 Where Responsibility Meets Bottomline
From Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to Socially Responsible Investment (SRI)
Hilton Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
July 29th – 31st 2008
DAY ONE:
Morning Session
9.00-9.10 WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS
9.10-9.40 PLENARY SESSION: CSR IN MALAYSIA: Building on the Foundations
Malaysia is emerging as a leader in CSR in Asia. This process has been
built on initiatives including the National Integrity Plan, the
Putrajaya Committee for GLC Transformation and the CSR reporting
regulations for listed companies. It has been backed up by tax
incentives, private events and CSR Champions from business, government
and civil society. Many companies in Malaysia have responded positively
to these initiatives and leading examples are now in place from which
others can learn. This session will review these developments and put
them into context. What have been the challenges? How have companies
responded? What are the best examples for others to follow? What are
the main drivers of success? What are the challenges ahead?
9.40-10.00 BREAK
10.00-10.30 KEYNOTE & LAUNCH OF MALAYSIA UN GLOBAL COMPACT
10.30-11.00 PANEL DISCUSSION: THE UN GLOBAL COMPACT
The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) provide a CSR
framework for companies. They include Human Rights, Labour Practices
and Decent Work, Environmental Issues and Anti-Corruption Policies.
This session will review the UNGC and how it has been adopted locally
and globally. What do the Ten Principles mean for Malaysian companies
working in a global economy? What are the benefits of signing up to the
UNGC? How far are they adopted by companies here? What are the
challenges posed by the UNGC? How can these challenges be met?
11.00-11.30 SPOTLIGHT: Interview with a Leading CSR Figure
This session will provide insights on CSR from a leading member of the
Malaysian business community. How do CEOs build CSR into the DNA of
their companies? What are the best ways to engage with stakeholders and
respond to their needs? What have been the main drivers of success?
What more needs to be done?
11.30-12.30 KEYNOTE: THE GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is now in its third generation
(G3). The aim of the GRI-G3 is to make CSR reporting as clear and as
standardised as financial reporting. This session brings one of the
leading figures in the GRI from their headquarters in Amsterdam to give
us expert advice on the GRI and how it can be used. What is the GRI?
What are its main features? What have been the key successes of the GRI
since its establishment? How are companies using the GRI to report
their CSR performance? How can Malaysian companies benefit from the
GRI? What are the participation levels to help companies use the GRI?
What are GRI Organisational Stakeholders (OS) and how can companies
join the OS network?
Speaker:
• Global Reporting Initiative, the Netherlands
12.30-13.30 LUNCH
Afternoon Session
13.30-18.00 AFTERNOON PLENARIES SESSIONS
The afternoon sessions allow us to split up to discuss areas of CSR
in more detail. Each session focuses on a key area of CSR and brings
together experts in the field to discuss and debate the major themes in
each case.
13.30-14.30
(1) WORKPLACE
CSR begins in the workplace where people spend so much of their time
and effort. Providing good workplace policies can lead to business
success. What does it mean to provide ‘Decent Work’ and how can
companies support the ‘Decent Work Agenda’? How can companies ensure
that their good work practices are mirrored in their suppliers in
emerging markets? What are the examples of best practice that companies
can adopt to ensure that they are meeting the expectations of their
employees? How have successful companies implemented good workplace
schemes and what were the challenges they overcame?
14.30-15.30
(2) MARKETPLACE
Customers want good CSR and will punish companies with bad CSR records.
How can companies use their CSR programmes to engage with customers?
What methods and standards can be adopted to show customers that
companies have business models that are responsible and sustainable?
What are the examples of best practice and how are they communicated
effectively in the marketplace?
15.30-16.00 BREAK
16.00-17.00
(3) COMMUNITY
Community contributions are an important component of CSR and
recipients benefit hugely from effective programmes. How do you build
an effective community programme and avoid the ‘mock-cheque’? How can
companies build sustainable relationships with community groups and
NGOs? What is a ‘Social Impact Assessment’ and how can this help in
community investments?
17.00-18.00
(4) ENVIRONMENT
Environmental issues are high on the agenda of many CSR programmes
but companies still have questions about how best to address
environmental concerns. How can companies assess their environmental
impact? What options are available for companies to engage with
environmental groups? What are the challenges in protecting our
environmental heritage and how can companies address them?
