In a very literal sense Thailand has introduced new guidance where companies need to do CSR in order to retain their licence to operate.  The National Telecommunication Commission has this week warned private operators that their 3G licences could be taken away from them if they do not abide by consumer protection laws.  The CSR issues companies are expected to manage covers issues such as junk mail management, consumer health and contingency planning.  This is another part of the general trend in Asia whereby regulators are expecting CSR as a minimum requirement in order to do business.

This Friday we will be officially launching the CSR Asia Tokyo office.   The launch is very kindly hosted by Bloomberg and cocktails follow the session in which Richard (CSR Asia Chairman),  Mr. Daisuke Shintani, Mr. Seji Kawazoe and Mr Peter Pedersen will all be speaking.  The session will be translated simultaneously and promises to be an interesting event.  Richard, Makiko and myself (Erin), hope that if you are in Tokyo you can join us for the event.  If you would like to know more please contact Makiko in our Tokyo office.

The CSR Asia Summit is now just two months away and spaces are filling up fast. There are keynote addresses from Cathay Pacific, Citi, Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing, ANZ and CPA Australia. Numbers are limited and the Summit on 14th and 15th September will the most innovative and cutting edge conference that we have organised.

Summit workshops topics include:

• Carbon disclosure
• Millennium Development Goals
• Climate change
• Disaster preparedness
• Asian transnational corporations
• Investor perspectives and ESG issues
• Community investment
• Sustainable value chains
• Corporate governance
• Developing a CSR strategy for your company
• HIV/AIDS
• Sustainable ingredients
• Reporting
• The Asian Sustainability Rating

Our innovative CSR Bazaar sessions will include shorter presentations on:

• Community investment measurement
• Water issues
• Biodiversity
• Consumer issues
• Communications for CSR

Half-day pre- and post-training  sessions include

• ISO26000
• Social media
• Carbon footprinting
• Measuring community investment
• Stakeholder engagement

 

-  Is religious intolerance the new racism? 
-  Companies neglecting biodiversity issues despite huge business opportunities 
-  The problem with traffic - the case of Malaysia
-  Shared Responsibility - how MNCs and SMEs can work together

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-  Lonely workers and suicide: What can responsible companies do? 
-  FIFA fails to score at the World Cup 
-  The Heat is on: surging temperatures, power cuts and social responsibility in Vietnam?
-  Even a doghouse needs a blueprint: Part 2 - Partnership Design Assessment Tools & Tips

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-  Sexual harassment in the Chinese workplace
-  Are trafficked humans and criminal labour brokers part of your supply chain?
-  Beauty is Only Skin Deep
-  Opportunities for CSR under the 10th Malaysia Plan

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-  Dubai - SME stakes in CSR
-  Climate change, poverty and refugees: A 10 point agenda for business 
-  Key risks facing beverage industry

Announcement: The next issue of CSR Asia Weekly will be published on 23 June due to the Dragon Boat Festival holiday (16 June) in Hong Kong.

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-  The Price of Oil
-  CSR Asia in Australia – Our Journey Down Under
-  What can we believe?
-  Green Expo 2010 Shanghai China

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With over a million hits on YouTube, one Indonesian toddler has become very popular.... for smoking.  Living in the Indonesian Island of Sumatra the family are arguably the victims of (behind a gross lack of common sense) weak regulations. Indonesia is the only country in Southeast Asia not to have signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which critics argue has enabled tobacco companies to target young Indonesians with advertising and events promotions.  As this article reports: Anti-smoking initiatives have floundered in the face of the powerful local tobacco industry, which employs scores of thousands of people and generates more than six billion dollars a year for the government. A bill establishing tobacco as an addictive substance was about to be signed into law last year when officials realised the pertinent clause had been mysteriously deleted. The case is under investigation.  The government has increased excise taxes but prices remain extremely low by international standards, with a pack of 20 costing little more than a dollar.  Even so, studies have shown that poor families spend more on cigarettes than on books and education. In another blow to anti-tobacco activists, lawmakers have strongly opposed a plan to cut cigarette production by five percent to about 248 billion sticks this year on the grounds that it would hurt local producers."  Is this clip the smoking gun for the industry in Indonesia?

This morning's Standard has this story:

Honda Motor said yesterday production would be halted at its four vehicle manufacturing plants in China at least until today after they were shut by a labor dispute at a key parts facility.

The workers want a pay raise. Expect to see more of the same in manufacturing...

-  Is online reporting the way forward?
-  What can business learn from Thailand’s turmoil? Commercial enterprise bears high cost from social inequality
-  From Dafen Lisa to Foxconn: Two tales of migrant workers
- Toxic chemicals: Everyone at risk

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-  The value of a sustainability reporting in Malaysian public agencies 
-  Urban competitiveness and CSR
-  The dilemma of female college graduates in China
-  The caste system and CSR

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Hundreds of thousands of Cambodian children rely on the most dangerous forms of child labour to support themselves, yet the daunting goal of ending domestic child labour by 2016 may be within reach, according to a new plan to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. The document underlines the challenges Cambodia faces in stopping an estimated 300,000 children from working in occupations seen as among the most hazardous. But it also suggests Cambodia has made some initial strides. A global ILO report released this week urges countries and NGOs to refocus efforts to reduce child labour. By releasing its road map this week, Cambodia has already taken an initial step, says this report. Nevertheless, the ILO report warns that although child labour has continued to decline worldwide, the pace of this reduction has slowed. Roughly 215 million children remain trapped as child labourers, including 115 million in hazardous occupations.

-  Business, biodiversity and the South Asian River Dolphin 
-  Sustainability Reporting in ASEAN - Who is doing it and what do readers want?
-  The palm oil debate - how do we create a sober debate?
-  The IMC Index for Chinese brands

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Last Thursday, another worker from Foxconn committed suicide in the company’s Shenzhen factory. This led to more accusations against the company. Insiders this week have now stated, according to a local report, that in response Foxconn invited three senior monks from Mount Wutai (one of the Four Sacred Mountains in Chinese Buddhism) to deliver a Buddhist memorial service. The company denied this was related to superstitious beliefs, and that they only want to pray for their workers and ease "long term tension" among them. See full story here (in Chinese only).

-  The rise of the Asian multinational 
-  When the unthinkable happens - how prepared will you be?
-  Rural pollution: A forgotten issue in China
-  Even a doghouse needs a blueprint

If you'd like to be included in our e-mailout list, click here to subscribe. We upload and email CSR Asia Weekly out every Wednesday.