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Published on March 13, 2008

It is always good to hear about responsibility in the business sector.

Many in the business sector may agree with Sorat Vanich-varakij of Pan Asia Industrial.

"I avoid doing anything that shows my political stand. What I do is to take care of my employees," Sorat, who won the Puey Ungpakorn Institution's Good Governance Award for responsibility to employees, said.

Some companies, however, have already adopted a new approach in their contribution to society.

A recent press trip organised by the Siam Cement Group (SCG) and Siam Michelin Group can be a

good example for their business counterparts to learn about social contributions that go beyond

politics and merely meeting the basic requirements.

Visiting communities affected by the tsunami in Satun and Trang provinces, we saw villagers working together to manage their community shipyard and fish dock.

After its immediate assistance and the Occupation Revival Phase in 2005, the SCG Tsunami Relief Fund Committee has continued to help the community.

The shipyard and the dock were established with the support of the SCG Tsunami Relief Fund Committee.

It is a part of the "Sustainable Growth Development Phase" that the business group and the local community have been working on together.

"We started with the needs of communities," Suranuch Thongsila, manager of the Siam Cement Foundation, said.

"But we couldn't run the project alone without help from the Save Andaman Network [SAN]," Suranuch said.

SAN helps the company understand and learn about what the community truly needs, he said.

SAN is a network of non-governmental organisations working for Andaman coastal community support.

The project is a good example of how businesses, NGOs and communities can work together.

It is a new dimension to the business sector's social contribution that values the participation of local communities and NGOs.

After visiting the communities, executives discuss the progress of the project with villagers.

Now, some communities have developed their shipyard into a

permanent service centre and started running the fish dock using the community's revival fund supported by the business group.

Good governance deserves praise and honour, and companies can make their  choice: to be satisfied with the basic requirement or to go the extra mile.