Enhance Competitiveness with CSR Practices, Urged HKPC and CMA

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is increasingly recognized not only as a major strategy to enhance corporate image but also a key to boost competitiveness.

To promote awareness and implementation of CSR in different industry sectors, the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) and The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong (CMA) today (15 December 2009) launch the CSRCARE Programme.

Mr Bernard Chan, Chairperson of The Hong Kong Council of Social Service, officiated at the Launching Ceremony, accompanied by Mr Paul Yin, President of CMA, and Mr Edmund Sung, Director (Business Consulting) of HKPC.

Highlighting the significance of CSR, Mr Sung said, "As more and more European and US buyers have included CSR as a criterion in their selection of suppliers, enterprises which implement CSR practices will unarguably have the competitive edge in these markets. In fact the ISO 26000 Guidelines on CSR will be published in 2010 to assist enterprises to kick-start their CSR initiatives. Through this programme, HKPC supports various industries to engage in CSR based on the ISO 26000 standard."

With strategic partners from industry associations, academic institutions, charity organizations and the media, Mr Sung said the programme will cater for the specific needs of various sectors.

He said, "Our CSRCARE Programme will be as comprehensive as practicable which includes training on ISO 26000 and CSR, review and recommendations reports, taskforce formulation and experience sharing. Upon completion of the half-year programme, the successful model will be replicated to other sectors such as electrical appliances, electroplating, and catering, etc."

In addition to this programme, with sponsorship from the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education, HKPC also organizes the Corporate Citizenship Award to raise awareness on CSR among local enterprises. To set the benchmark for best practices in CSR for local SMEs, HKPC will embark on a survey together with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University to compile the first Hong Kong CSR Index for SMEs. The results will be announced in the third quarter of 2010.

As a strong advocate of CSR, HKPC also supports its staff to participate in community service and apply their professional knowledge to good causes. With generous sponsorship from the industry, "HKPC Volunteers" initiated the "Toys Bank" in April 2008. It successfully solicited the support of more than 30 companies, so far collected over 25,000 pieces of toys which are then donated to underprivileged children and families.

For further information on the CSRCARE Programme and "Toys Bank", please contact HKPC's Irene Kan and Anderson Wong respectively at tel. (852) 2788 5798, email: irenekan@hkpc.org; and tel. (852) 2788 5410, email: klwong@hkpc.org. For other media enquiries, please contact Justina Shum at tel. (852) 2788 5895 or email: justina@hkpc.org.

* * *

Mr Jonathan Ho
General Manager
Corporate Communications
Tel: (852) 2788 6390
Fax: (852) 2788 5056
Email: jonathanho@hkpc.org
Website: www.hkpc.org

15 December 2009