This year, the Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) celebrates its 10-year anniversary milestone championing the most exceptional CSR programs across Asia. Over the last decade, AREA is proud and honored to be the advocate in encouraging and inspiring business leaders and enterprises to take on their responsibilities in creating a better world for all.
Enterprise Asia, the organizer of AREA, is pleased to recognize 69 outstanding award recipients who exemplified determination and perseverance despite the trying times. The AREA awardees have demonstrated relentless dedication to responsible business practices amidst the ongoing pandemic.
Widely regarded as the gold standard for CSR and sustainability practice, the AREA is the most prominent CSR recognition program across Asia initiated by the region’s leading NGO, Enterprise Asia. With over 500 winners from more than 19 countries since its launch, the AREA aims to recognize and honor Asian businesses and leaders for championing sustainable and responsible business practices. This year, an impressive number of 205 nominees from 16 countries were short-listed in the final round of judging and only 69 were accorded as award recipients.
Richard Tsang, president of Enterprise Asia, stated in his welcome speech, “Today, the majority of a company’s long-term value includes components such as innovation, intellectual capital and culture. Thus, a strong ESG strategy is an important element of a broader long-term value strategy that is tied to a business’ purpose and vision for recovery and success moving towards the post COVID-19 world.” He further mentioned that “sustainability cannot be looked at in isolation. It is akin to engineering a whole new system and cultivating a new way of life. It is a tough balancing act because there will be conflicts, compromises and trade-offs.”
Since 2011, AREA has recognized businesses from various industries while honouring their achievements in the seven categories of Social Empowerment, Investment in People, Health Promotion, Green Leadership, Corporate Governance, Circular Economy Leadership and Responsible Business Leadership.
The winners for the Responsible Business Leadership Category which recognize leaders who are strong advocates for responsible entrepreneurship and at the forefront of promoting sustainable practices and in promoting the sustainability agenda within their organizations and their communities include Shuang-Lang (Paul) Peng, chairman and CEO of AU Optronics Corp.; Joseph Huang, chairman of E.SUN Commercial Bank; Richard M. Tsai, chairman of Fubon Financial Holding Co., Ltd.; Pitak Ratchakitprakarn, president and CEO of PTG Energy Public Company Limited from Thailand; and Chun-Chi Chou, founder of Sinyi Group from Taiwan.
Among the notable winning projects from the Health Promotion Category is Far Eastern Big City Shopping Malls Co., Ltd.. Its program, ‘Big City, Big Health – A Healthy Community Platform for All Ages’, focuses on devoting its resources to the segments of blood donation, liver disease prevention, and health promotion for all ages. The company held record-breaking blood donation campaigns, funded liver health forums to promote liver disease prevention, and organized over 160 activities promoting health for all ages last year.
The joint initiative of Taipei Lung Shan Temple, Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment Research Foundation, Taiwan, YUAN High-Tech Development Co., Ltd., and Realtek Semiconductor Corporation was also a part of the winning recipients for the Health Promotion Category. Their program, ‘For Peace, For Health, Ten Thousand People Together to Protect Our Livers!’, broke the Guinness World Record for the most people completing a health survey in 12 hours in Taipei, Taiwan on Oct. 31, 2020. The program sought to improve healthy liver awareness and all participants were offered free health checkups after completing the survey.
PTG Energy Public Company Limited emerged as one of the winners under the Social Empowerment category with its program, PT Volunteer Camp, ‘We Care Leave No One Behind,’ concentrates on contributing to the community nearby the company’s operational sites in the development areas of healthcare, education, and environment to empower the villagers’ access to better life opportunities and enable them to grow sustainably with the company. It established the PT volunteer doctor unit and PT creating lungs for the community, and offered eye examinations for the elderly, scholarship, sports equipment and education media deliveries for thousands of villagers.
Bolloré Logistics Singapore Pte. Ltd. is among the exceptional recipients of the Green Leadership Category for its “Powering Sustainable Logistics in Singapore” program. The program contributes to 8 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and the company managed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, waste consumables, and water consumption while increasing its recycling rate. In 2020, over 1,500 of the company’s staff were educated on sustainability topics, among which more than 1,300 received formal trainings on the topics.
Prior to the AREA, the International CSR & Sustainability (ICS) Summit 2021 was held in the day. The virtual summit was convened with over 300 C-suite level executives and business leaders from 12 countries.
