT is honored today to host in its headquarters
this roundtable discussion in the presence of distinguished guests and dear
friends to discuss our CSR report that was issued in 2018. Not only is this
report issued for the first time by IPT, but also it’s the first of its kind in
the oil & gas sector in Lebanon, and perhaps among the very few reports to
be issued by private companies in the country.
In parallel with issuing the report, we decided to
organize a roundtable discussion to evaluate IPT’s CSR strategy and the
report’s content with our stakeholders, partners, and specialists in the field
and public figures who are familiar with our business.
IPT's sustainability and social responsibility
practices are the result of years of efforts and initiatives, reflected clearly
in our vision and in our belief to embrace this concept and to incorporate it
into our culture and daily business. What we have done so far might not be
perfect, and our goal today is not to show what we have achieved, but it is to
criticize, evaluate and listen to different opinions, observations and ideas,
first to validate our CSR strategy, and second to improve our performance in
the area of sustainability and social responsibility in the future.
I will not hide that this event is inspired by my
participation in a similar event organized two years ago by Hasmig Khoury, the
Head of CSR at Bank Audi. I am happy to have her among us today to moderate our
discussion and to share her constructive criticism and observations based on
her expertise in the field, and this is what I honestly expect from each one of
you.
Our meeting coincides with the completion of the
construction works at IPT Sustainable and Eco friendly gas station few meters
away from here. This station is built in compliance with a report prepared by
the International Finance Corporation (IFC) based on an MOU signed between IPT
and Fransabank during Beirut Energy Forum in 2015. A 3-minute documentary will
be presented at the end of the session to show IPT’s role model of a
sustainable station.
I am delighted to move together at the end of this
session to the station for a quick overview of its components, where you will
notice that the content of the IFC report has become a reality, contributing
further to our commitment to sustainability and responsible business.
Minister Jreissati
We stand today infront of two choices either the
polluted Lebanon of the past or the Eco-friendly Lebanon of the future where
businessmen initiate to preserve the environment and raw materials by recycling
burnt oil and conserving water and other.
All those optimistic objectives can’t be reached but
without the cooperation of the public and private sectors that need to take
responsibility and boost that kind of initiatives.
This role model station is a challenge to us as
ministry of environment since 30% of the pollution comes from the transport
sector. We stand today in front of a solution that proves that the investment
in environment conservation does not contradict economic development.
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