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  Business Times 21 Apr 07
Firms back corporate social responsibility
Notable companies pledge support for UN Global Compact
By Pamela Chew

Today Online 21 Apr 07
41 S'pore firms pledge responsibility
Gracia Chiang

Channel NewsAsia 20 Apr 07
S'pore companies pledge commitment to corporate social responsibility

SINGAPORE: 41 Singapore companies have pledged their commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR). They inked the United Nation Global Compact (UNGC) letter, promising to support values like human rights and fair labour standards in the workplace.

The event is part of the Business for the Environment Global Summit, which ended on Friday.

According to the UN, companies have to pay attention to ethical values in the environmental and social spheres as investors place more premium on those that embrace fair practices.

George Kell, Executive Director, UN Global Compact, said: "For companies operating increasingly on a global and regional level, the importance of an ethical compass is obvious. "Failure to do so would mean not being able to manage risk and running the potential threat of doing things wrong and causing a huge damage to the brand."

So UN Global Compact started an initiative to encourage businesses to support socially responsible values.

The UN Global Compact Letter hopes to give the companies a more "human face" and empower them to make a difference in their workplace.

Mr Kell said: "The UNGC promotes 10 universal principles covering areas of human rights, workplace, environment and anti-corruption. It's voluntary and it calls upon business leaders to embrace the principles to make a commitment and to translate this commitment into practical actions, strategies and operations."

Some 3,000 businesses in 80 countries have pledged support to this cause.

In Singapore, 41 companies have also joined the initiative. They include names like NTUC FairPrice, Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts, Citibank Singapore and MediaCorp.

Alice Tan, Chief Marketing Officer, MediaCorp, said: "CSR reminds us that there's another world out there. All the things we're doing as CSR are purely voluntary."

Companies which have committed their support will have to share, on an annual basis, how their corporate social responsibility actions are implemented. - CNA/so

Today Online 21 Apr 07
41 S'pore firms pledge responsibility
Gracia Chiang

Forty-one companies in Singapore have pledged to make social responsibility their business under a United Nations (UN) initiative — but they ought to know that this is not just a "free ride", said the executive head of the UN Global Compact.

Speaking to reporters, Mr George Kell stressed that by signing a letter addressed to the UN Secretary-General, these companies' "commitment must be translated into action".

"We are delisting participants that do not disclose, in a public manner, progress made," said Mr Kell, who was speaking at the signing ceremony on Friday attended by senior executives from companies such as SingTel, MediaCorp, BizLink Centre and Senoko Power.

More than 500 of about 4,000 global participants have been removed from the UN Global Compact network in the past six months.

Employers on this "inactive" list include India's national carrier Air India and Ernst & Young in Brazil.

Although a voluntary movement, participants are expected to prepare an annual Communication on Progress that describes the ways in which they are implementing the 10 principles of human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption.

Ms Claire Chiang, president of the Singapore Compact for Corporate Social Responsibility, said: "Companies that have the trust and respect of their stakeholders are likely to work better and be sustainable in the long run."

Friday's event brought the total number of signatories in Singapore to 62. The target is to hit 100 by the year's end, added Ms Chiang.

The Singapore Compact was co-founded in 2005 by national tripartite partners such as the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation. Two more NTUC cooperatives, Healthcare and Thrift, signed the UN compact on Friday.

Besides being accountable to the community, participating companies felt it was important to reach out to it. MediaCorp's chief marketing officer Alice Tan said its corporate social responsibility steering committee was set up only last year, but since then, interest has been growing among the staff to "give back to society from the heart".

She described how volunteers had worked with Habitat for Humanity to build homes in Batam and organised activities for hospices and homes.

Business Times 21 Apr 07
Firms back corporate social responsibility
Notable companies pledge support for UN Global Compact
By Pamela Chew

THE second leg of the Global Business Summit for the Environment 2007 (B4E) started on a high yesterday, as 41 Singapore-based companies pledged their support for the United Nations Global Compact.

The companies will support the corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement by upholding 10 principles in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption as signatories to the Compact.

Those who signed included notable names such as SingTel, Senoko Power, NTUC, ABN Amro, Citibank and Philips Electronics.

Singapore Compact for CSR president Claire Chiang said the signing ceremony marks the beginning of a 'journey of learning' and the Singapore Compact 'aims to have 100 companies pledge support by the end of the year'.

Calling the companies 'comrades of the Global Compact', Ms Chiang said she hopes more will follow their example.

During the B4E panel discussions, the same refrain from the day before was heard - calls for companies to work with non-government organisations (NGOs) and governments. Panelists discussed lessons gained through successful partnerships between businesses, governments and NGOs.

Development Alternatives Group president Arun Kumar, who moderated the panel discussion on Creating Win-Win Partnerships for the Environment, said there is a need to focus on social equity, especially 'with the immense growth in Asia and the resulting uneven distribution of wealth in China and India'.

Dr Kumar said that while NGOs and businesses are traditional adversaries, 'it's time to set aside difference to cooperate for a greater good'. He drew on India as an example, highlighting how an NGO-led campaign drummed up public interest that 'forced the government to change from diesel to natural gas for the public transport system'.

World Wide Fund for Nature Asia-Pacific programme director Isabelle Louis said: 'The private sector is a key player and the sector has, over the years, moved from avoidance of corporate responsibility to risk management to creating win-win situations at present'.

APRIL president and chief executive officer AJ Devanesan said: 'NGOs lend credibility to businesses by being observers to ethical and responsible practices.'

But NGOs can only do so much, even when collaborating with businesses, he said. 'There is a need to engage governments and communities too - a multi-stakeholder initiative is essential for good corporate governance.'
links
UN urges Asia to invent products and technologies to save environment
Channel NewsAsia 19 Apr 07

Related articles on Singapore: general environmental issues
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