The Johannesburg International Conference from 28th Aug. to 4th Sept. 2002 was seen in newspapers and on TV by millions of people. At the same time, the First Annual Conference for Youth and Population Problem was held in Cairo, chaired by Mrs. Suzan Mubarak, wife of the Egyptian President. Her speech was excellent despite the fact that the role of young women was not addressed. She discussed sustainable development and her assessment of its relation to population problems. She added that development would be incomplete without providing job opportunities and practical education for young people.

Sustainable development also encompasses care for such cities as Jeddah. Unfortunately large quantities of garbage are still on the city’s streets although we keep hearing that serious efforts are being made to collect it. Amazing as it may seem to us, the Jeddah Municipality justifies constructing a huge building on the Corniche without regard to either social or environmental issues.

In Riyadh, SABIC prides itself upon a huge modern building to replace the old one. Once again no thought has been taken for either environmental or social issues. There is some hope for SABIC, however, as it has recently acquired a European company and so will be forced by law to assume its environmental, social and public responsibilities.

This should prompt SABIC’ top management and its Board of Directors to contribute to useful social activities inside the Kingdom. Only then will they set good examples for joint foreign ventures in the Kingdom; these include banks, the Saudi media, petrochemicals, construction and others.

The importance of sustainable development is not new. It was first enunciated fifteen years ago by the Norwegian prime minister. The report argues that the opportunities for coming generations should not be reduced by today’s economical developments. The coming generations should be able to enjoy at least the same standard of living as the previous generation with a protected environment and co-operative society.

The government program for sustainable economical development should aim at removing social obstacles and solving the numerous educational, environmental and health problems. Establishments and companies have to carry on their profitable businesses without neglecting either social and environmental matters. These are part of a company’s social obligation towards the societies in which they make money. The philosophy of companies’ contributions to environmental and public issues is to make them consumer friendly. It also gives them a competitive edge over others which pay no attention to public and environmental issues. Most national businesses contribute to improving social and humanitarian problems.

But their contributions can hardly be expected to eradicate poverty. It is time for them to recognize this and co-operate between themselves to serve their society and create sustainable social and economic development. In the Kingdom, these are some who make valuable social and environmental contributions: the King Faisal Charity Organization, Prince Sultan Charity Organization, International Islamic Relief Organization, the Jeddah Al Bir Organization, Abdul Latif Jameel, Al Babtain, Al Juffali, Ismail Abu Dawood, Al Rajihi, Al Zamil, Al Gosaibi and others.

The role of multinationals that have been successful in Saudi Arabia for more than 25 years has been mainly limited to making money. They appear to have neglected the environmental and social responsibilities for which they should be partly responsible. It is not clear whether this is because they are not conforming to the laws of their home companies which obligate them to deliver this responsibility or because they are restrained by their Saudi partners. Whatever it is, it is something that they could correct at the drop of a hat!