November 4th, 2013

To our stakeholders:

I am pleased to confirm that Pak Oasis reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to share this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.

Sincerely yours,

Syed Omar Abbas Jilani
CEO & Chairman

One of the most important entities for the sustainment of life is water. Without fresh, clean water life and most human activities would cease. There is no substitute.

At Pak Oasis, our founding mission was to expand access to this most basic of human rights to all people, irrespective of their sex, race or religion. Indeed Pak Oasis’ very mantra is for the promotion and expansion of human rights, in line with and as laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Pak Oasis believes firmly that is our duty to take care of the communities in which we operate and we have developed a rigorous and expansive Corporate Social Responsibility programme to that end to fulfil what we see as our societal obligations.

Pak Oasis has donated dozens of water treatment plants to communities which are most often overlooked. These plants are provided and run by Pak Oasis, free of charge, to ensure that these voiceless communities have their human rights respected just as much as more powerful groupings. To this end Pak Oasis has donated plants across a number of jails, to ensure that prisoners are protected from waterborne diseases and stomach disorders as a result of dirty water.

Pak Oasis has donated plants at a number of very popular shrines because these are areas where diseases are easily spread between different groups of people. By ensuring safe, clean, reliable water is available free of charge Pak Oasis ensures that these worshippers’ human right to practice their religious beliefs are not impinged upon, and that waterborne diseases are not acquired in the satisfaction of their spiritual wellbeing.

Pak Oasis has also donated water treatment plants in schools and outside courts in populated areas so that school children can focus on their education and those attending courts to seek redress can benefit from the fact that they do not have to worry about whether they will be able to drink a safe supply of water that day.

In December 2012 the Human Right’s Group of Pakistan gave Pak Oasis an award recognising and celebrating their achievements in extending access to safe, clean, affordable and accessible drinking water to millions of Pakistan’s poorest people. For Pak Oasis there is no better measurement of our success in fulfilling our obligations in the sphere of human rights than to be recognised by this prestigious organisation.

Pak Oasis was awarded a Corporate Social Responsibility Award by the 5th International CSR Summit for the extensive community service efforts it has undertaken this year.

Pak Oasis treats each individual fairly, and recruits, selects, trains, promotes, and compensates based on merit, experience and other work-related criteria. The company complies with all laws governing fair employment and labour practices and does not discriminate against any applicant for employment or any employee in any aspect of their employment on the basis of age, race, religion, sex, disability and military status. This statement is laid out in our Code of Conduct and is fully adhered to by the company.

Pak Oasis does not hire child labour or engage in any forms of compulsory or forced labour. Pak Oasis also believes that all employees have the right to collective action and all our workers have the right to join collective bargaining unions.

Pak Oasis is aware that our levels of female participation are low, in part because of the nature of and geographic location of much of our work. However, we aim to increase the level of female participation within our management structure in our HQ in the upcoming year by at least 50%.

Pak Oasis has appointed two companies to ensure that the labour rights of all its staff are upheld. These companies have been charged with ensuring that all Pak Oasis staff receive their salaries in a timely manner and into a bank account established for them which only they have access to. These companies are also responsible for ensuring that all employees are registered for medical and pension coverage.

These companies work closely with our Human Resources Director, meeting regularly every month, to ensure that the high standards demanded by Pak Oasis are adhered to, and that any grievances raised by employees are addressed at the highest levels.

Pak Oasis also has an “open door policy” whereby any employee can come and speak directly with the CEO or COO, ensuring that employees can bypass their management if they feel any grievances or issues they have are not being addressed.

Furthermore, following consultation with employees the company has enrolled all staff under a comprehensive Group Insurance policy so that if any injuries are sustained in the workplace they will receive adequate levels of compensation while recovering or if they are completely incapacitated as a result of injury in the line of duty.

Pak Oasis holds regular trainings for its staff to ensure that they are able to conform to new standards in their work, but also to ensure that they are fully respecting the rights of their colleagues and the customers they are serving at the end point between the company and the public at large. Reviewing the Code of Conduct forms an integral part of many trainings to ensure that our staff are fully aware of their rights and obligations.

Pak Oasis signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NED University to increase the levels of involvement of females within our engineering teams. The MOU provides undergraduates with opportunities for paid internships and projects with the company during their summer and winter vacations, as well as career opportunities following graduation. One of the purposes of this programme is to provide female engineering undergraduates with the opportunity to interact with our staff during internships and brief placements so that they can establish that our company is one that respects and empowers women and practices gender equality.

Pak Oasis has been ISO 9001:2008 certified, demonstrating that we have implemented quality management system requirements across all areas of our business but including in the training of and management of our employees.

Pak Oasis hired two companies to ensure that the labour rights of its employees were upheld because this enables Pak Oasis to hold both companies to the highest standards and ensure that they are achieving the desired outcomes for our staff. Since their appointment all staff have now had a bank account opened for them at a major national or provincial bank, which is easily accessible to them based on their geographic location. Late or failed payments are no longer a concern for our employees because of this electronic and independently managed system of remuneration.

Since the appointment of these two companies 100% of our non-management staff are now insured against injury in the workplace, 100% of our non-management staff are registered to receive free medical treatment for themselves and their families with the Social Security Authority, and 100% of our non-management staff are now enrolled with Employees Old Age Benefit, whereby they will be eligible for a state pension when they reach 60 years of age.