Themed “Towards an Inclusive and Resilient Future,” the summit provided a regional platform for leading thought leaders and CSR practitioners to explore on pressing topics and recovery actions to rebuild towards a sustainable and resilient world.
The Chairman of Enterprise Asia, Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn, expressed at the summit’s opening that “the crisis has been a sobering wake-up call to the importance of sustainable development and the urgent need to pay more attention to planetary health, similarly to the burning reality of the climate crisis, giving us food for thought about our priorities. I believe that the time for talk is over and we should now focus on real actions. We have the opportunity to reset and reshape the post-pandemic recovery towards a better future.”
Among the speakers were Dr. Niven Huang, Regional Leader for KPMG Sustainability Services Asia Pacific, KPMG Taiwan; Dr. Allinnettes Adigue, Head of the ASEAN Regional Hub and Global Reporting Initiative; Edoardo Gai, Managing Director for ESG Benchmarking, S&P Global Switzerland SA; Paul Marriott, President of SAP Asia Pacific and Japan; Marie Victoria Tan, Executive Director and Group Head of Enterprise Risk Management and Sustainability Unit, Ayala Corp., Philippines; Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer of City Developments Limited (CDL); Margaret Kim, CEO of Gold Standard; Karina Litvack, Co-Founder of Climate Governance Initiative (World Economic Forum) and Non-Executive Independent Director, Eni SPA; Dr. Naoki Adachi, Executive Director of Japan Business Initiative for Biodiversity, and CEO and Founder of Response Ability, Inc.; Alexandra Tracy, President of Hoi Ping Ventures Hong Kong; Lito T. Tayag, Country Managing Director of Accenture, Inc. Philippines; Dr. Renard Siew, Head of Sustainability of Malaysian Resources Corp. Berhad (MRCB); Jessica Robinson, Founder and Managing Director of Moxie Future and Former Head of Asia at UN-PRI; Andrew WK Chan, Sustainability and Climate Change Leader of PwC’s South East Asian Consulting Services; and Rosemary Addis, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Impact Investing Australia, Senior Advisor to SDG Impact at UNDP.
The AREA 2021 and ICS Summit 2021 are supported by ASEAN CSR NETWORK, China Biodiversity Conversation and Green Development Foundation, Circular Economy Club, CSRone, CSR Universal Org, Global Reporting Initiative, India CSR Network, Malaysian Alliance of Corporate Directors, National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (NIEI) (Cambodia), The Green Earth, and The Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (HK and Macau) Limited (MAYCHAM). Additionally, AsianNGO, Bangkok Post, Biz Hub Vietnam, BusinessWorld, Commercial Times, Earth.Org, Hong Kong Economic Times, Impact Boom, Kumparan, SME Magazine and Viet Nam News as media partners.
| RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS LEADERSHIP CATEGORY | ||
| NAME | ORGANISATION | COUNTRY |
| Shuang-Lang (Paul) Peng
Chairman & CEO |
AU Optronics Corporation
|
Taiwan |
| Joseph Huang
Chairman |
E.SUN Commercial Bank | Taiwan |
| Richard M. Tsai
Chairman |
Fubon Financial Holding Co., Ltd. | Taiwan |
| Pitak Ratchakitprakram
President & CEO |
PTG Energy Public Company Limited | Thailand |
| Chun-Chi Chou
Founder |
Sinyi Group | Taiwan |
| SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT CATEGORY | ||
| ORGANISATION | WINNING CSR PROGRAMME | COUNTRY |
| Alaska Milk Corporation | AlasKaunlaran (Alaska + Development) | Philippines |
| Aspire Systems | Sewing Machine Operator Training for Women | India |
| Celcom Axiata Berhad | Digital Entrepreneurship and Equity in Education | Malaysia |
| CPC Corporation, Taiwan | Love in Middle Africa | Taiwan |
| Far Eastern Department Stores Ltd. | FEDS Christmas Charity Event for 13 Years – Passing the Love to the Rural Area | Taiwan |
| Farglory Life Insurance Co., Ltd. | Farglory Life Rural Area Care Program | Taiwan |
| Foxconn Education Foundation | Hon Hai Scholarship Program | Taiwan |
| G-Group Technology Corporation | Gpay E-Wallet | Vietnam |
| King Power International Co., Ltd. | King Power Thai Power | Thailand |
| MasterLink Securities Corporation | Empower Your Life! Let’s Go Fun in Finance Education | Taiwan |
