President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca today launched CORE - Corporate Citizenship for Responsible Enterprises – which has been set up to create a platform for dialoge, the sharing of ideas and teaching on how Corporate Social Responsibility in Malta can be strengthened.

CORE will fall under the Chamber of Commerce and is being set up with the help of international partners.

Speaking at the launch in San Anton Palace, Mrs Coleiro Preca said the concept of CSR has been practiced with enthusiasm by Maltese companies for many years. Apart from striving for profit-making, these companies were also organising community and philanthropic work. Companies have realised that CSR is a crucial ingredient for sustainable development.

The concept also has a positive impact on company employees and increases their motivation, she said. Companies that practice CSR find it easier to find long-term employees and clients are ever increasingly opting for companies that embrace the practice.

The President said a 2011 study by the Chamber of Commerce found that 88% of companies in Malta are active in CSR and 79% declared that the practice was beneficial to their operations.

Another study by Price Waterhouse Coopers found that half of companies in Malta strived to reduce environmental damage and are making better use of water, energy and waste management.

CORE is being launched at a time when the United Nations is expected to present its targets for sustainable development, with one of the aims being specifically to encourage more companies to embrace the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility.