The Caux Round Table (CRT), the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) and the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) will co-host Asean's first sustainable development conference.
Entitled "The 2013 Bangkok Conference: Global Dialogue on Sustainable Development", the event will be held in the Centara Grand @ CentralWorld on Oct 10.
More than 1,000 delegates comprising chief executives of top-ranked companies and well-known thought leaders such as Gayle Avery and Michael Sandel will discuss sustainable development (SD) approaches.
The conference will highlight the importance of moral capitalism and the right mindset of social ethics.
Nick Pisalyaput, a Thai representative of the CRT, a global SD network, said the group chose Thailand to host the event due to its sufficiency economy philosophy in both the private and public sectors.
Thailand is known as a moderation society practicing a logical approach and self-protection in learning and ethics, laying the foundation for SD.
"This global dialogue is aimed at enabling a free-flowing exchange of SD knowledge and experience with a host of worldwide qualified scholars, networking and collaboration among local and international sectors," said Mr Nick.
TCC chairman Isara Vongkusolkit said the business sector's role is to drive SD in the corporate sphere.
"Today's business mission cannot afford to merely aim at making profits," he said.
"Society must be increasingly aware of negative impacts rendered by a lack of ethics and righteousness. SD is critical to the survival of the business sector, and more so in the future when Asean becomes a single market."
The business world must give more importance to SD as new challenges arise in the marketplace, he said. Changing consumer behaviour will influence buying decisions as customers seek products made by firms that uphold ethical principles.
TDRI president Somkiat Tangkitvanich said the main obstacle to SD in Thailand is adherence to the mindset that a worsening environment automatically accompanies development.
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"We have to discard both models of focusing on the environment and overlooking the economy and vice versa," he said.
"Both must walk hand in hand. We have to integrate our solutions through collaboration with both the public and private sectors in a more stringent way."
Another key factor is income, he said. One must overcome the poverty line to be self-dependent and yearn for a good environment.
The business sector holds the key to SD success and can instil principles in employees for purposeful application in their daily business lives.
The government could pass legislation to oversee and enable green growth and society-friendly standards.
Delegates will exchange ideas, showcase success stories and share best practices for achieving SD regionally and globally.
