Asean CSR

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ARAIBA moves on with more businesses joining

ASEAN RESPONSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE BUSINESS ALLIANCE (ARAIBA)

Good corporate governance. Poverty eradication. Community development. Environmental stewardship. Anti-corruption. Labour and human rights

These are hallmarks of Responsible Business, Inclusive Business and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which are increasingly being required of businesses globally.

Businesses have an impact on Society, whether positive or negative. Business must therefore choose to be a force for good.

It is with this intent that the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the ASEAN CSR Network (ACN) established ASEAN Responsible and Inclusive Business Alliance (ARAIBA), a regional network of businesses that promotes responsible, inclusive, resilient and sustainable enterprises.

As ASEAN Entities, ABAC advises the ASEAN leaders on business related issues while ACN promotes responsible business in ASEAN. Hence, ARAIBA is intended to fulfil the objectives of ASEAN Charter and ‘ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together’ blueprint as elaborated in the workplans of the Political – Security, Economic and Socio-Cultural Communities. The idea of ARAIBA came after ABAC and ACN submitted recommendations to the ASEAN Economic Ministers at the 50th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting in August 2018. The Ministers were asked to support responsible and inclusive business in ASEAN to achieve the ASEAN Community objectives.

Please see more details of ARAIBA at www.araiba.org and here .

Latest Events

Nov 26, 2020
ASEAN Responsible & Inclusive Business Forum 2020

ASEAN Responsible & Inclusive Business Forum (RIBF) If the pandemic has made anything clear, it is the need for organizations to invest in smart digitization to emerge stronger in the new world paradigm, as the world rethinks new ways to go about our daily lives.

The mantra of ‘Business Transformation’ has centered on essential productivity enhancements such as adopting innovation to be competitively “easier, faster, cheaper” is good, but not enough. As rapidly evolving digital technologies are massively disrupting industries, it is not enough for organizations to merely squeeze out greater returns, but to fundamentally transform their DNA.

The ASEAN Responsible & Inclusive Business Forum will explore how going “All-in for Digital Transformation” can be a powerful weapon to propel your organization to emerge stronger & thrive in the new norm!

Join us to explore this exciting theme with our esteemed thought leaders!

10th Dec 2020 (Thu) | 9:00AM to 5:15PM | Conducted Virtually via Hopin

Click here to view programme

Click here to register for RBIF
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Oct 04, 2020
ARAIBA Webinar: Transformative Partnerships for Good (& Profit)

Join Yanti Triwadiantini, Chair of ASEAN CSR Network & Board of Management of Indonesia Business Links (IBL), a nonprofit promoting good corporate citizenship in Indonesia, as she shares how businesses can collaborate in-line with SDG Goal 17 - Partnerships for Change.

Date: 6 October 2020, Tuesday
Time: 2pm to 3pm (GMT +8)

RSVP via https://www.araiba.org/ast/3

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Nov 08, 2019
Join ASEAN Responsible and Inclusive Business Alliance (ARIBA) - 8 Nov 2019, Singapore

Recognising the growing importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the ASEAN region, the ASEAN Business Advisory Council and the ASEAN Corporate Social Responsibility Network set up the ASEAN Responsible and Inclusive Business Alliance (ARIBA) to promote responsible, inclusive and sustainable enterprises.

Join the ARIBA launch event held on 8 November 2019 in Singapore by registering at https://www.ceo-asia.com/ariba

Find out more about ARIBA here.
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Nov 22, 2018

Sustainability Reporting in ASEAN and Singapore, 22 Nov, Singapore

ASEAN CSR Network (ACN) and the Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations (CGIO) are organising a forum on Sustainability Reporting in ASEAN and Singapore - Opportunities in an Era of Tensions at the SGX auditorium on Thursday, 22 November 2018. The morning event features a presentation on the state of sustainability reporting (SR) in ASEAN and Singapore, as well as a panel discussion comprising thought leaders and industry experts.

