The CSR Asia
Summit, our annual conference on corporate social responsibility in Asia, went
ahead successfully last week in Kuala Lumpur, despite the haze which in itself
was a topical point for discussion during the event. The 2015 Summit returned
to Malaysia with a focus on sustainable business strategies which bring shared
value to business, community and society. 429 delegates from across 28
countries attended, a unique blend of business, government and civil society
represented.
Now in its ninth
year, the two-day CSR Asia Summit is recognised as the most innovative and
thought-provoking conference on corporate social responsibility in the region.
The 2015 Summit focused on sustainable business strategies which bring shared
value to business, community and society. Key supporters and participants in
this year’s event included Digi, Fuji Xerox, Huawei, Kulim Malaysia, Musim Mas,
Nestle Malaysia, Prudence Foundation, Sime Darby, State Street, The Coca-Cola
Company, UBS and Visa, amongst others.
The three main
themes covered in this year’s summit included ‘Development Challenges’, ‘Human
Resources and Workplace, and ‘The Environment and Sustainability’. Business
leaders were at the Summit to address challenges such as poverty reduction
through innovative new business models and solutions to tackle issues
associated with disasters, and protecting the environment while contributing to
development. Richard Welford, Chairman of CSR Asia highlighted the need for
such a focus.
“In the wake of
the current economic landscape, companies are now re-evaluating their business
strategies in both developed and developing countries. In doing so,
sustainability issues have become ever more important and increasingly,
companies operating throughout Asia need to integrate their CSR activities into
their core business strategy to remain competitive in the global economy.”
“By bringing the
CSR Asia Summit to Malaysia, we are sharing with business leaders in the region
how they can leverage more value through CSR and sustainability strategies.
This requires improved accountability and transparency and the development of
new and innovative partnerships with NGOs and the investment community,” added
Richard.
During the Summit,
participants recognised that human resource issues and human rights challenges
are an integral part of any company’s CSR agenda. Challenges around gender,
migrant workers, human rights and modern day slavery are emerging as risks and
opportunities for businesses. Involving people in new and innovative community
investment initiatives will be of growing importance to companies that want to
recruit and retain talent.
The environment
also continues to be central to the sustainable development agenda, where the
Summit examined business perspectives on some of the biggest challenges over
the next decade. In particular, the leading issues of water scarcity, climate
change, and conservation were each discussed within dedicated breakout sessions
exploring the role of the private sector as well as the public sector in both
mitigation and adaptation.
Other key topics
covered at the Summit included shared value, employee engagement, women’s
economic empowerment, inclusive business, deforestation, certification schemes,
disaster preparedness, and supply chain practices and challenges.
Highlights of 2015
Summit include:
The 2015 Channel
NewsAsia Sustainability Ranking. Results for the top performing companies in
Asia for 2015 were revealed during the Summit. The Ranking, developed in
partnership with Channel NewsAsia, Sustainalytics and CSR Asia, identified the
top 100 companies in the region with the highest sustainability performance,
based on a broad range of environmental, social and governance (ESG)
indicators.
A spotlight on
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With the recent adoption of the of the
post-2015 development agenda during the September United Nations summit in New
York, the 17 ambitious SDGs were explored in terms of the role the private
sector can play and how to integrate the goals with business. The panel,
including senior representatives from the Global Reporting Institute (GRI),
Sime Darby and IKEA, discussed the opportunities available to harness private
sector capabilities and transformational partnerships to contribute to
sustainable development in line with these goals, what it means for businesses,
and how it can be translated into action. CSR Asia are also set to release a
paper for our Strategic Partners focused on ‘The role of the private sector in
the Strategic Development Goals’; please contact us for more information if interested.
Partnerships. It
was recognised that power for change lies within companies and the private
sector through the scale and reach that large companies and businesses have,
especially given the global top 500 companies account for more than 40% of the
world’s GDP. Engagement, discussion, and partnership between sectors is a vital
component in such change. To help facilitate and encourage the fostering of new
partnerships, the Summit also hosts the NGO marketplace, this year sponsored by
State Street, created to provide a space for business, NGOs, and foundations to
collaborate and engage. Since 2010, UBS have sponsored delegate passes as an
NGO Scholarship to attend both the Summit and Pre-Summit training courses.
As with past
years, this engagement combined with the opportunity for networking and
informed discussions during the breakout sessions was highlighted as one of the
key successes of the Summit. Such opportunities are particularly valuable given
the highlighted role of partnerships in strategic value creation, particularly
with the private sector.
Channel NewsAsia
Sustainability Ranking Results: Down to the Details
The Channel
NewsAsia Sustainability Ranking for 2015 launched at the Summit provides
investors and consumers with insights into corporate sustainability practices,
and a way to benchmark performance against other regional businesses. Based on
specific ESG indicators and methodology developed by Sustainalytics, a leading
provider of ESG and corporate governance ratings and research, the Ranking
highlighted the overall top 20 companies as well as the top three businesses
per country. The territories covered include China, Hong Kong, India,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and
new for 2015 – Japan. The top three for 2015 are listed below, with the full
ranking results available here:
1st Wipro Ltd,
India, Software & Services
2nd United
Microelectronics Corporation, Taiwan, Semiconductors & Semiconductor
Equipment
3rd Tech Mahindra
Limited, India, Software & Services
The addition of
results for Japan greatly changed the ranking lists this year, with 32 of the
47 new companies on the list being as a result of this inclusion. Other talking
points included the emergence of Indian tech companies as CSR leaders in Asia,
Tech Mahindra’s stellar turnaround story into a CSR leader from its
scandal-ridden Satyam past, and the high ranking of companies such as UMC that
are perhaps not well known publically but that supply many well-known brands
with vital parts and technology. This year there is also a notable lack of
representation of China and the Philippines from the top 100 companies.
Results will be
also be discussed during Channel NewsAsia’s Investor Insights programme, where
the CEO’s of the top three companies in the ranking will be providing insights
into the action behind the success. The programme will air on the 16th October
2015.
In closing,
Richard provided an interesting view on the analogy ‘give a man a fish and feed
him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for life’. It is a nice story,
but just because you teach does not guarantee a move out of poverty, and
capacity and education will not guarantee net incomes will grow in a
significant way to move people out of dire need. Let’s not just ‘give a fish’,
instead let’s teach how to fish, then let’s open up global markets so the fish
can be sold, and then support the business to buy boats and expand, and help
the business to develop and employ more people. Only then will there be the scale
for real change.
The CSR Asia
Summit will be returning next year, with details to be announced shortly. Keep
tuned in for updates!
-CSRAsia
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