Kalbe: Our Sustainable Commitment for the Pharmaceutical Industry
In 2-3 October 2018, the Asia Sustainability Reporting Summit (ASRS) 2018 was held at Novotel Clarke Quay, Singapore. ASRS is the meeting point and discussion panel for all Chief Sustainability Officers, top management of Asian companies, maker of standards for sustainability reports, academics, and practitioners of sustainability reports, and other stakeholders from within or outside Asia. The ASRS that was organized by CSRWork for the 2nd time took the theme of: Sustainability Reporting: Beyond Transparency and discussed newest trends in the development of sustainability report from the perspective of investors and how to deliver a report that is trustworthy and of quality.
In the event, Ms. Bernadette Ruth Irawati Setiady (Ms Ira), President Commissioner of PT Kalbe Farma Tbk (Kalbe), was invited to be one of the panelists at the session titled “Development of Sustainability Report in Asia. “As one of the major listed pharmaceutical company in Asia, Kalbe is sharing the experience in making a sustainability report in Asia, specifically since Kalbe is the first listed privately-owned company that delivered sustainability reports. Other panelists in this session are: Aditi Haldar, Director of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for Asian Region; Pham Hoang Hai, Chairman of Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development, Vietnam Chambers of Commerce; Gennie Yen, President of Velda Internasional; and Juniati Gunawan from Trisakti Sustainability Center, Trisakti University as representative of the academics.
In the discussion Panel, Ms Ira stated that Kalbe is fully committed to running a business with sustainability concept by maintaining the environment and supporting social welfare. This commitment is manifested through the involvement of the leaders of the company’s in the creation of sustainability report, as well as in implementing it in business processes.
“For us, sustainability is a business strategy that has been built since our beginning. However, we still have to continue to learn to deliver it in a sustainability report, and we wish to continue to improve our reporting to meet the needs of our stakeholders of information.By all means, we also do the implementation and continue to improve ourselves at the same time,” Ms. Ira further said that in making a sustainability report, this commitment is not merely done for regulatory compliance, but also as a strategic step in communicating transparency in business practices and to include all stakeholders.Ms. Ira also emphasized that consistent support of the Board of Directors and Commissioners in the monitoring and implementation of business that supports sustainable development is very integral. Moreover, the commitment from top management needs to be supported by the capacity development of all resources within the company.