Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is no longer just about charity and volunteerism. It also includes responsibility for the community through the adoption of many development projects and awareness programs that contribute toward sustainability. In accordance with Saudi Vision 2030, supporting programs with social impact, encouraging volunteers and enabling the nonprofit sector to obtain sustainable sources of funding is the cornerstone of the vision to maximize the social impact of this sector.
Red Sea Mall, one of the private sector companies that initiated the implementation of social responsibility programs as business requirements, is actively involved in the sustainable development of the communities in which it operates. Through its events, Red Sea Mall aims to emphasize that social responsibility is not just about engaging in charitable activities or organizing voluntary campaigns, but also about taking up the responsibility toward society. According to this concept, CSR is achieved through engaging relevant stakeholders and working in a transparent and ethical framework.
Many CSR projects, such as “ITA’AM,” are built into Red Sea Mall’s identity. Based on its central location, Red Sea Mall’s partnership with “ITA’AM” has had positive results over the last three years since its inception in 2016. Since then, Red Sea Mall has invested up to SR3 million ($799,920), including the cost of stands and food storage boxes and the cost of printing branding materials.
Executive member of Red Sea Markets Limited, owning company of Red Sea Mall, Aidrous Al-Bar, said the work to promote community awareness is important and is the key reason behind sustainability. He said: “The development of innovative and effective solutions has been and continues to be one of the priorities of Red Sea Mall management, evident in the various activities and diverse participations in many events held by the mall throughout the year. Red Sea Mall has become the second home for many, and this great turnout makes it necessary to activate social responsibility programs that contribute to charitable work while maximizing the social impact in order to achieve sustainability.”
The results of the partnership between Red Sea Mall and ITA’AM Association in 2017 brought about the collection of 140,800 meals through six stands specifically designed for this initiative.
The overall weight of meals collected during the year was 49 tons, whereby 17 percent of the food stored in Jeddah was distributed.
