This is an overall award in this year’s British Chambers of Commerce Awards, “in recognition of the Chamber’s organisational transformation and commitment to core ESG principles to build a sustainable, inclusive Chamber and business community”.

2023/24 was a year of transformation for the British Chamber of Commerce Dubai (BCCD). After 37 years of existence, the British Business Group Dubai and Northern Emirates transitioned to the British Chamber of Commerce Dubai on January 1st 2024 – a decision granted by Dubai Chamber “in recognition of the activity and substantial and significant support you have consistently offered to British businesses in Dubai” (Rami Muhanna, Business Relations, Dubai Chamber and supported by the British Chambers of Commerce.)

The transition created a valuable opportunity to refine and launch our ESG strategy. This case study highlights how BCCD successfully integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance principles into its core proposition, earning recognition with the Outstanding Achievement Award in 2024.

Environment: In 2023 the BCCD co-hosted the British Chambers of Commerce’s local and inbound representation at COP28UAE. We curated a business briefing and a networking reception to connect delegates, British Embassy and DBT inbound trade missions. These events were in addition to the core event programme as we sought to identify additional opportunities to maximise the assembly of the delegates and local expertise – aligning with the “COP for All” theme.

Through this initiative, Waste to Wonder, a small UK-based social enterprise specialising in ethical and eco-friendly disposals of old building equipment was able to connect with key local stakeholders and has successfully entered the UAE market.

Building on the legacy of COP28UAE, the extension of the UAE Year of Sustainability and in line with the British Chambers of Commerce Network’s Green Innovation programmes, we fully committed to adding ESG to our core values to extend our existing offering to help British businesses in the UAE develop and accelerate their ESG practices.

In close collaboration with ESG experts in our membership, we launched our BCCD Green agenda. This initiative supports members – through all growth stages and sizes – encouraging sustainable practices and promoting net-zero solutions. BCCD Green is designed to inspire impactful ESG advancements by celebrating excellence and highlighting success stories.  We now have a consistent programme of activity aimed at educating, creating impact and leading to positive change suitable for members already active in the ESG sector and those looking to further improve their proposition.

Social: Relationships are integral to a Chamber’s success and we pride ourselves on our extensive stakeholder network. We were extremely proud to be awarded a certificate of recognition from the British Embassy for the facilitation of multiple stakeholder and industry relationships that have made a significant impact to British nationals in the UAE. We were also awarded two Mentl Awards (mental health recognition in business) for the consistent focus of our business briefings on mental wellbeing. Looking at our regional community, we have initiated and led the GCC British Chambers and equivalents assembly by holding a regular online meeting for sharing best practice, guidance for those on their own Chamber status journey and providing a collective voice for British business in the GCC. Our new podcast – Don’t Do That! Do This! has been really well received, sharing lessons and knowledge from successful British business owners to those new to their entrepreneurial journey or to the region – creating a sense of community and support.

Governance:  Recognising our role as a platform for positive impact and influence, we host sector working groups to serve as a barometer for British business in the region. Our construction sector working group, aligned with Dubai’s economic priorities, is our most established and has been actively collaborating with Dubai government entities.

In terms of measurement for our own governance, we conducted a membership survey in May and received a 4.4 out of 5 star rating for satisfaction and advocacy. Our membership data is now 100% complete and details age, ethnicity and gender, allowing greater insights into the needs and expectations of our members. Looking specifically at the gender ratio, our female membership has grown from 28% to 34% [at the time of submission, now 37% E.N.] in under a year and has more than doubled since 2020! We can attribute this to curating more female focused events and initiating focused campaigns on encouraging employers to be more open to flexible working enabling ‘return to workers’ who have had a break from work  moving countries or raising children to re-enter the workforce.

BCCD was also among the Founding Partners of the first GCC Menopause Summit, bringing global and regional experts to Dubai to discuss and raise awareness of this crucial women’s health topic.

The diversity of our Board is also to be celebrated, we have attracted – and the members have voted in a Board (in June) – that represents diverse backgrounds, ethnicity and of nine Board Members – four are women.

We are an active Chamber and hosting over 70 events a year as a small team means that the wellbeing and approach to flexible working is key to the sustainability of the team. We offer flexible working to allow working parents to factor in school pick-ups; we have a generous training budget for individual professional development and have regular team focused events. As a not-for-profit, we were proud and fortunate to be in a position to donate AED 100K to the British Community Assistance Fund for the last two years. This year we made an additional donation to a local centre for children with a variety of disabilities in a school setting.