The Asian Forum on CSR – improving the ways that companies contribute to sustainable development - By Paul Wedel

This week I will be attending the annual Asian Forum on Corporate Responsibility (AFCSR) in the Philippines and will be blogging on the talks, workshops and discussions at the forum. This is the 10^th year that the AFCSR has brought together leading thinkers on AFCSR from the corporate, government, academic and non-profit sectors in Asia. 

The theme this year is “Strategic CSR: Creating Shared Value” – promoting the key idea that CSR is not something additional to regular business, not something done for short-term PR value, but is an integral part of the long-term corporate business strategy. The forum this year will have five core topics:

• Assessment of the firm – its internal culture, objectives and capabilities – and the external environment – government regulation, public perception and industry structure
• Implementation of CSR – focused on the ways that companies best carry out activities connected with its environmental and social responsibilities
• Monitoring and evaluation – looking at ways that companies track and evaluate their CSR activities for accurate reporting and continual improvement
• Embedding CSR within the corporation – making it a permanent and integral part of the company’s approach to business
• Moving forward – learning from past experience to improve CSR performance in the future

These topics will be covered in a two-day series of plenary speeches, small group workshops, panel discussions and debates. I will blog on the highlights of the sessions that I attend as well as the presentation I will make on CSR partnering among corporations, government agencies and non-profits.

Another key part of the annual forum is the Asian CSR Awards Program that recognizes Asian companies for outstanding, innovative and world-class CSR services, projects and programs. Awards will be given in four areas of social responsibility:

• Poverty Alleviation
• Health Enhancement
• Environmental Excellence
• Education Improvement

As one of the judges for the Poverty Alleviation award, I reviewed a large number of corporate programs that indicate growing integration of company strategy with CSR. Many of these programs made clear and significant contributions to employment and income for poor people. It will be interesting to see which companies win the other awards and whether there has been progress in the development of CSR programs on health, environment and education.