The forum is timely as SR is an emerging trend not only in Singapore but also in the ASEAN region. With the ongoing China-US trade war, the global spotlight has turned to ASEAN as possible trading partners to counteract the worsening situation. This is certainly cause for optimism amidst the doom and gloom.

However, the desire for closer economic partnerships and investments carries conditions for greater economic, environmental, social and governance disclosures from companies in the region to mitigate the emerging trade tensions. Therefore, the regular financial reporting by companies has to be augmented with SR to attract investments. In this sense, SR exceeds satisfying regulatory requirements by helping businesses to stay relevant and seize opportunities in the new economy.

Please join us at this forum where we have put together a distinguished panel of speakers to share their insights and expertise on this important issue.

Programme Details

09.00 am – 09.10 am	Welcome Remarks by Mr Thomas Thomas, CEO, ASEAN CSR Network
09.10 am – 09.30 am	Keynote Address by Mr Tan Boon Gin, CEO, Singapore Exchange Regulation
09.30 am – 09.45 am	Winning Presentation from SGX-NUS Case Competition
09.45 am – 10.10 am	Presentation of Findings by Prof Lawrence Loh, Director, Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations
10.10 am – 10.30 am	Tea Break
10.30 am – 11.15 am	Panel Discussion Panellists (in alphabetical order): Ms Esther AN Chief Sustainability Officer City Developments Limited Dr Somporn KAMOLSIRIPICHAIPORN Director of Office of Research Affairs Chulalongkorn University, Thailand Mr Kohki SAKATA Partner Industrial Growth Platform, Inc. CEO Industrial Growth Platform Pte. Ltd Mr David SMITH Head of Corporate Governance Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd Mr Michael TANG Head, Listing Policy & Product Admission Singapore Exchange Regulation Moderator: Mr Thomas THOMAS CEO ASEAN CSR Network
11.15 am – 11.45 am	Q & A Session
11.45 am – 12.00 pm	Closing Address by Mr Evan Law, Chief Executive, Singapore Accountancy Commission
12.00 pm – 1.00 pm	Networking Lunch

To view speakers' profiles, please click here.

Should you have any enquiries, please contact Ms Maureen Ho, CGIO at cgio@nus.edu.sg or +65 6601 2027.

Nov 08, 2018
Seminar on Business Ethics and Integrity, 8 Nov, Malaysia

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), in partnership with the International Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (ICC Malaysia) and ASEAN CSR Network (ACN) is organising a Seminar on Business Ethics and Integrity at The Royale Chulan Damansara Hotel, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia on 8 November 2018.

The theme for this year's seminar is Business Ethics a Foundation to Growth.

For more information and to register, click here.

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Oct 29, 2018
ACN and SASPO's Joint Webinar, 29 Oct, Singapore

What’s up with palm oil? With controversies ranging from deforestation, illegality and air pollution, palm oil is a highly talked about commodity globally. Join the ASEAN CSR Network (ACN) and the Southeast Asia Alliance on Sustainable Palm Oil (SASPO) on this webinar as we address the problem, discuss solutions, and explore the role and importance of responsible business, through the lens of the palm oil industry.What’s up with palm oil? With controversies ranging from deforestation, illegality and air pollution, palm oil is a highly talked about commodity globally. Join the ASEAN CSR Network (ACN) and the Southeast Asia Alliance on Sustainable Palm Oil (SASPO) on this webinar as we address the problem, discuss solutions, and explore the role and importance of responsible business, through the lens of the palm oil industry.

The webinar will be presented by Aqeela Samat from WWF-Singapore (Secretariat of SASPO) and Sangeetha Yogendran from ACN. For further information, please contact sangeetha@asean-csr-network.org.

To register, visit: https://goo.gl/F49mmU
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News

ASEAN to work with ASEAN CSR Network recommendations on sustainable consumption and production

With funding support from the Hans Seidel Foundation, ACN together with NUS Business School’s Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations (CGIO) conducted a baseline study on consumers and climate change response in the context of sustainable consumption and production.