18.00 CONFERENCE CLOSES
DAY TWO:
Morning Session
9.00-9.10 WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS
9.10-9.40 PLENARY SESSION: SRI IN CONTEXT
Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) is big business.
International funds invest around US$4 trillion in companies with good
CSR records. This is equivalent to nearly twenty times the total market
capitalisation of PLCs in Malaysia. Environmental investment products
are one of the fastest growing areas of finance and Islamic funds, in
which Malaysia is a leader, already account for around US$500 billion
globally. This session places SRI in context. What is SRI and how well
developed is it here in Asia? What do SRI fund managers look for and
what can companies do to provide the information they need? What types
of products are available and how can Malaysian finance companies
develop these products? Do SRI funds outperform the market or not?
9.40-10.00 BREAK
10.00-10.30 KEYNOTE & LAUNCH OF THE MALAYSIA UNPRI GROUP
10.30-11.00 PANEL DISCUSSION: THE UNPRI
The Six Principles of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment
(UNPRI) provide a framework for the financial community. The Principles
promote the use of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria
by asset managers and encourage the integration of these issues into
investment decisions. UNPRI signatories now have around US$10 trillion
of assets under management. This session will review the UNPRI and how
they have been adopted locally and globally. What are the benefits of
adopting the Principles and joining the UNPRI network? How do major
fund managers use and apply the Principles? How will the UNPRI develop
in emerging markets such as Asia?
11.00-11.30 SPOTLIGHT: Interview with a Leading SRI Figure
What does SRI mean here in Malaysia and how are local finance
houses responding to global trends in Social and Environmental
Investments? What is the role of Islamic finance and can Malaysia
leverage on its leadership in this area?
11.30-12.30 KEYNOTE: UNPRI - PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT IN ASIA
SRI is well established in Europe and America and is developing here in
Asia. Research shows that around 180 SRI funds exist in Asia worth
around US$34 billion. Asia offers huge potential with strong growth and
high returns on regional stock markets. These opportunities are top of
the agenda for the UNPRI Emerging Markets Programme which joins us from
Geneva to explain how the UNPRI is promoting SRI in Asia. What are the
initiatives for 2008? How is the UNPRI network promoting SRI
opportunities in the region? How can the local finance community help
build this momentum? What are the benefits of joining the UNPRI network
and how can finance houses sign up?
Speaker:
• Speaker from the UNPRI Emerging Markets Group
12.30-13.30 LUNCH
Afternoon Session
13.30-18.00 AFTERNOON PLENARY SESSIONS
The afternoon sessions allow us to split up to discuss areas of SRI
in more detail. Each session focuses on a key area of SRI and brings
together experts in the field to discuss and debate the major themes in
each case.
13.30-14.30
(1) SRI RATING AND ASSESSMENT PROCESSES
Assessing companies on their CSR performance and SRI potential is the
starting point of any effective SRI programme. How do you rate a
company for good CSR using SRI criteria? What are the information
challenges? What is ‘materiality’ and which issues are material in
Asia? What level of independence is necessary to provide credible
rating and assessment processes and how can this independence be
achieved? What are SRI Indexes and how are they used in investment
processes?
14.30-15.30
(2) BUILDING AND MANAGING SRI FUNDS
SRI is a new investment style. How do fund managers build and
manage SRI funds? What is the difference between “screening” and
“integration” of SRI criteria? What are the opportunities for SRI
products and which are likely to be most successful? What are the
challenges of selling SRI products to institutional and retail
investors?
15.30-16.00 BREAK
16.00-17.00
(3) ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENTS
Environmental investment is one of the fastest growing themes of SRI.
What types of environmental investment products are available in the
market? How are environmental funds built and managed? What are the
main challenges and opportunities for environmental investment in Asia?
What is ‘Carbon Trading’ and the ‘Carbon Disclosure Project’ and how
can companies in Asia benefit from this new investment opportunity?
17.00-18.00
(4) THE INVESTORS’ PERSPECTIVE
Making SRI products attractive to investors is a major challenge
for the investment community. What is the appetite for SRI products
amongst the investment community? How can investor groups promote SRI
and use SRI criteria to judge companies? What are the major SRI issues
in Malaysia and how have they been addressed?
18.00 CONFERENCE CLOSES
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