ASEAN CSR Network March 2017 Newsletter

Promoting and enabling
responsible business conduct in ASEAN

Highlights​

L-R: Mr Thomas Thomas (CEO, ASEAN CSR Network (ACN)), Mr Frederick Ho (Trustee, ACN), Ms Helen Orande (Trustee, ACN), Ms Tengku Ida Ismail (Trustee, ACN), H.E. Scott Wightman (British High Commissioner to Singapore), Mr Michael Tang ( Vice President, Head, Listing Policy and Product Admission, Regulation, Singapore Exchange (SGX)), Ms H.E. Lynn McDonald (Canadian High Commissioner to Singapore), Ms. Yanti Triwadiantini, (Chair, ACN), H.E. Hakan Jevrell (Ambassador of Sweden to Singapore and Brunei Darussalam), Mr. Christopher Hodges (Professor of Justice Systems, Head of the Swiss Re/CMS Research Programme on Civil Justice Systems, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford), Ms Elaine Tan (Trustee, ACN) and Prof. Lawrence Loh (Director, Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations (CGIO), NUS Business School, National University of Singapore)
 

​Regional Business Integrity Conference Culture of Business Integrity - Pathway to Sustainability and Success 6 - 7 March 2017 (Singapore)​
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​The Conference served as a platform for key stakeholders to discuss potential solutions to fight against corruption and restore business integrity in ASEAN, creating a level playing field and promoting long-term sustainability and success for businesses as well as the ASEAN region as a whole. Enforcing ethical business regulations, promoting ethical and sustainable business models, mitigating risks in public procurement, and peer learning on what works and what does not work in restoring business integrity were the key topics. The Working Group on Business Integrity in ASEAN also met up, along with partners to provide an update on their respective efforts and launch the Regional Integrity Pledge called “Integrity Has No Borders” Pledge, showing their commitment and support for the business integrity movement in ASEAN. For more information, please visit our website.

Upcoming Events

Small Grants Fund

Launch of SS ISO 37001 - Anti-bribery management systems on
​12 April 2017 (Singapore)

SPRING Singapore, together with the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), would like to invite you to the launch of the SS ISO 37001 on 12 April 2017. Mr Fernando Cevallos,  Chairman of the ISO/PC 278 Anti-bribery Management System—Advisory Group on Communications and Engagement will be providing an insight on the ISO 37001. For more information and registration, please visit our website.


ASEAN CSR Fellowship
​3 - 7 Apr 2017 (Jakarta)
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The ASEAN CSR Fellowship was launched in Singapore at the beginning of this year and will proceed to its second leg in Jakarta.16 Fellows were selected from different countries in ASEAN to participate in a series of study tours to understand  key regional issues in business & anti-corruption, business & human rights,  and food security & sustainable agriculture. For more information, please visit our website.The updates on the Jakarta trip will be updated closer to date.


Channel News Asia - Sustainability Dialogue 29 Mar 2017 (Singapore)
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This is a dialogue whereby distinguished speakers will discuss on the impact of corporate social-consciousness on consumer trust and investor interest. There will be two panel discussions i.e. Developing a successful CSR & Sustainability Strategy and What are the returns on Investment. ACN is a Supporting Partner for this. For more information, please visit our website. 



Past Events

'Co-creating' for Human Rights and the Environment 21 - 22 Mar 2017 (Bangkok) 

ACN spent two days in Bangkok along with over 100 organisations in Asia supported by the Swedish Government. We sought out ways to co-operate and pool together resources, aligning with Sweden’s new strategy on mutual interaction between human rights and environmental protection. For more information, please visit our website.


S Rajaratnam Endowment - ASEAN Community Forum
9 - 10 Mar 2017(Singapore) 
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ACN assisted the ASEAN Foundation with the first large-scale initiative for civil society engagement. This not only evolve forging people to people engagement but also explored alliance building and collaboration with corporates and policy makers to come up with solutions for economic dynamism and resilience in ASEAN's integration. For more information, please visit our website.​​


UNDP's Anti-Corruption for Peaceful and Inclusive Societies in the Asia-Pacific Region (ACPIS) Project
7 March 2017 (Singapore)
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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Governments of Australia and Singapore launched a four-year Anti-Corruption for Peaceful and Inclusive Societies (ACPIS) project. ACN contributed by being one of the panellists for a session on discussing the role of private sector in the implementation of SDGs, specifically Goal 16 which is related to the fight against corruption. For more information, please visit our website. An article on this can also be found here.​

We are pleased to announce the 4th call for proposals to the ASEAN CSR Vision 2020 Small Grants Fund. Proposals submitted should be relevant to the ASEAN CSR Vision 2020's objective of mainstreaming responsible business conduct. Deadline to submit is 15 May 2017. For more information, please visit our website. ​

 

Step Forward

ACN joins new 5 year programme on Human Rights and Sustainable Development 23 Mar 2017 (Bangkok)

ACN is now a key partner of a newly-launched Regional Programme on Human Rights and Sustainable Development, which will be implemented from 2017 to 2021. The regional programme will focus on the strengthening of human rights, gender equality and the environment in Asia. ACN will lead in private sector engagement, holding capacity building programmes for companies. For more information, please visit our website.


​​Guide for Thought

​GRI G4 Guidelines and ISO 26000:2010 - How to use them in conjuction

This publication helps to relate the social responsibility guidance given in ISO 26000 to the reporting guidance provided by GRI. ​To download full publication, please either click on image or here.

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Interesting Read
​
UN Human Rights Council discusses situations in DPRK, Iran, Myanmar and Burundi

​At respective interactive dialogues today on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Myanmar, Burundi, Iran and Eretria, senior United Nations independent human rights experts called on the governments to take immediate steps to ensure human rights protection in their respective countries.​ For full article, please click here.

Sustainable agriculture needed to slash Indonesia's hunger index
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Sustainable and precise agriculture practices making use of information and communications technology (ICT) are urgently needed to boost agricultural production and tackle Indonesia’s high global hunger index (GHI). For full article, please click here.

ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC)
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The Meeting reviewed the status of projects and activities under the ACWC Work Plan 2012-2016. The Meeting deliberated on several projects for completion this year. For full article, please click here.​


 








 

ASEAN continues to stride forward with its regional integration efforts with a view to narrowing the development gap and delivering more benefits to more people. A factsheet has been done up and it highlights the progress of the three ASEAN Community pillars and priorities as the grouping celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2017.