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CSR awards go to Siam City Cement, Bangchak Bio-fuel
Siam City Cement and Bangchak Bio-fuel have been handed Corporate Social Responsibility-Department of Industrial Works (CSR-DIW) Advance Level 5 awards by the Industry Ministry’s Industrial Works Department.
The CSR-DIW Advance Level 5 Award recognises firms who have put in place sustainable CSR programmes for social, community and environmental protection.
Meanwhile, the efforts of Siam City Cement’s subsidiaries, Geocycle and Siam City Power, have been rewarded with CSR-DIW in Supply Chain Award, and CSR-Continuous Award, respectively.
Pruksa seeds flower, vegetable gardens
Pruksa Real Estate has launched the Pruksa Green Living Community campaign to create a green and fruitful environment at Baan Pruksa 61 Petchakasem 63.
The company’s president and CEO Thongma Vijitpongpun led management and staff in a vegetable-planting ceremony at the Baan Pruksa 61 development, encouraging local homeowners to grow both vegetables and flowers in their gardens.
“We want to create pleasant green surroundings that can also produce food for our residents,” Thongma said.
Prudential invests $10m to tap Africa, Asia
The Social Investments Programme of Prudential has poured US$10 million (Bt316.8 million) into LeapFrog Investments to help fund investments in firms that provide insurance, savings, pensions, investment products and other financial services to emerging consumers in Africa, South and Southeast Asia.
“Providing quality financial services to under-served ciommunities is a compelling investment opportunity for both social and financial reasons,” said Lata Reddy, vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility at Prudential and president of the Prudential Foundation.
LeapFrog, an emerging markets fund manager, has raised an initial $204 million for the LeapFrog Fund II from Prudential and several other of the world’s largest insurers, reinsurers, banks and asset managers. The fund will focus on eight markets in Africa and Asia where financial services growth is nearly 18 per cent annually. LeapFrog’s priority markets are Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana.
Andrew Kuper, LeapFrog Investments’ president and founder, said: “The emerging consumer segment is increasingly attractive. It comprises millions of people eager to join the middle class. Their spending power is forecast by McKinsey & Co to rise from US$2 trillion today to $5 trillion in the coming decade. Financial services are crucial springboards for households and businesses, but access is very limited. LeapFrog backs the best companies to serve this vast and untapped market.”
Prudential’s Social Investments programme supports non-profit and for-profit ventures that share the company’s dedication to creating liveable and sustainable communities. Through socially responsible investments, the programme funds projects that develop and preserve affordable housing, improve access to quality education, and connect neighbourhoods and residents to economic growth opportunities.
“The emerging consumer represents a striking growth opportunity,” said Reddy. “Financial services penetration within this segment is low, the need for products is high, and competition is still limited.”
In 2012, Prudential Social Investments originated almost $80 million and managed $393 million in investments designed to revitalise neighbourhoods and support projects that benefit communities throughout the United States and around the world. Since its inception in 1976, the Social Investments programme has provided more than $1.5 billion in impact investments, which go beyond traditional measures of economic return to include measurable social and environmental benefits.
