THE cracks are beginning to show in some of the world’s most established institutions following corporate governance failures at Volkswagen, Toshiba and LeEco – not to mention high-profile scandals at United Airlines, or even Hollywood. This is just to name a few. The question being asked in some boardrooms must be, are we next?

But when asked what drives their interest in ESG (environment, social and governance), the number one answer given by Asia-listed corporates participating in the awards was its ethical value. Not legal requirement, or financial performance, or reputational risk, but ethics.

Once an afterthought to the corporation as a legal entity – or merely a pesky compulsory module sitting alongside the ‘serious stuff’ of finance and law degrees – ethics is now back on the table.

It is in this context that Asset Benchmark Research (ABR) announces the winners of The Asset Corporate Awards 2017.

This year ABR awards 54 companies with Platinum and Gold awards. Some of the companies have gained the highest levels of recognition consistently since the ranks were introduced in 2009, including Li & Fung, Infosys, PTT Public Company and SM Investments Corporation. These have outperformed in ESG against their peers even in a difficult macro environment.

Li & Fung, one of the world’s largest sourcing and logistics companies, for example, provides supplier management as well as providing workers with training and tools to upgrade their operations to comply with industry and international standards. Last year, they released public videos in 14 languages on compliance and operational issues on their dedicated YouTube channel. They also conducted a total of 2,304 training sessions in fifteen countries in their global supply chain covering these issues.

The Li & Fung Foundation is involved in sponsoring girls’ education and daily living essentials as well as empowering them with vocational training in China. In 2016, the foundation collected over 775 kg of waste from coastlines and cityscapes and planted over 5,000 trees, as well as held workshops to raise awareness about the environment.

Infosys, one of India’s largest IT services companies, is one of the first in India to have taken initiatives in terms of corporate governance standards and promoting quarterly reporting. Roughly 45% of Infosys’ electricity requirements come from renewable energy sources. They are providing solar-powered electricity to villages in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. In addition they have a water conservation strategy that has resulted in an 8.33% reduction in their per capital consumption of water from 2015.

PTT Public Company, the largest oil and gas company in Thailand, has a policy of rotating their senior management frequently to ensure checks and balances. The firm met their strategic target of greenhouse gas intensity reduction by 5% four years ahead of their target in 2016, compared to the base year of 2012. PTT has also been investing in new technologies, including electric vehicles and biofuels. Last year, they launched six pilot electric vehicle charging stations with plans to launch a solar-powered one in the future.

The foundation of SM Investments Corporation, a holding company in the Philippines with interests in retail, property and banking, provides a 12-week farmer training programme for both rural and backyard urban farming to promote food sufficiency and proper food nutrition in the communities where they are present. In 2016, they trained over 2,000 farmers in 60 municipalities. Last year the company also conducted 107 medical and diagnostic missions serving over 95,000 patients across the country.

Now in its 17th year, the winners of The Asset Corporate Awards are assessed on online questionnaire submissions made by the company and the supplementary information they provide. Participants are all Asia-listed companies. Factors that are taken into consideration range from an evaluation of financial performance, management, corporate governance, social and environmental responsibility and investor relations. Following this, interviews are conducted to obtain feedback from the investor community.

To view the awardees of The Asset Corporate Awards 2017, please click here.

To view the awardees of The Asset Corporate Awards 2017 – Best initiatives, please click here.

Additional reporting by Jacky Fung and David Wingrove.