Being a responsible business is at the heart of the Thaicom sustainable development goals in the digital era. New technologies playing an increasingly greater role in our everyday lives – including data access, consumer behaviors, and our constantly evolving needs. Thaicom has therefore placed great importance on building a sustainable foundation from which to develop our communications network.
We believe that providing high quality telecommunications is an essential part of our duty to society and our stakeholders as we aim to provide ethically guided services in accordance with transparent business principles which are open to scrutiny.
Materiality
Thaicom has identified key sustainability issues based on data analysis, trends, business direction and goals for sustainable development both in national and international domains, while also taking into account the business plan of the Company. This ensures that the Company generates economic value in its business operations, benefiting both society and the environment while also appropriately meeting the expectations of the stakeholders under the Company’s Materiality principles, as per the GRI guidelines as follows:
Step 1: Identification of key issues relevant to the organization and its stakeholders
Thaicom compiles important information and data from a variety of sources and factors: internal (business goals and plans), which are gathered from management brainstorming, operational meetings, strategic meetings and analysis of risks associated with the sustainability of the organization; and external (trends in sustainability and expectations of shareholders), which are gathered by reviewing global Sustainable Development Goals, polls, meetings and seminars as deemed appropriate.
Step 2: Prioritization
Issues and topics compiled in step 1 are compared for consistency with issues and indicators as per the GRI guidelines and are considered, tested, and prioritized accordingly.
Step 3: Validation
Thaicom has reviewed the materiality issues in order to be in line with the business direction strategy and in line with the expectations of the stakeholder groups. It was found that the key issues that have been analyzed, considered and approved by the Sustainable Development Committee (SDCOM), there are some issues accelerating urgent to be processed, some issues are not important to the company’s current situation and some issues require continuous response for a period of time. Thaicom therefore selects key sustainability issues as follows.
Our Materiality 2021
Risk Management for Sustainability
Under turbulent situation around the world which affects the economy and creates complex and severe risk factors, Thaicom recognizes the importance of efficient risk management which will help the Company adjust and prepare for new challenges and achieve its business objectives. The Company has implemented Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) according to international COSO ERM and ISO 31000 standards under the Risk Management Committee (RMC), which reports directly to the Audit Committee. The RMC is responsible for considering the risk factors and establishing risk management policies and guidelines for monitoring and supporting various departments as risk owners to effectively manage risks in their responsibilities. In addition, there is a risk management and revenue assurance department at the operational level, which is responsible for coordinating with the risk owners to conduct risk assessment throughout the organization. The report on the organization’s risk management is proposed to the Risk Management Committee, the Audit Committee, the Executive Committee, and the Board of Directors for consideration accordingly.
Thaicom simultaneously sets its strategic objectives, evaluates relevant risks, and sets up risk appetite, risk assessment criteria and risk tolerance at an appropriate level to uniformly create a standard for risk mitigation in various situation. However, the Company is fully aware that today’s rapid pace of changes could also alter certain risk factors. As such, the Company has developed an efficient risk management system to tackle these emerging risks.
Risks Management Procedures consist of 4 steps as follows:
- Risk identification by evaluating possible scenarios based on the Company’s goals and context.
- Risk analysis by dual analysis of quantitative data and qualitative data in terms of impact factors.
- Risk assessment by standard procedures throughout the organization to assess the impact of risks and to sort out risk priorities.
- Countermeasures and risk reduction with support and review in each process and risk reports to the Risk Management Committee, the Audit Committee, the Executive Committee, and the Board of Directors respectively.
- Strategic Risks
- Operational Risks
- Financial Risks
- Compliance Risks
- Economic Risks
- Social Risks
- Environmental Risks
- Emerging Risks
Thaicom has created a risk culture in the organization on a continual basis and implemented the culture in many forms. The Company apply the principles of risk management in work processes. The risk management is defined as a measure of the organization’s performance and the risk owners are required to conduct risk assessments. In addition, the Internal Audit annually assesses the implementation of risk management. This helps the Company be prepared for any potential risks or changes in the world, such as changes in technology. The Company has also obtained certification of compliance with ISO 22301: 2019 for business continuity management and ISO 9001: 2015 for service quality management.
