More Ways of Fighting Poverty

One of the 30 topics during the November 19-20, 2009 Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR) 2009 was on “Communities and Companies: Waging War Against Poverty.” While all the 30 topics merited attendance, I had to choose one session (and I chose this) given the limited time I had out of the office. Besides, our very own Prof. Nieves Confesor was session moderator and she was also presenting AIM’s own initiative into this fight against poverty. The initiative is funded by the ASEAN Foundation through the Japan-ASEAN Solidarity Fund, and developed in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank Regional Technical Assistance Report (ADB RETA) on Regional Knowledge and Partnership Networks on Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Growth. Entitled “Mainstreaming Poverty Alleviation Initiatives among ASEAN-member countries, it features 10 case studies of firms involved in poverty reduction. In presenting these case studies, the project hopes to actively and constructively engage the ASEAN nations for stronger people-to-people interaction and collaboration among private and public sector organizations, especially those involved in poverty alleviation initiatives.

The session’s three speakers included Mr. Shahid Zahid of the Asian Development Bank, Mr. Puvan Selvanathan of Sime Darby Malaysia, and Mr. Jose Marie Oquinena of Gawad Kalinga (Philippines). In the course of the thousands of projects that ADB implements towards its core objective of poverty reduction around the world, Mr. Zahid emphasized the bank’s guiding principles of corporate governance, concern for the environment, and socially-responsible behavior. Ms. Selvanathan likewise underscored the need for companies to be socially-responsible. As an architect by profession, Mr. Selvanathan is “architecturing” sustainable projects at Sime Darby and likewise encourages everybody to consider the “Next 100 Years” in all their actions. Ninety percent of Sime Darby’s profits come from non-Malaysian assets and operations and therefore, the company also conscientiously takes care of the global environment that makes their operations possible. For his part, Mr. Oquinena shared with the group how Gawad Kalinga has been building not only houses for the poor but transforming poor communities into sustainable neighborhoods.

Now on its eighth year, the AFCSR held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (Philippines) drew almost 500 participants from the region for two days of learning and idea-sharing on how to contribute in efforts to improve societies. Themed “Sustaining CSR in Difficult Times: How business can benefit and why it still makes business sense,” it was organized by the AIM’s Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Center for Corporate Social Responsibility. The Center likewise recognizes and honors Asian companies for outstanding, innovative and world-class products, services, projects and programs through its Asian CSR Awards. Winners should demonstrate the company’s leadership, sincerity and on-going commitment in incorporating ethical values, compliance with legal requirements, respect for individuals, involvement in communities and protection of the environment into the way they do business.

-Nonette Climaco, International Marketing and Relationship Management