The 1st Azerbaijan Conference on Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was convened by the support of the “Modernization of Sustainability and Efficiency of ICT infrastructure and ICT services in the Republic of Azerbaijan” project jointly organized by the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United Nations Development Programme Country Office in Azerbaijan under the “Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility” theme.

The purpose of the event was to realize joint cooperation and exchange of experience between national participants and international specialists on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility via bringing together leading companies, state and non-state actors of Azerbaijan, as well as comprehensively evaluate the current situation in the country in order to upgrade dialogue and cooperation among state, private and non-state actors to further develop the relevant area.

The representatives of SOCAR, Economic Cooperation and Trade Division of the UNECE, BP, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Center for Economic and Social Development, SABAH Groups Project at the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, TeliaSonera, Azercell, ADA University, AccessBank, BCP Caspian, National NGO Forum, ASAN Service and so forth attended within sessions such as Challenges and Outlooks for Sustainable Growth of Azerbaijan ICT Industry, Sustainability – Concept, Global Trends, Standards, Sustainable Education and Effective Youth Policy as Key Drivers for Bright Future of the Country and etc. of the one day conference.

Within framework of the successful previous cooperation of the project and the UNECE considering project component of the Establishment of ICT Public Private Partnership (PPP) Partnership Center in Azerbaijan, Mr. Ralph Heinrich – Acting Chief, Innovative Policies Development Section, Economic Cooperation and Trade Division of the UNECE- made pivotal remarks at the session on Green Economy – Sustainable Infrastructure, PPP, Role of Science and Innovations in Sustainable Development. Hence Mr. Heinrich underlined that expansion of the dialogue between government institutions, the private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on approaches to Sustainable Development / Corporate Social Responsibility (SD/CSR) in Azerbaijan is an essential step for further improvements, therefore development and promotion of the understanding of corporate social responsibility in the society should be fulfilled.

All in all, around 250 participants of Azerbaijan and other foreign countries, UN family agencies, business representatives, academic institutions and members of civil society got together to learn from the know-how of other countries and broaden their knowledge in the field as a result of the conference, as well as through the showcase of the conference where over 50 information stands, including UNDP Azerbaijan booth, representing companies, governmental structures, international organizations and NGOs exhibited their previous success stories and future initiatives.