Promoting and enabling
responsible business conduct in ASEAN

ACN calls on AEC Deputy Secretary-General to discuss responsible business institutionalisation

On 16 July 2018, the ASEAN CSR Network paid a courtesy call on newly-appointed Deputy Secretary-General for the ASEAN Economic Community, Dr Aladdin D. Rillo in Jakarta, Indonesia. This meeting discussed the framework of strategic partnership on institutionalising Responsible Business in the ASEAN Economic Pillar, to contribute to the achievement of the ASEAN Economic Community 2025 Blueprint.
 

Read  more here.

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ASEAN CSR Fellowship 2018 completes Module 2 in Vietnam

The ASEAN CSR Network, in partnership with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, organised Module 2 of the ASEAN CSR Fellowship between 2 and 6 July 2018, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In this module, Fellows built on their understanding of responsible business as it applies across ASEAN, by following up with Vietnam’s business integrity and anti-corruption initiatives, and explore human rights and labour issues in migration. They were also introduced to the concept of sustainable development and thoroughly examined issues pertaining to the fourth industrial revolution and its impact on responsible business, ethical recruitment, and went through case studies of the cost and benefit analysis of responsible business.

Read more here.

Dorothy Ng, Corporate Communications Manager, Swire Pacific Offshore, a fellow of the ASEAN CSR Fellowship 2018 shared her learning on responsible business from the Fellowship programme in Vietnam.
 

Read Dorothy's sharing here.

ACN signs MOU with RWI to strengthen collaboration on business and human rights and other issues

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The ASEAN CSR Network and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 9 July 2018 in Singapore to strengthen the partnership and set out broad areas of cooperation between the two organisations for the period of April 2018 to December 2021.
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Read more here.

ACN participates in the 7th ASEAN Public-Private-People Partnership Forum on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication

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ACN was invited to participate in the 7th ASEAN Public-Private-People Partnership Forum on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication on 18 July 2018 in Singapore. ACN CEO Thomas Thomas was a speaker at the Forum for Session 3 on “Collaboration and Partnership for an Innovative and Resilient ASEAN”.  He also facilitated the breakout workshop on "Collaborations and Partnerships".

Read more here.
 

ASEAN Responsible Business Forum
(27-28 August 2018, Singapore)

Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi called for global collaboration on climate change at the Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action on 10 July 2018 in Singapore. “The call for global actions on climate change has now become even louder and more urgent. Obviously, there is a need to act collaboratively with shared vision and action by all stakeholders,” he said. To this end, Dato Lim called for strengthened multi-stakeholder partnership and cross-sectoral coordination to realise low carbon and resilient region.

Read more from ASEAN Secretariat here.

Myanmar Government called for private sector investments to manage food safety, and growth in the domestic agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors. “There is a role for the private sector in encouraging the supply and usage of safe quantities of inputs pesticides and veterinary drugs, raising awareness and providing education and training for farmers and enterprises along the food supply chain”, said U Tin Win, Assistant Director at the Plant Protection Division under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation.

Read more from The Myanmar Times here.

Four in five small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based in Singapore are looking into expansion in the ASEAN region, an HSBC-commisioned report by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) revealed.
 

Read more from Singapore Business Review here.

Only 17% of 3 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand have access to commercial bank loans, and as much as 84.2% of the total SME loan portfolio is concentrated in 50,000 operators, says a report by the Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research, a think-tank of the Bank of Thailand.
 

Read more from Bangkok Post here.
 

​Four of largest food companies have launched the Sustainable Food Policy Alliance in the USA, a new organisation focused on driving progress in public policies that shape what people eat and how it impacts their health, communities, and the planet. Founding member companies include Danone North America; Mars, Incorporated; Nestlé USA; and Unilever United States.

Read more from Sustainable Food Policy Alliance here.

Enthusiasm, renewed energy and a positive approach was top of mind as leaders from business, Governments, civil society and the United Nations met at the third annual SDG Business Forum to set a new direction to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Read more from UNGC here.

The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Japan was recently opened by the World Economic Forum alongside inaugural partners Hitachi, Horiba, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, Salesforce, Sompo Holdings and Suntory Holdings. The Tokyo-based centre will bring together leading businesses, start-ups, civil society, academia and international organizations to shape the trajectory of emerging technologies. Its mission is to co-design and pilot new approaches to policy that maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of science and technology.

Find out more here.