The Company also provides training courses on risk management for executives and employees, such as a risk management e-learning course for employees to understand risk management within the organization.
> Please see Risk Management Performance in the Company’s Annual Report.“
> Risk assessment with suppliers/partners
Thaicom assesses supplier risk and identifies two risk factors as follows:
- Risk as a result of having limited number of suppliers:
The company manages this risk by planning and preparing backup and spare items for critical equipment, and having alternate suppliers for critical equipment. As such, this risk is mitigated and acceptable.
- Risk of receiving products or services that are of low or poor quality:
The company has processes for inspecting products when receiving them, reviewing test report from suppliers or vendors either prior to or when receiving the product, selecting product, vendor, or supplier based on reference record, and evaluating suppliers and vendors. These processes reduce this risk to an acceptable level.
Compliance
Thaicom’s business operations follow strict guidelines, including working in accordance with moral and ethical procedures to set a standard for all activities, whichever country Thaicom is operating in. Our organization therefore places great importance on the opinions of our stakeholders as we are aware that the trust of these people is crucial to our competitiveness and success. We are committed to maintaining the highest possible code of conduct in every aspect of our business, while ensuring those ethics guide our responsible business model. Responsible business operations are the cornerstone upon which we base our entire company culture, maintaining a focus on operating efficiently and honestly to ensure a sustainable business growth model.
Code of Conduct
We ensure that good governance guides our business operations in order to encourage honesty and responsibility while maintaining a strong relationship with our stakeholders.
A company will always encounter problems during its day-to-day operations, be that on the part of officials, administrators or staff members, and these may include questions or suspicions about its code of conduct and lawful practice.
Our moral and ethical code therefore becomes a set of “operational guidelines”. We communicate these guidelines are vital for all our staff. Therefore, we regularly organize seminars and training related directly to our Code of Conduct as this will help us achieve our stated goals, while remaining true to our sustainable business model.
Ethics Hotline
Thaicom is committed to responsible, transparent, and ethical business practice as outlined in our company Code of Conduct.
We do not tolerate any actions or behavior that could be considered corrupt, with anyone found guilty of misconduct facing the appropriate disciplinary action.
We have set up a reporting system and offer support to all employees who wish to report misdemeanors or corrupt activity, which may be attributed to staff, suppliers, creditors, debtors, shareholders, management and other stakeholders who are associated with the company. This includes providing employee protection to those who cooperate or offer information related to the aforementioned prohibited actions or corruption.
To report a breach of code of conduct, click here
Anti-corruption
Thaicom is against corruption in all its various forms as we are aware of the damage to fair and just competition that it can do, as well as its negative effects on the development of the economy and society as a whole.
Our anti-corruption policy is a crucial part of our company Code of Conduct and it is something we expect all of our employees to be fully aware of at all times by attending regular staff training covering the key aspects of that policy.
Furthermore, we make our intentions and anti-corruption policy extremely clear to our customers, business partners, and anyone who works for the organization, while also expecting all areas of our supply chain to uphold the core values of our business model in this regard.
Thaicom has signed up to the “Thailand Private Sector Collective Action Coalition Against Corruption (CAC)” and has been accepted as a member of the Private Sector Against Corruption Committee.
Supply Chain
Thaicom has a policy in place related to ethics and responsible business practice with regard to our business partners and creditors, including a Supplier Charter that ensures our partners can have full confidence in the way we operate while working together to pull in the same direction.
Thaicom does not have any policy to delay payment to suppliers or vendors. The average actual payment from January to December 2022 is 31 days while the averaged committed payment is within 45 days.
Thaicom has set up a complaints channel, which our partners can access via our website. This channel offers a direct line to our procurement department or internal audit department. We are always on hand to listen, respond and cooperate with any of our many business partners who require our assistance.