Young Engineers Australia has recently been getting involved in the Year of Humanitarian Engineering. The YEA national committee (YEANC) was a focus group for a workshop on corporate social responsibility in Melbourne in early July, which was followed up by four YEANC members attending the Australian Humanitarian Engineering Summit in Brisbane in late July.
Corporate Social Responsibility is a concept with many definitions. Some describe it is ‘A concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis’[1] or ‘doing the right thing, even when no-one is looking’. SKM’s Bill Lawson described a CSR spectrum ranging from ‘because it is good for business’ to ‘because it is the right thing to do’.
Engineers Australia is currently looking at their position in the CSR spectrum, and how they can influence what their staff and their members do in the CSR space. One recent initiative was the development of the Engineers Australia Reconciliation Action Plan, aimed at helping to close the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australian’s.
The Australian Humanitarian Engineering Summit in Brisbane looked at developing the Australian engineering response to the global humanitarian engineering imperative. The conference was addressed by Simon McKeon, the Australian of the Year, who urged for more engineering businesses to throw their weight behind the humanitarian engineering cause. Six focus areas were identified during interactive workshops: education, capacity building, appropriate technology, reconciliation, partnerships, and commitment and leadership. You can join the conversation to flesh out these response areas at www.yohe.uservoice.com.
Thanks, I'm going to have nightmares tonight.
Posted by: justin bieber supras | November 06, 2011 at 05:40 AM