IMC, JePharma join hands with IRI

Launched last month, the Islamic Reporting Initiative (IRI) has rapidly gained momentum and support from businesses, government organizations, non-profit organizations and educational institutions from all over the world.
With the potential of being of immediate benefit in more than 50 countries, the IRI is aiming to create the first, mainstream reporting standard for corporate sustainability and social responsibility based on Islamic principles.
The latest organizations to partner with the IRI include the International Medical Centre (IMC) in Jeddah, and Jerusalem Pharmaceuticals (JePharma), a major publicly listed company in Palestine. Partnerships with the IMC and JePharma will bring extensive insight from the health care industry to the development of the IRI.
Dr. Iyad Masrouji, CEO of Jerusalem Pharmaceuticals, said: “As a partner, we intend to contribute insight to form a tool that facilitates prosperous conditions for all, and we hope to make a lasting impression in the way CSR reporting will be conducted in the future.”
The Middle East University in Jordan was one of the first signatory members of the initiative. Dr. Abdel-Aziz Sharabati, head of the management, marketing and e-Business department, said: “As a national education institution, what we perceive to be a long-standing challenge is a mismatch between the skills developed through education and those needed for employment.”
Earlier last week, the IRI announced its partnership with the Social Stock Exchange (SSX) to work toward compatibility with their standards. With a market capitalization of 1.25 billion pounds, the SSX is the first international stock exchange exclusive to responsible business.
Daan Elffers, founder of the IRI, and chairman of last year’s CSR Summit in Saudi Arabia, said: “Responsibility reporting is moving into a new phase; no longer a top-line or reputational activity, responsibility reporting is becoming a critical factor in investment decisions.”