I have been in Thailand this week and certainly the economy is being badly hit by the general economic downturn and a major slump in tourists who evidenced the conflicts earlier in the year. In difficult economic times, reducing the costs of doing business is more important than ever and in today's Bangkok Post there is an article pointing out that electricity and energy costs in general are a significant burden for most companies in the country. Last year the nation spent 1.2 trillion baht (US$35 million) on imported energy, which represents almost 14% of gross domestic product. So the article points to a new green energy strategy, developing alternative or renewable forms of energy, such as biomass, biogas, ethanol-based oil, biodiesel, natural gas for vehicles, wind, solar and waste energy. The benefits to Thailand include less harm to the environment, less global warming, more jobs, more investment and reducing the nation's dependence on imported fossil fuel, especially oil, it claims. The government has a 15-year plan to lift alternative and renewable energy's share of total energy production from 6% today to 20% by 2022. The article says that Thailand's climate and soil provide great opportunities for crops such as rice, sugar cane, palm oil and cassava to be developed into alternative fuels. But what is not discussed at all is the impact on ecosystems, biodiversity and food production to achieve this. It's an old story but one does worry about simple "solutions" continuing to be pushed in the name of "green growth" which could end up being nothing of the kind. You can read the full article here.

A new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) provides a review of the economics of climate change in the Southeast Asian region. It confirms that the region is highly vulnerable to climate change and demonstrates that a wide range of adaptation measures are already being applied. The report also shows that the region has a great potential to contribute to greenhouse gas emission reduction, and that the costs to the region and globally of taking no early action against climate change could be very high. As the largest contributor to the region’s GHG emissions (75 percent in 2000), the land use change and the forestry sector holds the key to successful emissions reductions. This can be achieved by reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation, encouraging afforestation and reforestation, and better forest management, says the report.

The basic policy message from the ADB is that efforts must be made to apply all feasible and economically viable adaptation and mitigation measures as key elements of a sustainable development strategy for Southeast Asia. It also argues that the current global economic crisis offers Southeast Asia an opportunity to start a transition towards a climate-resilient and low-carbon economy by introducing green stimulus programmes that can simultaneously shore up economies, create jobs, reduce poverty, lower carbon emissions, and prepare for the worst effects of climate change.

We are pleased to announce the establishment of the Asian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility at AIT (ACCSR) as a joint venture partnership between the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and CSR Asia. It will be located at AIT in Thailand. The mission of the Centre will be to advance the development and implementation of effective sustainability solutions for and by business as well as to facilitate development of the supportive framework conditions for CSR and sustainable development. ACCSR aims to carry out training, research, consultancy services and eventually deliver a professional Master's degree in CSR. The ACCSR will provide a platform for dialogue and innovation for the representatives of the private sector in seeking creative solutions for the challenging issues of sustainable development.

ACCSR will also create a platform for dialogue among the private sector as well as public sector, government and civil society organisations for the generation of capacity for sustainable business and community development. It will be central to building a knowledge base for CSR in Asia through training and capacity building. The outcome of the ACCSR’s activities would be wider implementation of effective and innovative CSR strategies by the private sector in the Asia-Pacific region and thereby contributing to the sustainable development of the region.

AIT and CSR Asia are now seeking to appoint a Director of the Centre. The position requires someone with leadership skills able to engage the private sector, NGOs, government agencies and donor agencies. The Director will work closely with the academic units within AIT as well as other offices of CSR Asia to develop regional training and education programmes and consultancy services. You can find the job description here.

This dramatic downturn in Thailand's economy, for the first time in more than a decade, is in sharp contrast to the 1990s, when economic growth reached 10% per cent a year, giving it pride of place among the co-called Asian Tigers. The Thai economy has been given negative ratings by a number of agencies. Tourism, an important foreign exchange earner,  and employer of over two milllion people, is in free-fall with at least five countries advising people to stay away. And the latest reports seem to demonstrate a reversal in inward investment resulting from almost three years of turmoil. Moreover, there are now fears of a major investment outflow from Thailand becase of remaining uncertainty. This article, for example, makes the important point that investor confidence will be very hard to get back. Investors are now likely to factor in the negative implications of continued political uncertainty in making their decisions and many analysts are now suggesting it will affect investment in Thailand's important automotive industry, amongst others. A number of banks such as Credit Suisse has advised investors to take profit on Thai investments now. Since the military coup, in September 2006, Thailand's stock market has already declined by 30%. But there is now also growing unemployment in sectors dependent on foreign investment and tourists. The people who are suffering are the ones working (or had worked) in restaurants and bars dependent on visitors. Construction workers are being sent home. Those on low wages working in factories could be next as buyers factor in unrest and move orders to other locations. Vietnam and Indonesia have already been grabbing market share but Cambodia and Bangladesh could also see orders switched from Thailand. There is already evidence of some shift in tourism to the rapidly developing Vietnamese sector and so the unrest might create winners across the border. In the medium term the impact on Thailand's poorest people is highly likely to be negative. But there will also be those who benefit (in other countries).

The Thai government has recently nominated an ad-hoc committee to consider whether incentives should be offered to clean development mechanism (CDM) projects, as proposed by the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation (TGO). Admitting that “Thailand lags behind regional peers where tax incentives are granted for carbon trading,” the Finance Ministry has teamed up with the TGO to research the establishment of a Thailand Carbon Fund, a crucial step “if we don't want to be left behind others in the region.” More here.

The European Union (EU) in cooperation with the Tourism Authority of Thailand are launching CSR-MAP project in order to develop sustainable tourism and create more cooperation of the tourism supply chain with more emphasis on social responsibility between Thailand and EU member countries. More here.

Many people cannot help but be sceptical about the actual intentions of some social responsibility programmes carried out by many public and private organisations in recent years. Reporting is an effective way to tone down such scepticism, but getting measurable results isn't always easy. This article from the Bangkok Post will give you some tips and examples to better report on your sustainability/CSR initiatives.

With its picturesque waterfalls, tranquil waterways and a colony of the endangere Irrawaddy dolphins, the Mekong river flowing through Siphandone (Four Thousand Islands) in southern Laos is about to change. It is threatened by a government plan to build a hydroelectric dam only a few kilometres upstream, a plan that has triggered a cascade of protests from environmental organisations and international scientists. If the dam goes ahead it will have a major impact on a number of rare speces including giant catfish. But Laos is one of the least developed countries in the region, and authorities have been eager to harness one of its few natural resources, an abundance of mountains and surging rivers. The World Bank and the ADB-Asian Development Bank have both pushed the Laotian government to embrace hydropower development and to supply power to their  energy-hungry neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam. More here.