SINGAPORE, 28 NOVEMBER 2016

Japan’s leading consumer products major Suntory Group has won a top regional award for sustainability reporting at the 2016 Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards. Suntory walked away with Asia’s Best Online CSR Communication award at an exclusive event on 28 November in Singapore.

Receiving the award on behalf of Suntory Group, Mr. Junji Miyawaki, Executive Vice President of HR & General Affairs, Suntory Beverage & Food Asia, said: “This award reaffirms our persistent efforts to ensure that we are on track to fulfilling our vision of ‘Growing for Good’. By constantly connecting with our stakeholders, Suntory is also welcoming them to understand who we are and what we believe in – a company working with communities and our consumers to make a better, brighter future. This encouragement that we are doing the right thing will spur us to work even harder on fulfilling our CSR targets.”

An impressive 68 companies from 14 countries made it to the final round of the 2016 Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards. The finalists were shortlisted by the members of an independent judging panel.

The event was hosted by the British High Commissioner in Singapore H.E. Mr. Scott Wightman while the Swedish Ambassador in Singapore H.E. Mr. HåkanJevrell was present as the Special Guest.

Awards in 16 categories were presented by the High Commissioner Mr. Wightman, the Ambassador Mr. Jevrell, and Ms. Camilla Fenning, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Head of the Climate and Energy Network for South East Asia at the British High Commission Singapore.

Hosted in Singapore, the Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards (ASRA) are the highest recognition for sustainability reporting in the region.To encourage more Asian companies to embrace sustainability reporting, CSRWorks International, a Singapore-based sustainability firm, has created the Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards. The awards are CSRWorks International’s not-for-profit initiative, and is part of its own corporate responsibility programme.

A spokesperson from the ASRA Secretariat said: “ASRA winners are decided by an independent judging panel following stringent criteria. The judging process involves multiple rounds of screening and evaluations to identify the very best in each category. Finally, a comprehensive due diligence is carried out to assess finalists’ reputation among stakeholders and the findings are considered to determine the winners.

Rajesh Chhabara, managing director at CSRWorks International and the creator of the Awards, said: “Sustainability reporting has become a key indicator to assess a company’s long term success. Suntory’s win at ASRA 2016 reflects the company’s leadership in sustainability reporting and a commitment to long term value creation for all stakeholders.”

“Sustainability reporting is also crucial to attract Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) funds which invest only in responsibly-run businesses”, said Mr. Chhabara. He added that the assets under management by global SRI funds have grown to more than $21 trillion but less than 0.6 per cent of this is invested in Asia. “A key reason for low SRI investment in the region may be attributed to the fact that very few Asian companies have adopted sustainability reporting.”

It may be noted that several stock exchanges in the region have legislated sustainability reporting for listed companies recently, mainly to meet investors’ expectations for non-financial disclosure.

In this context, ASRA winners are setting the leadership example which hopefully will inspire more companies to embrace sustainability reporting.

The event was attended by the finalists of ASRA 2016, and dignitaries from diverse fields including business, non-profit, embassies, trade associations, advocacy organisations and academics.

The winners received a specially designed plaque framed with recycled wood. The winner of the top honours, Asia’s Sustainability Report of the Year, received an exclusive golden plaque. All finalists received a merit certificate printed on FSC certified paper sourced from sustainable forests. In addition, the winners and the finalists will be authorised to use the privileged Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards Icons for branding purpose.

Printed edition of Sustainability Reporting: Learn from Asia’s Best, a special publication featuring the 2015 ASRA winners, was released at the event.

Note to editors:
More comprehensive information on the Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards can be viewed at: www.csrworks.com/asra

About the Awards
The Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards (ASRA) recognise and honour sustainability reporting leaders in Asia. The Awards celebrate best practices in sustainability reporting. The vision for ASRA is to become the most inspiring recognition for sustainability reporting excellence in Asia. The Awards are open to all types and sizes of private, public and non-profit organisations in all sectors which produce a sustainability report in Asia. An independent panel of distinguished judges evaluates the entries to select the winners. Read more

Contact: asra@csrworks.com

About the Organisers
CSRWorks International is Singapore’s most trusted sustainability advisory and training firm. CSRWorks champions and celebrates sustainability leadership through multiple initiatives. Along with ASRA, CSRWorks also produces the annual Asia Sustainability Reporting Summit, the most influential gathering of the regional and international reporting community. CSRWorks is also the creator of Asia’s Top Sustainability Superwomen a non-profit initiative built to give recognition to women at the forefront of Sustainability leadership in Asia. 

Learn more about CSRWorks here.