Wood Couture CSR initiatives on gender equality and diversity
With the guidance of Globally, we have started our journey towards becoming more responsible members of the global community.
As part of the Living Business Program, Wood Couture participated in the preliminary event at the Expo 2020 UK Pavilion in Dubai on 29 November. Living Business is a programme run by Globally and sponsored by HSBC that aims to help businesses in the Middle East become ESG ready.
This year, more than 70 companies have joined the programme from the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Egypt. A preliminary round gathered the best projects in their category (Small, Mid-Size and Corporate) to pitch their projects to a panel of industry experts. The programme culminated in a Get In The Ring battle and the most impressive projects were awarded at a final ceremony.
Wood Couture is the result of a restructuring and rebranding of a 30-year-old family business, co-founded by Paolo Della Casa and Filippo Sona, custom manufacturing for hotels and luxury residences. The company has created an in-house standard for total quality management for project-based manufacturing. It leverages the same to produce custom furniture, joinery, decorative accessories and contemporary artwork for hospitality projects.
As the organisation started to grow, the owners found that the team was composed mostly of women. Naturally, the first initiatives for its corporate social responsibility (CSR) gravitated toward supporting women and pushing forward diversity and inclusivity in general.
Wood Couture believes that a sustainable business is a diverse and inclusive environment – all genders, nationalities and capabilities. In 2021, the company started to work on its CSR strategy and joined the Living Business Program to help accelerate its initiatives.
