CSR News from around ASEAN

PARTNERS IN RIGHTS - Promoting Regional Environmental Sustainability and Human Rights through Innovative Relationships between Businesses, Civil Society and Governments

(28 May 2015, Embassy of Sweden) - To further promote partnerships between business and other key contributors for regional development, the Embassy of Sweden in Thailand is next week organizing the workshop - “PARTNERS IN RIGHTS - Promoting Regional Environmental Sustainability and Human Rights through Innovative Relationships between Businesses, Civil Society and Governments”

The purpose of the meeting is to explore the development of meaningful partnerships and relations between businesses, CSOs and government to promote poverty alleviation while at same time finding strategies to support sound management of natural resources, respect human rights and improving gender equality.

An important point of departure for the workshop is the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights  (the UN Guiding Principles, UNGPs) as a framework for understanding various actors’ roles and responsibilities to promote poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

The UNGPs are a global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity. In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the UNGPs, making the framework the first corporate human rights responsibility initiative to be endorsed by the United Nations.


To read the original press release, click here. Summary of Day 1. Summary of Day 2.

Promoting Integrity Implementation Initiative in Business

Hanoi, 27 April 2015 │By Ha Vu

(VCCI News) - The Vietnam Office for Business Sustainable Development (SDforB) under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) hosted a meeting to launch the Workshop “Enhancing Integrity Implementation Initiative in Business - Project 12” in Hanoi. The event aimed to introduce the action programme for identifying main issues of businesses in consistency, transparency and consultation of stakeholders in promoting integrity implementation in business and encouraging the involvement of the business community, organisations and agencies for the programme.

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TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL CALLS ON ASEAN TO MAKE ANTI-CORRUPTION MAJOR PART OF ECONOMIC COMMUNITY

New report says ASEAN needs a regional body that makes fighting corruption a priority

Kuala Lumpur, 24 April 2015 – Rampant corruption across Southeast Asia threatens to derail plans for greater economic integration, Transparency International warned in a new report today. ASEAN leaders must create a regional body that integrates anti-corruption principles into the framework of a proposed regional economic community or hopes for shared prosperity, upward mobility and entrepreneurship won’t be fulfilled.

A regional coordinating body, or ASEAN Integrity Community as proposed by Transparency International, is needed to fast track critical anti-corruption policy measures into its existing ASEAN Economic Community framework and the ASEAN post-2020 vision. Otherwise corruption could be fuelled by increased cross-border economic activity. Click here to access the full report, ASEAN Integrity Community: A Vision for Transparent and Accountable Integration 

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CSR: CONNECTING THE PRIVATE SECTOR WITH THE MEDIA

Singapore, 7-8 April - Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and the ASEAN CSR Network (ACN) co-organized the International Conference on CSR: Connecting Private Sector with the Media on 7 – 8 April 2015 at the Pan Pacific Orchard Hotel in Singapore. Attended by about 80 members of the business community, members of civil society, communication professionals and media practitioners from around the region, the first day consisted of the main forum where discussions were held regarding aspects of CSR while the second day consisted of lectures geared towards preparing businesses to engage with the media and report on CSR-Related issues.

To view and download the Report, please click here.

To view and download the Speakers slides, please click here.  

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