Resident Coordinator’s Remarks at the Official Launch Event of the SDG Guidebook for Thai Listed Companies and SDG Impact Standards

Your Excellency Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin,

business leaders,

colleagues and friends.

It is an honour to welcome you today as we take the agenda of SDG acceleration forward with the full participation of the private sector.

We are facing a complex geopolitical climate, which is creating new dynamics for governments and private sector, adding to their challenges.

This makes it all the more important for Thailand to show its leadership on the global stage by showcasing its SDG strategies and sharing lessons in decoupling growth and emissions.

This is critical as SDG progress has slowed globally and even reversed dramatically in recent years.

Thailand is bucking this trend with nearly half of the SDGs on course to being achieved by 2030 securing the top ranking within ASEAN.

However, we cannot rest on our laurels. I am very heartened by the Prime Minister’s commitment to speed up SDGs to achieve the goals on schedule.

Your Excellency, your leadership at the SDG and Climate Ambition Summit did not go unnoticed on the global stage.

Your ambition to act on climate, combined with your government’s commitment to creating green jobs, alleviating intergenerational poverty, and extending the reach of universal health coverage to the most vulnerable will set the pathway for a high-value sustainable Thailand.

The financial muscle generated through issuance of $2 billion sustainability-linked bond will do some of the heavy lifting in support of this transformation.

UNDP stands ready to offer its technical expertise for identifying KPIs for impact measurement and management for this long-term financing.

For the government’s ambition to be truly transformative, businesses and captains of industry will also need to step up their commitments in alignment with ESG principles.

The private sector is a key driver of Thailand’s economic and social development, accounting for 9 out of 10 jobs. This means the sector has an oversized impact on emissions.  

I am very heartened that the Global Compact Network in Thailand has committed to SDG acceleration by pledging more than $46 billion to accelerate the 2030 Agenda through multiple projects.

They have also committed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and support the protection of a third of land and marine areas nationwide reflecting government commitment.  

Capitalizing on this momentum, SDG-related business practices will need to be expanded throughout supply chains as Thailand’s 2.6 million SMEs comprise the vast majority of businesses.

As captains of industry, you have the power to support your supply chains for across-the-board sustainability, reducing their carbon footprints and building their capacities for circularity.

Forward-looking government policies can further fast-track this process through targeted tax incentives for SMEs as they introduce innovative green technologies into their operations.  

Enhancing the pace of transition will demand reliable and verifiable ESG data aligned with SDGs.

This will enable financial markets to assess their exposure to ESG risks and opportunities and address concerns of greenwashing through greater transparency.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand (SEC)’s One Report provides a solid foundation for consistent disclosures by listed companies.

Standardized reporting on carbon emissions, human rights, and other dimensions of SDGs will make the One Report even more impactful. It will allow investors to identify the right companies for sustainable investments.

Through the development of the SDG Guidebook accompanied with capacity building, the capital market will have access to best-practice tools and resources for SDG impact measurements.

Stepping up meaningful engagement with all stakeholders by the private sector in its operations will be a critical piece of SDG alignment.

This involves breaking down barriers to stakeholder engagement, mitigating potential risks and adverse impacts to align the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of business operations to leave no one behind.

Collective actions of government and businesses provide Thailand with an opportunity to remake itself along fully sustainable lines.

The SDG Guidebook will assist the country in this just transformation.

We at the UN stand together with you to turn Thailand into a prosperous, low-carbon and inclusive nation.

Thank you.