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RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS CONDUCT
in THAILAND
Dr. Pipat Yodprudtikan
Thaipat Institute
2-3 NOVEMBER 2009
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE CENTRE
BANGKOK, THAILAND
Almost all research studies conducted by international agencies have
concluded that the CSR in Thailand mostly involves donations and
community volunteering.
In fact, the RBC/CSR practices in Thailand have significantly advanced
from their origin. The important factors that cause the CSR studies in
Thailand from the international views limit to above activities consist of
the following:
• Lack of current resources in English. Almost all information on CSR
activities and movement in Thailand are written in Thai making it
difficult for foreign researchers to conduct studies. Even the recent
studies still rely on outdated information sources in English, making
it inaccurate in concluding CSR development in Thailand.
• Use of surveys and polls has certain limitation by sample size and
population dispersion. These factors are necessary conditions for
processing the output in macro view. Specifically, for analyzing the
different characteristics of CSR development between large
enterprises versus small and medium enterprises, or between
business in urban and rural areas.
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In Thailand, the total number of all types
of enterprises in 2008 was 2,836,377
• 0.2%
-> Large Enterprises (4,586)
• 99.7% -> SMEs (2,827,633)
• 0.1%
-> unclassified (4,158)
Source: NSO/OSMEP, 2008.
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Distribution of Enterprises by Region
Large Enterprises
SMEs
Unclassified
2%
Provincial
Area
30%
Bangkok
and Vicinity
29%
Bangkok and
Vicinity
70%
Provincial
Area
69%
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Distribution of GDP by Enterprise Size in 2008
Agriculture
12%
Others
4%
3.45 trillion
Baht
4.21 trillion
Baht
Large
Enterprises
46%
SMEs
38%
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Distribution of Employment by Enterprise Size in 2007
Large
Enterprises
24%
2.81 million
8.9 million
SMEs
76%
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The statistics by region, GDP value, and employment rate
between large-sized enterprises and small and mediumsized enterprises for analyzing CSR movement in Thailand
showed that:
• Both LEs and SMEs play a major role in the country’s GDP
value.
• SMEs create employment more than 3 times of LEs.
• The trend of CSR movement in most LEs (70%) should
occur in Bangkok and vicinity, while movement in most
SMEs (70%) should occur in the provincial areas.
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Thaipat Institute has conducted a
survey on CSR awareness in 76
provinces all over Thailand
through the training forum under
CSR Campus project in 2009,
sponsored by three corporations:
CAT Telecom, DTAC, and Toyota.
There
were
about
6,300
participants involved.
CSR awareness in Thailand
Very high (0.7364 to 0.9589)
High (0.514 to 0.7364)
Medium (0.2917 to 0.514)
Low (0.0692 to 0.2917)
In Bangkok and vicinity area,
69.54% showed awareness of
CSR and 30.46% are unaware of
CSR. In the provincial region,
38.32% showed the awareness
and 61.68% are unaware. The
survey had a total of 4,350
respondents.
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Coverage of OECD Guidelines Issues
OECD MNE
Guidelines
ILO MNE
Declaration
UN
Global Compact
GRI
SEC
Guidelines
General Principles
P
P
P
P
P
Disclosure
P
P
P
P
Employment
P
P
P
P
P
Human Rights
P
P
P
P
P
Environment
P
P
P
P
Bribery
P
P
P
Consumer Interests
P
P
P
Competition
P
P
Taxation
P
P
P
(Anti-Corruption)
Note: Adapted from overview of selected initiatives and instruments relevant to corporate social responsibility, OECD, Page 12.
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Cross-Sectoral and Sectoral or Regional Initiatives
1. Private sector CSR initiatives - major initiatives include the Thai Business
Council for Sustainable Development or TBCSD (1993), Thailand Responsible
Care (1996), Social Venture Network Asia (Thailand) or SVN-Thailand
(1997), and CSR Club (2009);
2. Government-developed CSR initiatives - major initiatives include Thai
Corporate Social Responsibility Requirement (according to Thai Labor
Standard: TLS.8001-2546) or TCSR (2003) Corporate Social Responsibility:
Department of Industrial Works (according to ISO 26000) or CSR-DIW
(2008), and Social Responsibility Mark or SR Mark (2009);
3. Non-governmental CSR initiatives - major initiatives include Population
and Community Development Association or PDA (1974), The Network: NGO
and Private Sector Cooperation for Sustainable Development (2004), and
Thai CSR Network (2005).
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The Way Forward…
NCP: the effective tool for promoting RBC in Thailand
Four recommendations for taking CSR forward
1. Strengthen understanding of CSR on accuracy and
thorough basis
2. Integrate CSR throughout the organization
3. Communicate CSR on factual and timely basis
4. Pursue sectoral initiatives in industries having significant
impact on country economy
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1. Strengthen understanding of CSR on
accuracy and thorough basis
Action Points:
1.
2.
3.
Government should promote in educating CSR knowledge through
various media to create awareness, and support training activities,
especially for SMEs.
Private sector should cooperate as a learning network in CSR
organized by a host such as Federation of Thai Industries, and the
Thai Chamber of Commerce as a facilitator since they have member
base nationwide.
To encourage the academia, particularly higher education institutes,
to produce textbooks, and learning materials in CSR, including
creating academic exchange and producing CSR research by
partnering with international institutes.
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2. Integrate CSR throughout the organization
Action Points:
1.
2.
3.
Government should create a positive environment for CSR practices
by creating incentives or positive measures to support the
integration of CSR in business processes to enhance responsible
business practices in broader context .
Business should define appropriate CSR strategies for the
organization, including competency that support CSR practices and
inline with the company potential.
Develop a management system and measures in various levels of
enterprises including line of work as a tool for diffusing CSR
practices throughout the organization.
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3. Communicate CSR on factual and timely
basis
Action Points:
1.
2.
3.
Government should create tools to monitor and control media usage
in misconduct, propaganda that builds an incorrect understanding
or a severe negative impact to the society.
Businesses should assess the communication performance on CSR in
the way that they will not diminish real value of CSR performance.
Also taking into account the communication in respond to relevant
stakeholder interest.
Media should serve as a gate keeper to provide good examples to the
society and actively filters misappropriate content.
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4. Pursue sectoral initiatives in industries
having significant impact on country economy
Action Points:
1.
2.
3.
Government should encourage the export business, especially in
machinery, electrical equipment and automobiles to prepare or
participate in the relevant sectoral initiatives.
SMEs in the export business may be affected by CSR measures form
foreign business partners. It is important to focus on standards and
guidelines especially those in jewelry and gems, plastic, and rubber
industries.
Agencies like Federation of Thai Industries or Thai Chamber of
Commerce should work towards building knowledge and
understanding of new global trade context and how it is being
affected by CSR factors for their members
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