SEKEM Group 3, Belbeis Desert Road 11777 Cairo Egypt PO Box 2834 El Horreya, Heliopolis Tel: +20 (2) 6564124 Fax:+20 (2) 6564123 regina.hanel@sekem.com www.sekem.com Managing Director: Helmy Abouleish
SEKEM Group, 3, Belbeis Desert Road, 11777 Cairo
Cairo, 09 October 2011 World Economic Forum Names SEKEM “Sustainability Champion” The World Economic Forum has chosen SEKEM as one of 16 “Sustainability Champions” in the developing world which are tackling environmental and social problems. The initiative was rewarded by the forum for its continuous efforts promote sustainable development in Egypt and worldwide. At the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2011 in China, 16 companies originating in the emerging markets were presented as ‘Sustainability Champions’, selected by the World Economic Forum and the Boston Consulting Group from an initial pool of more than 1,000 companies. Since 2003, when SEKEM received the Alternative Nobel Prize, Chairman Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish and Managing Director Helmy Abouleish are frequently participating in the World Economic Forum (WEF) as Fellows of the Schwab Foundation to promote social entrepreneurship and sustainable development. Unsustainable practices and policies in the private and governmental sector are the root causes for poverty and environmental degradation, not only in Egypt but worldwide. SEKEM’s business model counters these issues. “This international recognition underlines that our business model is a best practice to address poverty, resource scarcity and climate change”, stated Helmy Abouleish. This year’s WEF Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2011, was held in Dalian, People’s Republic of China, on 14-16 September. Under the theme Mastering Quality Growth, leaders from government and industry gathered in Dalian to gain strategic foresight on key economic, industry and technological developments that are reshaping consumer behaviour, business models and financial markets. Within this framework, the WEF and the Boston Consulting Group set out to seek unconventional, practical solutions to the current challenges of growth, aiming to identify and support key business practices, and to relay them to the global community. Selection criteria include sustainability, innovation and scalability of the business practice. Background: SEKEM – A Community for Sustainable Development The SEKEM-Group of companies is a part of the SEKEM Initiative founded in 1977 by Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish to strengthen sustainable development in Egypt by producing, processing, and marketing organic and bio-dynamic foodstuffs, textiles, and phyto-pharmaceuticals in Egypt, the Arab World, and on international markets. SEKEM has been widely praised as an “Egyptian organic pioneer” and has received the 2003 Right Livelihood Award (“Alternative Nobel Prize”) as a „Business Model for the 21thCentury” and an “economy of love”. With part of their profits the SEKEM companies co-finance the social and cultural activities of the SEKEM Development Foundation that runs, among others, several schools, a medical centre, an academy of applied sciences, and other institutions in Egypt. To receive SEKEM’s monthly newsletter via email, please visit http://news.sekem.net Reprint free of charge, copy requested. Please contact us anytime for any inquiries and further information: SEKEM Gruppe & SEKEM Europe GmbH
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Hr. Bijan Kafi Presse- und Ă–ffentlichkeitsarbeit Gotzkowskystr. 15 10555 Berlin bijan.kafi@sekem.info +49 (30) 22410288 www.sekem.com
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