The Forum

Sous le Haut Patronage du Gouvernement du Sénégal

CSR - ENERGY - MINING IN WEST AFRICA
  CSR Governance: the Carbon element in the energy strategies of West African companies, such is the central theme of the 4th International Dakar CSR Forum” to be held May 29-31, 2012 under the auspices of the Government of Senegal.

The 4th edition is organized, through a Private-Public Partnership (PPP), by RSE Senegal, the Government of Canada (Embassy of CANADA) and the Government of Senegal (Accelerated Growth Strategy`s Orientation and Follow up Committee - SCA).

The upcoming edition will be highlighted by the presence of senior representatives from CANADA (accompanied by a Canadian delegation from the private and public sectors) and of another African country, as these countries -friends of Senegal- are recognized for their engagement in the promotion of CSR and renewable energies.

In a West African context, marked by electricity supply deficits which penalize companies` productivity as much as community life,

To save energy, to implement alternative energy solutions and to better manage environmental impacts and climate change, constitute thus a major challenge to the CSR policies and strategies of companies. Hence, an important place should be granted to the “Carbon” element discussion.

Senegal`s annual CSR Forum, as part of the international agenda of CSR events, aims this year through a series of technical sessions, to be a framework of exchange and reflection on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies leading to actions around the following areas:

In the ENERGY sector :
  •   Perspectives of Sustainable Energy Development in Senegal and in West Africa,
  •   Energy efficiency within a professional context,
  •   The use of Renewable energies: solar, hydro, and biomass.

In the MINING sector :
  •   The Carbon element in the industrial and mining logistics sector,
  •   The Environment, Mine Closure and Sustainability of mines in West Africa,
  •   Health and Safety/Security at work - Operations and maintenance in the mining sector in West Africa

In addition to the technical sessions, the following program elements are envisaged with the support of partners :
  •   An Experts` Roundtable on the deployment/uptake of CSR in Senegal,
  •   A meeting of CSR Networks in West Africa,
  •   A Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency Trade Show open to Senegalese, European, Moroccan,
         Canadian companies … etc,
  •   Practical training/capacity building seminars.
The 3 preceding editions had made it possible to bring together decision makers from Senegal, West Africa, Canada and Europe interesting in themes connected to / linking to CSR -businesses, government, international institutions, civil society, workers trade unions and academia - thus offering participants an opportunity to share and exchange on CSR and for business networking.

Created in 2008, supported by socially committed companies and public partners, RSE Senegal is a private initiative, which aims at promoting CSR in Senegal and in West Africa through promotional and dialogue activities (Forum), the sharing of CSR best practices, research and capacity building on CSR, and support and consulting to companies in the setup of CSR internal policies and programs. The RSE Senegal initiative contributed to the setup of the West Africa CSR Network in March 2011, as well as the setup of the RSE Guinea launched in October 2011. These steps are in line with the sub-regional strategy of RSE Senegal, Canada and its partners to regarding the deployment/uptake of CSR at the regional and continental level.