ASEAN CSR Network (ACN), represented by Mr Thomas Thomas, CEO of ACN, attended the ASEAN Business Advisory Council’s (ASEAN-BAC) joint Business Council Meeting as sector champion for Responsible and Inclusive Business on 28 August 2018.

In March 2018, ACN was appointed the sector champion for Responsible and Inclusive Business with ASEAN-BAC, whose mandate is to provide private sector feedback and guidance to boost ASEAN efforts towards economic integration.

The ASEAN regional vision and blueprints recognise the importance of the private sector and its responsibility in realising the ASEAN Community Building Goal. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or responsible business identified as one of the key measures across all three Community Pillars – Political-Security, Economic, and Socio-Cultural – to achieve inclusive, equitable and sustainable development in ASEAN.

Responsible and inclusive business will ensure that business operations are respectful of the environment, of peoples’ rights and will operate lawfully and with integrity. It will also create business opportunities for low-income people as owners of MSMEs, small suppliers, distributors, customers or workers. This will further efforts to build an inclusive, people-centred, resilient and sustainable ASEAN community.

To advance and mainstream responsible and inclusive business across the three pillars of ASRAN, ACN and ASEAN-BAC organised the ASEAN Responsible Business Forum, a high-level multi-stakeholder regional forum which was held concurrently from 27 to 28 August 2018.