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BANGKOK, July 27, 2012 - (ACN Newswire) - This year Bangkok will host the 11th AFCSR on October 25 & 26, Thursday & Friday. Following ten successful conference runs in six of Southeast Asia's major cities - Manila, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore, the Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR) continues to be at the forefront of CSR development in Asia.
The AFCSR is recognized as the largest and most significant conference on CSR in Asia, this is evident by the number of delegates who have attended the conference through the years (please see the conference statistics on the third page of this document). The forum is extremely well supported and attended, not just by the business sector but by government officials, the academe, civil society, media, and multinational and multilateral organizations operating in Asia.
AFCSR 2012 Theme: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO CREATE VALUE FOR BUSINESS AND SOCIETY
There is a rising trend over the past decade to apply innovations in CSR not only to enhance the firm's CSR strategy but also to create value among both internal and external stakeholders. Many of the CSR-related innovations focus on products and technologies that benefit the rural poor communities. Indeed, one global corporation runs such an award every year.
However, innovations not only involve products and technology but also supply-chain processes and multi-stakeholder engagement. This broader scope for CSR innovations energizes the organization (internally) and builds goodwill among (external) stakeholders. For example, technological innovation drives the effort to build "green cities." Product innovations allow corporations to meet the needs of the consumers at the bottom of the pyramid. Supply-chain processes reduce waste increase quality and raise incomes among small and medium enterprises. And new approaches to engaging multiple stakeholders with their own agenda enhance partnerships and sustain networks that build shared value.
AFCSR 2012 builds on its previous themes of increasing competitiveness and embedding strategy for the firm through CSR by focusing on CSR-related innovations. As in last year's AFCSR 2011, AFCSR 2012 will offer a general framework on the design and structure of the theme of "Innovative Approaches to Create Value for Business and Society." For example, experience with business innovations suggests a slow but progressive build-up from a small group of enthusiastic early adaptors to the broader mass market. One objective of AFCSR 2012 is to explore ways and means to accelerate the process of CSR innovation so that more stakeholders benefit much earlier. The most innovative pro-poor product or CSR community-program still requires a framework to develop the innovation and generate stakeholder buy-in.
There are four Subject Tracks:
- INNOVATION APPROACHES are one key subject given the theme. As indicated, the Subject Track will take a broad perspective on different types of innovations and will focus on innovations that address social and environment concerns. As indicated, new product development is the traditional but by no means the only approach to value-creating innovations.
- ENGAGING AND COLLABORATING is at the core of CSR strategy to create value because of the presence of multi-stakeholders. Corporations and communities for example are crafting new approaches to meet the needs of a wide range of direct and indirect beneficiaries from CSR programs. The Subject Track will assess Key Success Factors for these CSR collaborative approaches.
- HEAVY FOOTPRINT builds on last year's Track. "High Impact Industries" for instance in the extractive, non-renewable sectors of an economy not only affect for better or for worse the sustainability of the environment in which these types of rims operate, but also involve the "Social License To Operate" with the different stakeholders in their areas of operation.
- ENABLING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT is closely linked to the innovation theme and Subject Track because this modality of entrepreneurship - particularly in the rural areas can be a source of increasing employment - for example in enhancing labor quality and skills among sub-contractors in the supply chain, and even of discovering new raw materials and products - for example in the field of organics for fuel and medicines.
About the Principal Organizer
The AIM Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr. Center for Corporate Social Responsibility (AIM RVR Center), AFCSR's organizer, is a research and program center within the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). AIM is the pioneer graduate school of management in Asia. AIM offers world-class graduate education that has molded Asia's business, development and entrepreneurial leaders and managers for 43 years.
The main thrust of the RVR Center is to undertake CSR-focused research relative to the competitiveness of corporations and their impact on society. The RVR Center is one of the first research centers in the region to concentrate on CSR issues. It has established and continues to create its own network in the field by connecting and collaborating with counterpart organizations throughout the region. The Center also provides consultancy and training services on CSR issues to organizations throughout Asia.
Over the years, the Center has established a reputation for producing research and training materials that address the unique circumstances and practice of CSR in Asia. The Center has also conducted multiple seminars, focus group discussions and round tables to bring together CSR practitioners and other stakeholders. The Center also runs the longest-running and most prestigious Conference devoted exclusively to the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia. The Center developed and administers the Asian CSR Awards as well as the Intel-AIM Corporate Responsibility Award.
To accentuate its research focus, the RVR Center structured 2011 Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR) based on the framework in the next page. The Framework suggests that creating shared value is a five-step management process. Research and preparations for the 2012 conference are likewise being carefully structured.
Contact:
Espher Marie Ferrer
Delegates Coordinator
Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR) 2012
AIM - Ramon V. del Rosario Center for Corporate Social Responsibility
Tel: +632 892 4011 ext. 2139
Email: eferrer@aim.edu
Topic: Trade Show or Conference
Source: Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR)
Sectors: CSR
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From the Asia Corporate News Network
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