The launch ceremony also saw the release of new findings by the CSR
Asia Center at AIT, which indicate that corporate social responsibility
is gaining momentum in Thailand, that the country’s companies are now
changing to realize the importance of CSR to their brands and
reputations, and that stakeholders are increasingly demanding strategic
approaches to CSR.
The Report: “Corporate Social Responsibility in Thailand” was released
on 25 March 2010 in the presence of the Foreign Minister of Thailand
Kasit Piromya. The Center is a joint venture partnership between the
Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and CSR Asia. While complementing
the initiative by AIT and CSR Asia, special guest Foreign Minister
Kasit spoke
of the his Ministry's efforts to promote corporate social
responsibility.
The new center is situated on the campus of the Asian Institute of
Technology in Pathumthani, Thailand. The center, which will focus its
research, training, and consultancy work on Thailand and the Greater
Mekong Sub-region, is the first-of-its-kind for CSR Asia as the
partnership with a university brings the unique opportunity to work
with AIT to launch an executive master’s degree in CSR.
Commenting on the significance of the center’s location in Thailand,
Prof. Said Irandoust, President of the Asian Institute of Technology,
said that following the establishment of the Asean Regional Center of
Excellence on MDGs at AIT in 2008 and the Yunus Center at AIT in late
2009, the CSR Asia Center at AIT is yet another step to position AIT as
an international hub for innovative higher learning in South-East Asia.
“This is an important move for our institute to assume a regional
leadership position in linking social responsibility with education and
higher learning.”
Speaking at the launch, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of AIT, and
former Foreign Minister of Thailand, Dr. Tej Bunnag said: “This
partnership with CSR Asia to initiate the CSR Asia Center at AIT
follows in our tradition of empowerment through higher education that
aspires to social purpose. This joint venture thus takes our mission to
a new level as we bring together our considerable strengths, expertise,
and networks to confront socio-economic issues and challenges facing
Thailand and the South-East Asian region.”
Mr. Chaovalit Ekabut, President, SCG Paper, and President of the AIT
Alumni Association said: “CSR is not an extra activity, it is our duty.
And it is important that all stakeholders should be engaged to
contribute their part in the activity in order to develop mutual trust
in achieving a common goal. In today’s world, society is the one who
really determines the ‘license to operate’ for any business, and it is
ready to do that any time.”
Presenting the findings of the report, Dr. Richard Welford, Founder
and Chairman, CSR Asia, said the study provides a clear picture of CSR
developments in Thailand. The report reflects in depth comparative
analysis of findings from the Asian Sustainability Rating (ASR) for
Thailand’s largest 20 companies (by market capitalization) for 2008 and
2009, interviews with six companies in the ranking, and a CSR
Priorities Survey of more than 50 stakeholders in the country.
Earlier Ms. Leena Wokeck, Director of CSR Asia Center at AIT welcomed
the delegates.
Other Highlights of the Report:
• Thai companies are generally conservative in terms of disclosure and
should see the business benefits of improved reporting.
While there is a declared focus on CSR, public disclosure of
achievements and especially challenges is still limited. Current
findings also suggest that companies are primarily disclosing what is
mandated by law, resulting in transparency and accountability gaps in
some key areas.
• Stakeholders are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are not
impressed by philanthropy
The difference between philanthropy and community investment is clear
for stakeholders. Research findings revealed a neutral standpoint of
stakeholders towards philanthropy while community investment and
employee volunteering are considered very important.
• Companies and their stakeholders are recognizing a new imperative
over the environment
Three of six companies interviewed said that environment was their
number one priority, two said it was their second most important
priority, and one company rated the environment third on their priority
list. The environment ranked top of the list of stakeholder priorities
in CSR.
• Thai companies appear to be missing out on global opportunities
because of their relatively poor approach to value chain issues
Research results show Thai companies scoring lowest on marketplace and
supply chain indicators, and interviews confirmed that supply chain
issues are rated as one of the lowest priorities for companies.
• A strong role exists for Thai businesses in community involvement
and development, building on existing strengths amongst businesses and
NGOs.
Building on the Thai corporate tradition for community engagement, and
a general trend towards strategic approaches to CSR, it is expected
that companies will become more strategic in approaches to community
investment.
Detailed Report available at: www.csrcenter.ait.asia
About the CSR Asia Center at AIT
The CSR Asia Center at AIT, located at the AIT campus in Pathum Thani,
Thailand, is a joint venture partnership between CSR Asia and the Asian
Institute of Technology (AIT). Bringing together the strength of the
two founding organizations, the Center can draw on considerable
expertise in business and CSR, technical and research excellence,
access to the networks of governments, business, and NGOs, as well as
knowledge generation and capacity development skills.
The mission of the Center is to advance the development and
implementation of effective sustainability solutions for and by
business as well as to facilitate the development of supportive
framework conditions for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and
sustainable development. To advance its mission, the Center will
provide training, research, and consultancy and deliver a professional
Master’s degree in CSR.
(from left to right) Dr. Richard Welford,
Mr. Chaovalit Ekabut,, H.E. Mr. Kasit Piromya, H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag and
Prof. Said Irandoust at the launch of CSR Center at
AIT.