CSR – Its Place in Business and the World

March 19, 2010
8:30 am	to	4:30 pm

Venue: Orchard Hotel, Orchard Ballroom 3, 442 Orchard Road, Singapore 238879

Jointly organized by ISEAS and the EU Delegation to Singapore, the aim of the seminar is to examine the notion of CSR and the importance of involving all stakeholders. The seminar will also identify the real challenges a company might face when implementing a CSR strategy and, more broadly, facilitate an exchange of views from companies from Asia and Europe. This would allow businesses to take advantage of the diversity of views and experiences so as to further enhance their companies’ global strategies.

For details and registration, visit the European Union Delegation to Singapore website.

Source: European Union Delegation to Singapore

New Book on CSR for Sustainability and Success

The new book “CSR for Sustainability and Success” by Singapore Compact was launched during the International Singapore Compact CSR Summit held last week. The book features the CSR journey and experiences of 10 local and global companies with operations in Singapore.

The 10 companies (listed below) are in the following industries: food and beverage, retail, financial services, telecommunications, property development and management, construction, steel and energy.

• Cerebos Pacific Limited
• Citi
• City Developments Limited
• Holcim (Singapore) Pte Ltd
• NatSteel Holdings Pte Ltd
• NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Limited
• PowerSeraya Ltd
• SembCorp Industries Limited
• Shell Group of Companies
• Singapore Telcommunications Limited

In the book, each company shares its insight on adopting CSR – the company’s motivation, process, programmes, results, impacts, challenges and opportunities during the CSR journey. The business case for CSR was mentioned by the companies and they find that CSR provides business opportunities and is critical to business success.

The book also highlights 3 key challenges and suggests what can be done for each challenge:

1. Getting Started

Companies may face a lack of understanding and knowledge on CSR, lack of interest within the organisation and by stakeholders, and also resource constraints to get started.

Some solutions:

• Form a cross-functional CSR working group with commitment and leadership from top management
• Refer to relevant national programmes and policies, and what other companies are doing in the same industry
• Define what is important to the company and stakeholders, and form clear targets and milestones
• Discuss and develop the CSR policy and strategy at the department and group levels

2. Operationalising CSR

Companies may find it difficult to translate vision and mission into CSR policies and actions throughout the company and stakeholders.

Some solutions:

• Require top management to lead, drive change and be role models
• Ensure perseverance to embed policies and practices across the organisation
• Have clear roles and responsibility and a reporting structure
• Include tools, policies and processes for stakeholders to act
• Include measures and channels to communicate and engage with stakeholders

3. Sustaining the CSR Journey

Companies may find it difficult to maintain management commitment, employee awareness and buy-in, meet the needs and expectations of diverse stakeholders, ensuring focused efforts and measuring impacts.

Some solutions:

• Emphasize the importance of ongoing engagement and sharing of info among employees and stakeholders
• Educate, involve and empower stakeholders in the CSR and sustainability journey

If your company or organisation is starting on your CSR journey, this book gives useful examples and case studies on CSR strategies, policies and practices based on the Singapore context.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Singapore: Awareness and Implementation

The awareness and implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Singapore has been increasing over the past four years since the formation of the Singapore Compact, a national society promoting CSR in Singapore.

What is CSR? Some companies associate CSR with charity and philanthropy, but CSR actually goes beyond that. According to Singapore Compact:

Corporate Social Responsibility is essentially about businesses doing well and doing good at the same time. CSR is about the long term strategy of aligning business strategy and operations with universal values to achieve positive and sustainable outcomes for customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities, other stakeholders and as well as the environment.

Through the implementation of CSR, companies can reap benefits and improve profits. Mr Koh Juan Kiat, Vice-President of Singapore Compact and Executive Director of Singapore National Employers’ Federation explains:

Adopting CSR brings intangible benefits such as a good reputation for the company, high morale among employees and improved performance and attracts investors. Employees will also take greater pride in their company and this will affect productivity.

In 2008, survey findings by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) show that out of the 507 Singapore-based enterprises surveyed, 40% of the respondents were aware of the term CSR. Of the CSR-aware respondents, two-thirds have implemented CSR activities.

To date, 240 organisations have joined Singapore Compact and are implementing CSR practices. These organisations include large corporations, SMEs, co-operatives, unions, federations and NGOs. In addition, 70 companies have signed up as signatories to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) network in Singapore.

