The Corporate Social Responsibility Network Zimbabwe (CSR Zimbabwe Network)’s 7th Annual National Responsible Business Summit, which is set to be held from 7 to 9 June at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge in the Victoria Falls resort city will deliberate on the environment, society and governance (ESG) and sustainability in Zimbabwe. This was revealed by the network in a statement on its website recently.
The meeting is set to run under the theme: “A great reset for ESG integration and the evolution of the sustainability disclosure landscape in Zimbabwe.”
In line with the network’s ESG thrust, the annual summit has been re-named from the Zimbabwe Annual National Responsible Business Summit to the Zimbabwe Annual ESG Forum and Responsible Business Summit.
“The summit is set to unpack and critique the ESG and sustainability space in Zimbabwe with the highlight of the topics being: ‘The future of ESG: Emerging trends and opportunities/Impact measurement and reporting; Metrics and frameworks for evaluating ESG performance,” said the network.
The CSR Zimbabwe Network explained the benefits of this year’s event to delegates and other stakeholders.
“The responsible business summit will convene delegates from industry, government and (the) academia among others to discuss issues pertaining to corporate social responsibility and responsible investment in Zimbabwe. This national summit is a platform to share strategies and solutions that tackle sustainability issues and demand business leaders to show that they are leading the change to a sustainable and resilient future. While profit generation remains the primary function of a business, the impact of business on culture, society and the environment has been subject of intense scrutiny in contemporary policy and practice,” the network said.
The meeting is expected to tackle a number of ESG and sustainable business practices topics.
“The 2023 summit topics reflect a broad range of issues related to ESG and responsible business practices and are tailored to the interests and priorities of specific stakeholders, industries or regions. The goal of an ESG forum or responsible business summit is to foster dialogue and collaboration among diverse stakeholders, with the aim of driving progress towards a more sustainable and responsible business landscape in Zimbabwe,” said the CSR Network Zimbabwe.
Some of the topics which will be presented and discussed during the event include the following: “ESG trends and disclosure metrics,” “Climate action and renewable energy,” “Private-Public Partnerships and ESG,” “Circular economy and urban regeneration,” “Ethical governance” and “Agriculture.”
The line-up of the speakers for the event includes the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) Chief Executive Officer, Tafadzwa Chinamo, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor, Dr John Mangudya, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) Chairperson, Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube and the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) Commissioner General, Grace Muradzikwa.