Pak Oasis has monthly meetings in which senior management review the labour practices and it provides a forum for the Human Resources Director to report to the CEO and Board of any abnormalities or inconsistencies in labour standards at the company.

Around 1/10th of Pak Oasis’ entire management staff are female. Due to the nature of much of the work at plants in remote areas females are not able to be employed in these areas for safety and security reasons. However, at our HQ in Karachi, where the safety of our female employees can be better guaranteed steps, females make up a larger proportion of the staff, and steps are being taken to increase the level of female participation further, particularly among the engineering team.

Pak Oasis was awarded a Human Resources Excellence Award for providing professional growth and development to its employees. This award was in recognition of the opportunities and training Pak Oasis insists on providing to its employees to ensure their continued development.

Pak Oasis is fully committed to reducing its and the industry’s reliance on damaging energy sources and through its partnerships with the industry’s leading technology companies is taking huge strides to minimise its impact on the environment.

To this end, Pak Oasis has signed two Memorandums of Understanding for ensuring that its impact on the environment is minimised. The first is an MOU with PCRET (Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy Technologies) to manufacture and assemble solar panels locally in Pakistan, to encourage a nascent domestic industry and to ensure a reliable supply of solar power for its water plants as a number of these are converted to be run entirely on solar power.

The second MOU is with world leading pump manufacturer Grundfos to assemble and fabricate solar water pumps in Pakistan. This will enable these pumps to be sold at a lower cost in Pakistan than previously, ensuring the move from diesel-powered pumps to solar pumps is expedited (a process that will transform the environmental record of Pakistan which has millions of tube wells, most of which are still powered by diesel pumps).

In the coming year Pak Oasis’s goal is to convert over 1/3rd of its water plants to be operated on solar power.

Pak Oasis has begun building the factory in which solar pumps will be assembled and fabricated. This environmentally friendly technology will shift our water plants further away from fossil fuels and reduce the environmental footprint of all our plants

Pak Oasis has begun manufacturing solar panels with PCRET (Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy and Technology), which is reducing our reliance on diesel generators as we replace these, particularly in off-grid areas, with solar panels.

In late 2012 and early 2013 Pak Oasis successfully deployed their first solar-powered UF plant (water filtration) and RO plant (water desalination). Following these successful plants proving the success and efficacy of these options Pak Oasis has begun to convert hundreds of its plants to operate on solar power.

Pak Oasis has also developed a model programme which holistically deals with the issues of water consumption, treatment and conservation through solar-powered drinking water for communities, extracting biofertilisers from sewerage to replace harmful chemicals, and using treated wastewater to irrigate farmland, recharge aquifers and promote healthy soil in drylands to combat the growing effects of desertification.

Pak Oasis has been ISO 14001:2004 certified. This certification by an independent registrar maintains that Pak Oasis has the highest appreciation for our environmental impact and has policies in place to minimise our environmental footprint throughout our business practices.

Pak Oasis was awarded The National Forum for Environment and Health’s Award for Environmental Excellence, an award that demonstrates the efforts and accomplishments that have been made in this field with regards environmental protection.

At Pak Oasis there is a strict Code of Conduct guiding all our employees with regards the issues of corruption, bribery and extortion. There are specific sections on Honesty and Integrity, Personal Conflict of Interest, Exchange of Gifts, and Outside Employment.

All giving of gifts, except gifts of nominal value that are given on the Company's behalf as common promotional goodwill such as diaries, pens, etc, is strictly prohibited. The receipt of gifts by Pak Oasis employees is also banned. Where it is impractical or may be regarded as an insult, a gift may be accepted, but only if it is a) not in the form of (or cannot be intentionally converted into) liquid cash, b) cannot have a value above $20, c) must be reported to the HR Department, and d) as long as the receipt of this gift does not pose any ethical issues or fall foul of any laws.

The Head of HR and the Head of the Compliance Committee are both responsible for ensuring no breaches in the Code of Conduct, which includes importantly, issues dealing with corruption.

All employees, during their training on the Code of Conduct, are advised that reporting any breaches to the Code will not result in any action being taken against them, and anyone who retaliates against another employee who does so will be subject to immediate disciplinary action and dismissal, and may be subject to criminal investigation.

In the event that a breach of the Code of Conduct is observed or reported the following action must be taken:

The event must immediately be reported to the relevant division head, head of HR, and head of Compliance Committee, who will then jointly advise a course of action to remedy the situation and advise the CEO accordingly.

Thereafter, for each such breach, the affected department or business function must promptly complete a formal Breach Report and send it to the Head of Compliance / Audit Committees.

The relevant regulator(s) must be promptly notified of such breaches by the management accompanied with appropriate explanations.

A complete review of the circumstances leading to the breach must be undertaken by an independent authority, either within the department or business function concerned or by an investigation team appointed by the respective department head, head of HR and Compliance/Audit if the matter is considered to be relatively serious.

Where the review indicates a need for change in controls, procedures, or processes, it must be documented to show that it has been implemented and subsequently reviewed for effectiveness. Appropriate communication must be sent to all concerned executives and departments to ensure that there is no recurrence of a similar kind and that the amended procedures are clearly understood by all.

Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken for those causing the breach.