| Metropolitan Electricity Authority | Khoiruttakwa Community Project, Community Development Project for Sustainability according to the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy | Thailand |
| President Chain Store Corp. | PCSC Good Neighbor O2O Funfest | Taiwan |
| Prince Holding Group | Building A Better Life | Cambodia |
| Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad | PRUKasih – Financial Protection & Financial Education | Malaysia |
| PT Badak NGL | Saung Pandu (Usaha Unggulan Pertanian Terpadu) | Indonesia |
| PT PJB Unit Pembangkitan Gresik | Pijar Berdaya – Social Innovation & Women Entrepreneurship | Indonesia |
| PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur | Server Mang Budi (Mangrove Conservation & Diversification and Crab Cultivation) by Telok Bangko Group | Indonesia |
| PTG Energy Public Company Limited | PT Volunteer Camp, “We Care Leave No One Behind” | Thailand |
| Shinhan Vietnam Finance Company Limited | Drawing A Sustainable Future | Vietnam |
| Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) Limited | Futuremakers Programme | Taiwan |
| Taiwan Business Bank | Establish An Urban Renewal Financial Ecosystem | Taiwan |
| Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation | ReLife Project – Experimental Project for Self Pension Saving Investment | Taiwan |
| Taiwan Life Insurance Co., Ltd. | Hand in hand, Provide Zero Distance Solicitudes during the COVID-19 Pandemic | Taiwan |
| Taiwan Power Company | Bring Taipower Closer – Sensory Experience of Energy Education | Taiwan |
| WPP India Foundation | Education to Livelihood | India |
| HEALTH PROMOTION CATEGORY | ||
| ORGANISATION | WINNING CSR PROGRAMME | COUNTRY |
| ADATA Technology Co., Ltd. | Innovating the Future | Taiwan |
| An-Shin Food Services Co., Ltd. | Food Education for Preschoolers – MOS Burger DIY Project | Taiwan |
| Apex Circuit (Thailand) Co., Ltd. | Wear the Face Mask 100% | Thailand |
| Baxter Healthcare Ltd. | Improving the Nutrition Care for Premature Infants by Numeta G13E Ready-to-use Parenteral Nutrition | Taiwan |
| BDO Foundation | COVID-19 Pooled Testing Program and Initiatives for Undeserved Sectors of Society Vulnerable to the Effects of the Pandemic | Philippines |
| Bloomberry Resorts Corporation | Bloomberry Comprehensive COVID-19 Response | Philippines |
| Far Eastern Big City Shopping Malls Co., Ltd. | Big City, Big Health – A Healthy Community Platform for All Ages | Taiwan |
| Fubon Life Insurance | Demonstrate the Insurance Function and Involve in Taiwan’s Pandemic Prevention Project, Leverage Positive Forces to Stabilize Society and Warm the Hearts of the People | Taiwan |
| IRPC Public Company Limited | IRPC Unite in the Fight against COVID-19 | Thailand |
| Nan Shan Life Insurance Co., Ltd. | All-Age Health Promotion Project | Taiwan |
| Pacific SOGO Department Stores Co., Ltd. | Infer Needs beyond the COVID-19, Make Corresponding Arrangements Beforehand | Taiwan |
| PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited | Community Health Development | Thailand |
| Samitivej Public Company Limited | Samitivej New Life Fund | Thailand |
| · Taipei Lung Shan Temple
· Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment Research Foundation, Taiwan · YUAN High-Tech Development Co., Ltd. · Realtek Semiconductor Corporation |
For Peace, For Health, Ten Thousand People Together to Protect Our Livers! | Taiwan |
| Taiwan Life Insurance Co., Ltd. | Master Personal Health & Enjoy the Fun of Three Generations | Taiwan |
| TOGL Technology Sdn Bhd | Toga Resonance Technology (T-RT) | Malaysia |
| GREEN LEADERSHIP CATEGORY | ||
| ORGANISATION | WINNING CSR PROGRAMME | COUNTRY |
| ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. | ASEH’s Water Leadership: From Green Transformation to Sustainable Development | Taiwan |
| Bolloré Logistics Singapore Pte Ltd | Powering Sustainable Logistics in Singapore | Singapore |
| Chang Jung Christian University | International GREEN Sustainable University | Taiwan |
| CHIMEI Corporation | CHIMEI Green Energy Park | Taiwan |
| CPC Corporation, Taiwan | Smart Green Energy Gas Station | Taiwan |
| E Ink Holdings Inc. | Green Technology for Environmental Sustainability | Taiwan |
| Far Eastern Big City Shopping Malls Co., Ltd. | Big City, Big Green – A Sustainable Shopping Journey | Taiwan |
| Far Eastern Department Stores Ltd. | Lead A Green Life.
