More than thirty companies declare their commitment to child-friendly business practices
BANGKOK, 14 December 2015 – Today, more than thirty Thai leading companies declared their commitment to better understand children’s rights and to be guided by the Children’s Rights and Business Principles (CRBP).
The CRBP, developed by UNICEF, the Global Compact and Save the Children, outline the responsibilities of businesses to respect and support children’s rights in the workplace, marketplace, community and environment. They also encourage companies to integrate child rights into their core business, including policies, codes of conduct and strategies that go beyond simple philanthropy or short-term development projects.
At the Children Sustainability Forum: Business for the Future in Bangkok organized by Thaipat Institute and UNICEF at the Stock Exchange of Thailand, representatives of these companies presented written statements of commitment to demonstrate their company’s support to child friendly business practices.
“Businesses need to invest in children today as part of their sustainability efforts. Sustainability means- doing business without jeopardising the potential for people in the future to meet their needs. Who are these people of the future? They are the children of today. They are also the torch bearers who will take sustainability to thenext generations,” said Anand Panyarachun, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Thailand, at the forum.
He stressed that children rights should be considered as part of company policies and processes.
Dr.Pipat Yodprudtikan, Director of Thaipat Institute, saidthat the ‘Child-Friendly Business’ project that Thaipat Institute has launched in partnership with UNICEF is the first of its kind in the region since the Children’s Rights and Business Principles (CRBP) were released globally in 2012.
The main objective of this project is to expand the existing private sector support to youth and children which is currently charity-based to rights-based, with a focus on company policies and processes (CSR-in-process).
Thaipat Institute has been continuously promoting CSR-in-process with the private sector and will use its existing CSR Day platform to roll out the ‘Child-Friendly Business’ project. Around 20,000 participants have been engaged over a period of seven years through the CSR Day platform.
"Sustainable development has been defined as development that is able to respond to critical needs of the existing generation without affecting the capability to respond to the demands of the next generation. I hope that the existing generation, which is you and I, will be able to eliminate or reduce adverse effects without passing them on to the next generation. At the same time I hope we will have potential to create values or positive influence for the next generation, which is our children.” said Dr.Pipat.
During a panel discussion on “Promoting Children’s Rights and Business Principles”, senior executives from MitrPhol Sugar Group, Erawan Group and Dtac shared company initiatives supporting children’s rights in their business operations and discussed child rights issues relevant for the agriculture, hospitality and ICT industries respectively.
Companies interested in participating in the ‘Child-Friendly Business’ project or for additional details, please visit http://childfriendly.biz
For more information, please contact:
NatapakAnantakool, Thaipat Institute, 02 930 5221 or natapak@thaipat.org
Nattha Keenapan, UNICEF Thailand, 086 616 7555 or nkeenapan@unicef.org
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