CSR briefs

The Stock Exchange of Thailand is the first Asean exchange to partner with the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (UN SSE Initiative).

It joins another 12 leading exchanges that have publicly committed to promoting sustainable practices, underlining  aims to develop sustainability of the exchange and the Thai capital market in a concrete way.

SET chairman Sathit Limpongpan said in July SET signed the voluntary commitment with the UN SSE Initiative. It will work with investors, companies and regulators to promote long-term sustainability through corporate transparency and performance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues among the listed companies, and encouraging responsible long-term approaches to investment among investors.

In October, SET will share its ambitions for sustainable development during the SSE Global Dialogue to be held in Geneva, Switzerland.

“To be the first exchange in Asean to join the SSE initiative reinforces our regional leadership and will enhance SET’s international recognition,”said Sathit.

“This follows SET’s currently remarkable sustainable development in the region – achieving the top corporate governance score ranked by Asean for two years in a row (2013-2014), Corporate Governance – Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (CGROSE) in 2013 assessed by the World Bank.

“We therefore welcome this initiative as it will allow us to share and learn the best practice with other exchanges,” Sathit said.

SET president Kesara Manchusree said the Thai bourse has created its own sustainability development framework, aiming to enhance all dimensions of quality towards sustainability of the Thai capital market, economy, society, and environment. It would focus on five key areas - market value, business operations, employees, society, and environment. SET would soon establish a working group to substantially construct short, medium, and long-term plans for these five key areas, Kesara said.

 

All five PTT units listed in Dow Jones index

PTT and its four listed subsidiaries are among top companies around the globe in Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) this year.

Last year, three companies in the group were listed – PTT, PTT Global Chemical and Thai Oil. PTT itself is included in both Dow Jones sustainability world index (DJSI World Index) and Dow Jones sustainability emerging markets Index (DJSI Emerging Markets): oil and gas industry, for the third year.

Listed this year in DJSI World is PTT Exploration and Production, while IRPC is included in DJSI Emerging Markets: oil and gas industry.

“It’s our pride that Thai Oil is the industry leader in the DJSI emerging markets sector,” said PTT president Pailin Chuchottaworn.

DJSI World Index tracks economic, environmental and social sustainability performance of global companies. It assesses some 2,500 public companies from around the world, and only 10 per cent of those end up being included in the index. The index helps identify and measure  companies that represent an attractive investment opportunity by demonstrating an ability to manage sustainability issues. The companies were also graded on factors such as climate strategy, labour practices, occupational health and safety, and strategy for emerging markets.

 

Elephants raise a jumbo-sized boost for their welfare

The 13th annual King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament has come to a close after raising Bt28.7 million for the elephant fund and Bt4.5 million from the night’s auction.

A total of 50 street elephants took part in the tournament, during which they were well fed and received essential vitamin supplements, full veterinary checks and care.

Projects to benefit from the 2014 tournament are being finalised and will include an extension of the Thai elephant therapy project being undertaken since 2009 in conjunction with Chiang Mai University’s Department of Occupational Therapy, with future clinics to include children with Downs syndrome and other conditions.

Other significant benefits of the tournament include: building the first elephant hospital in Krabi; a Bt500,000 gantry to help lame elephants stand – donated to the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre; 4,000 trees planted in Hua Hin to shelter elephant corridors from electric fencing ; funding of the first educational computer application for children to teach them the importance of conservation and protection of wild elephants; and funding of Asia’s first workshop to show traditional elephant trainers and camp owners the benefits of positive reinforcement training for domesticated elephants.

The tournament was introduced in 2001 by Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas and has grown to become one of the biggest charitable events in Thailand, raising funds for projects that better the lives of Thailand’s elephant population.

 

FedEx Express turns to community help

FedEx Express (FedEx) will launch its seventh annual FedEx Cares Week in Asia Pacific between September 20-28. About 1,000 volunteers from 12 Asia-Pacific markets (Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam) are taking part in 36 community initiatives across the region.

This year’s projects include cooking for the needy, spending time with autistic children, cleaning up local neighbourhoods and raising awareness of green issues, among others.

“FedEx is committed to making a positive contribution wherever we do business, and we strive to be a great place to work,” said David L Cunningham Jr, president, FedEx Express Asia Pacific. The FedEx Cares Week was first launched in the US in 2005 and has expanded to more than 64 countries and territories.

 

CSR award for Dow Chemical Thailand

The Dow Chemical sustainable industry project by Dow Thailand has won the “2014 Asian CSR Award” in Environmental Excellence, marking the first award in this category for Thailand. This year’s competition attracted a total of 109 projects from 12 countries in Asia.

Initiated in 2011, the “Dow Chemical for Sustainable Industry” is a long-term collaboration with the Thailand Environment Institute Foundation and the Ministry of Industry’s Department of Industrial Promotion, and the Thai-US Creative Partnership.

The project aims to introduce the principles of “Lean Management for the Environment” to Thailand’s industrial sectors to enhance competitiveness, improve their environmental standards and promote higher efficiency in management and manufacturing.

In 2014, the project has extended its counselling programme to environmental management and production quality improvement based on the principles of lean management for the environment. The in-depth coaching by lean management gurus aims to improve the working processes of 20 participating Thai SMEs.

In the next phase, the project will expand to the tertiary education sector and provide training and promote practice in order to develop graduates with skills for the country’s industrial sector, Jirasak Singmaneechai, managing director of Dow Thailand, said.

The Asian CSR awards programme was conceived by the Asian Institute of Management-Ramon V del Rosario, Sr Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility in 2003 to honour Asian organisations that embody the principles of corporate responsibility in their business philosophy and operations.