Despite the growing awareness and implementation, CSR in Singapore is still in its infant stage and more needs to be done. As such, Singapore Compact will hold an inaugural International Singapore Compact CSR Summit from 6 to 7 October at Orchard Hotel. The conference will cover topics such as:

• CSR and the Community: The Role of Corporate Foundations
• CSR Global Trends
• CSR: Strategy for Sustainability and Success
• Investor’s Perspectives on CSR
• CSR and Sustainable Development – The Environment and Beyond
• CSR – what can be done?

This is a good and timely opportunity for your company to understand more about CSR and how to implement CSR in your organisation. Visit http://csrsummit.csrsingapore.org/ for details and registration.

Interview with Thomas Thomas, Executive Director, Singapore Compact for CSR

This interview with Thomas Thomas, Executive Director, Singapore Compact for CSR, is submitted by the organisers of the International Singapore Compact CSR Summit.

1. What are your hopes for International Singapore Compact CSR Summit that will be taking place from 6-7 October 2009 at Orchard Hotel?

I hope that there will be a surge in CSR awareness and implementation in Singapore and this will in turn act as an impetus for the region. The ideas and discussions leading from the Summit will motivate and ingrain the values and principles of CSR. It will result in better managed companies that take into account the interest of stakeholders and a better world for all. Read more

International Singapore Compact CSR Summit

October 6, 2009

to

October 7, 2009

Held at Orchard Hotel, Singapore from 6-7 October, the inaugural International Singapore Compact CSR Summit is the region’s premier educational and networking platform for leading professionals in raising the awareness and understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for sustainability and success in their organisation.

With the theme “Strategy for Sustainability and Success”, the event will explore on learning how to plan measure and implement Corporate Social Responsibility strategies in your organisation and discover best practices, sustainable development and excellence.

This timely conference brings together experts from various sectors to address regional and international trends in CSR, and also provide an opportunity for participants to network amongst professionals and thought leaders, and benchmark against proven best practices.

Who Should Attend:

• Business leaders
• Decision and policy makers
• Directors/managers
• CSR and HSE professionals
• Senior management executives
• Management consultants
• Union leaders
• Co-operative leaders
• Academics/researchers who are interested in elements of CSR and relevant international standards: corporate governance, environment, labour, supply chain, community investment, health and safety and many more

For more information, please visit http://csrsummit.csrsingapore.org.

Singapore Compact

10 Hoe Chiang Road

#22-01 Keppel Towers

Singapore 089315

Tel: +65-6827-6825

Fax: +65-6827-6802

Email: summit@csrsingapore.org

The Future of Corporate Responsibility

November 25, 2008
12:15 pm	to	1:30 pm

Speaker: Jem Bendell, Director, Lifeworth Consulting, Associate Professor, Griffith Business School

Venue: Seminar Room 2-2, Level 2, Manasseh Meyer, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, 469C Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259772

This seminar discusses corporate responsibility trends and the implications for research, policy and management. Details and registration at the LKYSPP website.

40% of Companies in Singapore are Aware of Corporate Social Responsibility

The National CSR Survey was released yesterday by the Singapore Compact for CSR, together with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Singapore Business Federation. The survey was conducted with about 500 companies, both large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and measured their awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR), including what it meant to the company, the importance of CSR, and the challenges they faced.

The survey showed that 40% of the companies are aware of CSR and the awareness level among the large companies is twice that of the SMEs. Among the companies that are aware of CSR, about two-thirds have implemented CSR in areas such as sustainable development, fair employment and corporate philanthropy. Their main motivation was due to their corporate culture and to increase branding. The other one-third who did not implement CSR felt that it was not relevant to their business or because they lacked the funding and training resources.

The release of the survey was accompanied by panel discussions, which reflected on the survey findings and discussed action plans to boost the CSR movement in Singapore. We share the following insights from the discussion that we think are fundamental and important:

• CSR is not what you do with your profits but how you make your profits.
• CSR is an integral part of the business and should be internalised in every aspect of the business, with everyone from top down to bottom up understanding CSR and being involved.
• A CSR champion is required in the company and the champion can be from any department. The person need not be from the HR department or from a specialised CSR department.
• A collaborative CSR effort is needed in Singapore for the various organisations and government agencies in Singapore to come together, understand each other, work together and share resources and experiences together.
• Funding for CSR training and capacity building would be useful for companies, especially for SMEs, to embrace CSR.

Source: The Straits Times via Wildsingapore.