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The 1st Azerbaijani Conference on Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility - Baku CSR Conference 2015 kicked off at the Fairmont Baku Hotel on October 15.

The event, initiated and organized by Caspian Event Organizers, seeks to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current situation in the country, as well as to increase dialogue and cooperation between different structures, private and non-governmental organisations for the development of this sector.

The relevance of the Baku Conference is underlined by the fact that in September 2015, 193 UN member states agreed on a new programme of sustainable development entitled 'Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,' which lists 17 goals aimed at eradicating poverty, promoting prosperity and well-being of all people and the environment by 2030.

The need to enhance the contribution to sustainable development assigns companies a whole range of tasks that are solved within the framework of the implementation of the programme for corporate social responsibility. Social responsibility of business or corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a new concept involving a voluntary willingness for companies to participate in the improvement of society and the environment. A number of companies in Azerbaijan have their own CSR policy, providing solutions to socio-economic problems, improving the quality of life of local communities, striving for the common good, as well as maintining environmental stability and the conservation of the environment.

The theme of the plenary session is 'Sustainability. Concept, Global Trends and Standards'. The main topics discussed during the conference are: 'Green Economy. Sustainable Infrastructure. Public Private Partnerships (PPP). Role of Science and Innovations in Sustainable Development'; 'Effective Youth Policy as a Key Driver for Bright Future of Sustainable Development of the Country. Role of Universities in Growth of Responsible and Educated Young Generation. Partnership With Private Sector. Strategy, Projects, Challenges.; 'Agriculture Sector in Economy of Azerbaijan, Prerequisites for Sustainable Growth. Food Security. Food Safety. Value Chain Management'. The themes of panel discussions 5 and 6 are entitled respectively as 'Business for a better society - responsible finance, responsible business' and 'CSR Activities and its Impact on the ICT Sector'. And lastly, the final 7th session is 'Sustainable Development of Public, Corporate and Non‐Governmental Sectors. Their Success and Outlooks'.

The General Sponsor of the conference is SOCAR, the bronze sponsor is Access Bank and the conference's consulting partner is EY. Official support for the conference is provided by the United Nations' Development Programme, UNDP Azerbaijan.

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