ASEAN CSR Network: November 2017 Newsletter

Promoting and enabling
responsible business conduct in ASEAN

CSR Practitioners, Academics, and Advocates in ASEAN meet
​at SCOPE event

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​​​To continue the efforts of the Sustainability Consortium of Professionals and Educators (SCOPE), a Meeting of Interested Parties was organized at the NUS Business School. The event brought together a group of 30 participants from 7 ASEAN countries to discuss issues in the practice of responsible business, and ways that they can be addressed.

Read more here.
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• ​​ACN Secretariat staff continues to expand 
• ​Small Grants Fund update on shortlisted candidates

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Sustainability reporting positively related to company's market value, study shows

​​Published in a leading academic journal on sustainability by MDPI, the study asserts the positive relation between sustainability reporting and a firm's market value as measured by stock prices. It was led by the Director of NUS Business School's CGIO, Prof. Lawrence Loh, and co-written by the CEO of ACN, Mr. Thomas Thomas, and researcher of CGIO, Ms. Yu Wang.
 

Read more here.

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ACN partners with AICHR
​for Business and
Human Rights Training

​​The 2017 AICHR Training on Business and Human Rights was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 13-16 November 2017. It is a training programme on human rights that focuses on the linkages between business and human rights, including the Guiding Principles adopted by the United Nations in 2011.​ ACN was a partner of AICHR for this event, and ACN's CEO Mr. Thomas Thomas participated in the training programme as a moderator and a discussant for some sessions. ACN's Chair, Ms Yanti Triwadiantini of Indonesia Business Links, and ACN's Deputy Chair, Ms Pensri Suteerasarn of Thai Listed Companies Association, also delivered speeches during the training.
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​For more information, read AICHR's write-up here.
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Sharing of insights from ASEAN
​at UN Forum on Business and
Human Rights 2017 

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With the theme "Realizing Access to Effective Remedy," the 2017 UN Forum on Business and Human Rights was held on 27-29 November at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland​. ACN CEO Mr. Thomas Thomas participated in the sharing of ASEAN experiences in formulating National Action Plans at a forum's parallel session concerning South East Asia, where ACN was acknowledged by the panelists as a major contributor to the advancement of CSR in the region.​

Read more here.
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ACN at AICHR Regional Dialogue
on Rights to Education 

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The ASEAN CSR Network participated in the AICHR Regional Dialogue on Mainstreaming of the Rights to Education in the ASEAN Community, held in Phnom Penh, Camobodia. ACN Programme Director, Ms Lynda Lim, was a panelist for a session.
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Read more here.
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The Singtel Group's carbon targets were approved by the Science Based Targets initiative--a first for a company in Asia, aside from Japan. The initiative gives recognition to organisations committed to maintain a global temperature below 2°C, in accordance to the COP21 Paris Agreement. The Singtel Group "aims to cut absolute Scope 1 and 2 direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions across its own Singapore and Australian operations by 42% from its 2015 base-year by 2030." In addition, the group also pledges to work with suppliers to reduce Scope 3 third-party emissions by 30% within the same timeframe.​

​For more information on the Singtel Group’s environmental sustainability efforts, click here. 

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The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) is involved in the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine (UEHRD), formed in 17 October 2017. In pursuit of peace and development in Myanmar, it is a humanitarian response of the businesses to the refugee crisis in the Rakhine State. As focal point and coordinator, UMFCCI will direct business focus to the reception, resettlement, and the facilitation of job creation and vocational trainings for sustainability. Dr. Aung Tun Thet, Chair of Global Compact Network Myanmar, a strategic partner of ACN, acts as the Chief Coordinator of the initiative. UMFCCI's Ms. Khine Khine Nwe, who is also a trustee of ACN, is handling one of the 9 Task Forces, particularly on Job Creation and Vocational Education.​
 

Learn more about UEHRD here.

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The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) organized a National Workshop on November 30, with the theme "Kontribusi Dunia Usaha dalam Pencapaian Tujuan Pembangunan Berkelanjutan" (The Contribution of the Business World in Achieving The Sustainable Development Goals) in Jakarta. The focus of the event is the role of business in the efforts to incorporate the SDGs to the government's national development agenda. Chair of ACN, Ms. Yanti Triwadiantini served as a speaker at the workshop.​
 

​Read about KADIN 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.