The CSR Club - a gathering of 27 listed companies to work together on corporate social responsibility - promises to mobilise their knowl¬edge and skills to raise the capacity of communities nationwide in hopes that internal strength will shelter them from political influence.
President Wattana Opanonamata, the senior executive vice president for administration and technology at Bangchak Petroleum, said last week that the club was an outgrowth of the polit¬ical violence that caused much despair in Thailand. Part of the problem appeared to be that com¬munities are weak.
If the private sector can immu¬nise the communities by helping them develop in many areas such as careers, occupations, education and healthcare, they should become stronger.
"From my involvement, follow¬ing the recent protests, it's clear that weak communities showed no immunity. Without firm careers, they could be easily persuaded (to do anything)," he said.
Most of the club members are large companies, which also con¬duct their own CSR programmes. But those activities tend to be in the fields where they have expertise, he said.
For example, firms like Bangchak, Thai Oil and PTT are expert in energy, while Siam City Cement and the Siam Cement Group (SCG) are expert in check dam construction, as they can pro¬vide cement for the projects. SeEducation is a bookstore operator, so it can work on the education aspect, while Bumrungrad Hospital can work in the healthcare arena.
"They are doing good deeds through their CSR projects. But it will be better if all of them can work together and utilise their knowl¬edge and skills to do good deeds for the communities. Now, we, as a club, can do it together," he said.
This is just an initial concept, which the club members will dis¬cuss soon. But, as the CSR Club president, Wattana said to work together on strengthening com¬munities is an objective that the club members can aspire to.
The CSR Club was founded last September by 27 listed companies, the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Listed Companies Association.
The large listed companies hope to help the smaller ones learn the process of organising CSR activi¬ties so that they can do it by them¬selves, he said.
Bangchak, which has promoted CSR for decades, wants other list¬ed firms to know that CSR projects do not have to be separate from business operations. They actual¬ly can get along together, he said.
For example, Bangchak has a community petrol station project that gives local residents the chance to do business with Bangchak by operating service stations with a cooperative model.
Bangchak has also brought farm products to Bangchak to retail at its petrol stations.
The club would join the CSR activities of the members. Other listed firms can learn the CSR process through the activities. These can draw other listed firms to join the club, he said.
In Chiang Mai, on June 5, which was World Environment Day, the CSR Club led by Siam City Cement collaborated with the Pha Muang Task Force and the residents of Tambon Muang Na to construct four check dams.
The event also enlisted volun¬teers from 12 other listed compa¬nies - Bangchak, Total Access Communication, the Somboon Group, SCG, Minor International, Unique Mining Services, Charoen Pokphand Foods and SeEducation.
They also donated educational equipment and daily necessities to the Baan Nong Kham Border Patrol Police School, which was part of the Green School Project of Siam City Cement.
MajGen Prakarn Chonlayuth, commander of the Pha Muang Task Force, said the check dams would help ensure enough water for agri¬culture and daily use in the drought season. This can indirectly keep locals from getting involved in ille¬gal pursuits such as drugs.
Kasamon Kittiampon, adviser for admin, public relations and CSR at the Somboon Group, said the company joined the trip to Chiang Mai because it would like to learn how to construct the check dams in order to do it by itself.
"We have had our CSR activities for a decade, which mostly empha¬sise donations and construction, but we don't know other types of CSR projects. So, we will learn from the bigger companies and expect to run them by ourselves in the future," she said.