หัวข้อข่าว Thai firms top Asean CSR survey – National University of Singapore, Asean CSR Network hail results
ที่มา; THE NATION Issued date 21 September 2016
Itthi C Tan
SINGAPORE
Thailand came in first place among Asean countries in a survey by the respected National University of Singapore (NUS) and Asean CSR Network.
“The findings were surprising to many people who thought Singapore would take the top place,” said Professor Lawrence Loh, director of NUS Business School’s Governance Institute.
In fact, Singapore’s Environment Minister Masagos Zulkifli who spoke at the event had strong words for companies that fail to comply with their CSR contributions.
Masagos said firms that fail to measure up will be given just one warning before action is taken against them.
Dr Loh, a highly accomplished academic, who headed the survey said while Singapore remains the top anti-corruption and business-friendly nation in Asean,its commitment to community work could be better”.
He observed that Thai companies appear to excel in CSR activity, never short of volunteers and programmes to foster community relations.
“Thailand came ahead in the Sustainability Reporting where listed companies are required to publish its CSR contributions.”
Among the Thai names with the highest scores were Advance Info, Intouch,True, PTT, Bangchack, PTTEP, Thai Oil,Charoen Pokphand, Delta Electronics and Electric Generating Company.
“The amount of Thai CSR activities were on average more numerous than other participants. Thais show a much stronger performance qualitatively and quantitatively.”
Thailand also scored the highest marks for a corporate disclosure survey which measured the steps taken by companies to be transparent and in discouraging graft.
Loh said Thai companies took the strongest stance in informing management and staff on compliance with best practice and honesty.
Thai companies were also able to disclose political contributions much more openly where such information was deemed more serious. Many Asean countries are dominated by a single party.
Loh admitted there was some suggestions by some observers to tweak the survey to lift Singapore’s standing.
In flatly rejecting such overtures, Loh said: “This is not the SEA Games, It’s not about medals.”
“The findings will stand and fall where they are. We are objective and balanced,” he added.
The findings were based on the latest information provided in annual company reports that require proof of conduct.
Former Thai diplomat Dr Netithorn Praditsarn, who is now with CP Group, said he was pleased that an objective report has been made that showed a more balanced side about Thai business practices.”Many Thai firms are happy and ready to give back to society.”
He noted that in recent years the Western media tend to paint a negative picture. While some criticisms are justified,there were also cases of exaggerration.
“The most important thing in CSR is to deliver a pragmatic programme for com-panies to follow. Bureaucrats tend to favour huge amounts of paperwork and that hampers the objective.”
Loh agreed that small companies have limited resources and cannot match the manpower of big firms in CSR and disclosures.
“We have to compare apples with apples. One reason less developed countries in Asean could not be included was the lack of listed companies,” Loh said.
Deputy chairperson of the Asean CSR Network Pensri Suteerasarn, who is also president of the Thai ListedCompanies Association, praised the survey for revealing how deeply Thais view CSR.