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Business Leaders send 225 recommendations to ASEAN Leaders

The ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and its Joint Business Council, in which the ASEAN CSR Network is represented, sent ASEAN Leaders 225 recommendations to address the covid-19 crisis and to build back better after the crisis.
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Sustainable Procurement

ARAIBA has initiated the sustainable procurement pledge to mobilise support for responsible and inclusive business conduct. Read more

ASEAN RESPONSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE BUSINESS ALLIANCE (ARIBA)

Good corporate governance. Poverty eradication. Community development. Environmental stewardship. Anti-corruption. Labour and human rights

These are hallmarks of Responsible Business, Inclusive Business and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which are increasingly being required of businesses globally.

Businesses have an impact on Society, whether positive or negative. Business must therefore choose to be a force for good.

It is with this intent that the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the ASEAN CSR Network (ACN) established ASEAN Responsible and Inclusive Business Alliance (ARIBA), a regional network of businesses that promotes responsible, inclusive, resilient and sustainable enterprises.
Read more
Business and Human Rights Disclosure in ASEAN

ASEAN CSR Network releases report on Business and Human Rights Disclosure in ASEAN. This report was a joint initiative with Mahidol University in Thailand.
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HUMAN RIGHTS DISCLOSURE IN ASEAN

An assessment of human rights disclosure by the top 50 publicly listed companies in the stock exchanges of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand found that ASEAN found that the global business and human rights movement has brought about change in ASEAN, but there is a long road ahead.

Only a fraction of companies in ASEAN have taken the first step of exhibiting awareness, readiness, compliance and strategy relative to their responsibility to respect human rights. The collaborative study between ASEAN CSR Network, the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University and Article 30 measured companies against the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. By identifying disclosure gaps, presenting good examples from the region and highlighting points of leverage such as National Action Plans (NAPs) and stock exchange disclosure regulations, this study provides a baseline to map a new era of business and human rights in ASEAN.

Featured findings
- Currently, human rights disclosure in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand falls substantially short of the international norm set in the UNGPs both in terms of extent and quality.
- The presence of dedicated human rights policies serves as a strong indicator in determining whether a company has processes in place that live up to the standards the UNGPs call for.
Key recommendations
- All stakeholders can seek ways to support the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) in their efforts to embed the UNGPs into the GRI. The GRI already has significant traction in the region and can be leveraged as a vehicle to promote human rights disclosure.
- National stock exchanges are a key determinant as to the type of information that ASEAN companies disclose. All parties would be well advised to consider ways to engage and advance the BHR agenda through these channels.
- ASEAN initiatives and institutions can be catalysts of regional change. Promoting human rights disclosure would be a concrete first step to promote UNGP compliance in ASEAN. Develop clear guidelines and expectations that can be mainstreamed throughout the region.
- National Action Plans should be utilized as vehicles to standardize human rights disclosure.
- Disclosure is not an end but a starting point. It is important that the spirit of disclosure is to advance the BHR agenda and the principles that underlie it, including tripartism, stakeholder participation, accountability, transparency and collaboration.
You can click on the link to download -

The executive summary of the report

The full report

The press release

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ASEAN Accreditation

ACN is proud to announce that we had received our approval to be ASEAN Accredited. This is a milestone for ACN as it further reiterates the importance of our work. This is in additional to our registration as an International Charitable Organistion.

Business & Human Rights

This two-day Conference "AICHR Seminar on Promoting CSR and Human Rights" is a follow-up meeting to a workshop held in Singapore on June 2014 to discuss the Baseline Study on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and human rights. This conference is on 3 - 4 Nov 2016 by AICHR-Singapore, Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and ASEAN CSR Network (ACN). It was held in Singapore and was attended by more than 130 participants from ASEAN countries and beyond, this included government officials, national human rights instituitions, businesses, civil society, trade unions and academia.

Integrity Has No Borders is an advocacy campaign by the ASEAN CSR Network in partnership with the Regional Working Group on Business Integrity in ASEAN (Working Group) that aims to create an enabling environment for companies to say “No” to corruption and bribery, regardless of where they are in ASEAN.