Building A Fashionable and Eco-friendly Department Store |
Taiwan |
| Frasers Property Vietnam | Melinh Point Asset Enhancement Initiatives | Vietnam |
| Heineken Malaysia Berhad | Water Stewardship Programme | Malaysia |
| Philippine National Bank | Project P.L.A.N.E.T. (Protect, Love, And Nurture the Environment Together) | Philippines |
| Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) | Towards the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Community | Thailand |
| PT Pupuk Kujang | Development of Citarum Harum Biodiversity Park | Indonesia |
| PT Rimba Makmur Utama | Katingan Mentaya Project | Indonesia |
| Selic Corp PCL. | Bio-Based Adhesive | Thailand |
| SinoPac Holdings | Building Solar Industry Chain Financial Ecosystem | Taiwan |
| Taiwan Cement Corporation | Low-carbon and Safety: TCC Innovative Product Traceability System | Taiwan |
| CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CATEGORY | ||
| ORGANISATION | WINNING CSR PROGRAMME | COUNTRY |
| ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. | The Foundation of ASEH’s Corporate Governance: A Top-down Approach on Sustainability | Taiwan |
| British American Tobacco (BAT) Vietnam | Delivery with Integrity | Vietnam |
| Lotus Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Commit Corporate Transparency to Stakeholders | Taiwan |
| Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad | Corporate Governance in A Challenging Corporate Environment | Malaysia |
| SinoPac Holdings | Ethics and Decency, Fulfillment of A Beautiful Life Through Finance | Taiwan |
| Sinyi Realty Inc. | Integrate Ethics into Sinyi | Taiwan |
| INVESTMENT IN PEOPLE CATEGORY | ||
| ORGANISATION | WINNING CSR PROGRAMME | COUNTRY |
| Accenture, Inc. | Being A Responsible Business for Our People | Philippines |
| AIA Thailand | AIA Thailand’s Management Associate Program | Thailand |
| Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited | Read and Write with Ease Program | Thailand |
| Bolloré Logistics Singapore Pte Ltd | Happiness @ Bolloré | Singapore |
| British American Tobacco (BAT) Vietnam | Build and Elevate Future-fit Talent | Vietnam |
| E Ink Holdings Inc. | Smart Workforce Enables Sustainable Workplace | Taiwan |
| Frasers Property Vietnam | Experience Matters | Vietnam |
| Innolux Corporation | Innolux 4.0 Digital Transformation Talent Development Project | Taiwan |
| Pacific SOGO Department Stores Co., Ltd. | Establish Pioneering Safe Mall in Taiwan, and Nurse Best Talents in Service Industry | Taiwan |
| Plus Property Co., Ltd. | Empower Your Value: 1st Environmental Management Trainee | Thailand |
| SinoPac Holdings | SinoPac Holdings Senior Executive Training & Development Program | Taiwan |
| Sinyi Realty Inc. | Industry-academia Collaboration Program | Taiwan |
| Thai Life Insurance Public Company Limited | “Opportunity for Better Life” 2nd Edition | Thailand |
| The Electricity Generating Public Company Limited | Khanom Learning Center | Thailand |
| Yuanta Securities Co., Ltd. | The Pioneer of the Securities Industry – Yuanta Human Capital Boosting Program | Taiwan |
| CIRCULAR ECONOMY LEADERSHIP CATEGORY | ||
| ORGANISATION | WINNING CSR PROGRAMME | COUNTRY |
| Taiwan Power Company | Creating Circular Innovation Opportunities from the Value Chain of Electric Power Industry | Taiwan |
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