from the ground Up

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, Mar 10 2009

CORPORATE social responsibility (CSR) is an essential ingredient of global business culture these days yet it struggles to gain a high profile here.
The problem is not so much that local firms do not promote CSR practices, but rather that Singapore lacks a reporting process so the movement remains “under-developed”, said industry expert Richard Welford yesterday.
Mr Welford, chairman of CSR Asia, which aims to promote CSR throughout Asia, said organisations like stock exchanges could have a key role in encouraging it.
He suggested the Singapore Exchange could start an initiative to get 30 key firms in the Straits Times Index to report their CSR activities and in so doing boost CSR awareness.
The concept involves corporations taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on individuals, communities and the environment, and has been increasingly embraced by firms around the world.
It is also more common for global investors to look for such CSR practices before investing, said Mr Welford. “Local investors might not demand such practices of their local firms. But having good CSR practices is like having a global licence to operate. It takes a company beyond its domestic market.”
While CSR budgets may have shrunk due to the economic crisis, CSR Asia said it has not seen a big decrease in CSR activities in Asia. In fact, the Hong Kong-based firm said a quarter of its clients have stepped up CSR efforts.
CSR Asia released a survey recently which showed the 20 largest Singapore-listed companies have the worst CSR disclosure compared with those in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.
“Singapore firms have some way to catch up. Most of them are doing the right things…they’ve just been a bit conservative talking about it,” said CSR Asia’s Singapore director, Ms Marie Morice.
Ms Morice cited Malaysia as an example of a regional country that legislated last year that all listed companies on Bursa Malaysia must report their CSR efforts.
But Singapore has its CSR champions, she added, citing listed firms like property giant City Developments (CDL) and palm oil player Wilmar International.
CDL managing director Kwek Leng Joo told The Straits Times that although “CSR reporting is still at its infancy in Singapore…companies should be encouraged to voluntarily report their CSR activities…as it helps companies to be more disciplined in tracking performance and to achieve a higher level of corporate transparency in disclosing data”.
“It’s also a means to generate better understanding and goodwill among stakeholders,” he added.