Page 267 - Social Enterprise A New Business Paradigm for Thailand

Chapter 9

From CSR to ESG and

the Support for Social Enterprise in Thailand

From CSR to ESG and the Support for Social Enterprise in Thailand

The concept of corporate social responsibility, or CSR, derives from the English term “Social
Corporate Responsibility” and has been familiar to Thai society for quite some time. This is
partly because many companies have promoted their public image by undertaking various
activities under the banner of “CSR initiatives.” Since the early 2000s, however, the term ESG,

referring to global standards in Environmental (E), Social (S), and Governance (G), has become
increasingly prevalent. Today, numerous organizations, particularly those listed on the Stock
Exchange of Thailand, use ESG in place of CSR when reporting on activities that demonstrate
their responsibility to both internal and external stakeholders. Nonetheless, CSR remains a
widely recognized and commonly used term. In academic and policy discussions, CSR continues
to dominate as the preferred term. Accordingly, this chapter will primarily use “CSR” to refer to
company-led initiatives that express social responsibility.

Chapter 2 of this report has already provided a detailed account of the evolution from public-

mindedness to social enterprise, both globally and in the Thai context. One key takeaway is that
many philanthropists and business leaders have historically engaged in charitable activities as
an expression of social responsibility. These efforts, however, tended to be humanitarian in
nature. The transition from individual acts of giving to strategic, organization-driven initiatives
designed to produce systemic social change has only become clearly discernible over the past
century. This chapter, Chapter 9, thus focuses specifically on corporate social responsibility
aimed at driving social transformation. It traces the evolution from CSR to ESG and concludes
by examining the potential for CSR practices to contribute to the broader ecosystem that
supports social enterprise development in Thailand.

At the outset, it is important to clarify that companies engaging in CSR as part of their
operations should not be automatically considered social enterprises. Conventional businesses
are primarily profit-driven, producing goods and services to generate revenue. CSR is a
voluntary activity, something a company may choose to undertake or not. In contrast, social
enterprises in Thailand are legally defined as entities that address social problems through
business mechanisms from the very beginning. Their core mission is to solve social issues, and
this commitment must be ongoing. Unlike CSR, solving social problems is not optional, it is a
primary objective of social enterprise.

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