..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

62nd Commission Session, 6-12 April 2006
5 April 2006 - Press release G/11/CS62/5

PROMINENT INDONESIAN BUSINESSES TO JOIN UN GLOBAL COMPACT

More than a dozen to sign on at special ceremony set for 8 April as part of the Asia-Pacific Business Forum 2006

JAKARTA, 5 April 2006 – PT. Express Transindo Utama and PT. Metropolitan Retailmart are among over a dozen Indonesian businesses and organizations which will sign on to the UN Global Compact at a special ceremony to be held from 12:15-13:30 hrs on Saturday, 8 April 2006 in the Jakarta Convention Centre as part of the Asia-Pacific Business Forum 2006.

The UN Global Compact, which promotes corporate social responsibility, links business enterprises with UN agencies, labour and civil society. A senior official from the company or organization will commit the enterprise to support 10 principles in the areas of human rights, labour standards, environmental performance and anti-corruption. Among the new signatories are:

· PT. Express Transindo Utama: Daniel Podiman, CEO
· PT. Metropolitan Retailmart: Christine Barki, CEO
· PT Smart, Tbk.: Franky Oesman Widjaja, Chairman & CEO
· MarkPlus & Co.: Hendra Warsita, President Director
· IndonesiaMarketing Association: Y.W Junardy, President
· Universitas Bina Nusantara: Prof. Dr. Gerardus Polla, M. App. Sc., Rector
· PT. Datascrip: Joe Kamdani, Chairman
· PT Birotika Semesta/DHL, Rocky Pesik, Director
· PT. Dirgahayu Grup: Drs. I Made Dhama, President Director & General Manager
· SWA Magazine: Kemal Effendi Gani, Editor-in-Chief
· Dunamis Organization Services: Nugroho Supangat, Managing Partner
· Bisnis IndonesiaDaily: Ahmad Djauhar, Editor-in Chief
· Wiloto Corp.: Christovita Wiloto, CEO
· PT. Cedefindo Markus Handiwidjaya, President Director

These new global compact signatories, together with the incumbent Indonesian signatories of the global compact, championed by Martha Tilaar Group, will form the Indonesian Network of the Global Compact Participants. The network is expected to serve as a forum for participants to among others, share their experience in practising the 10 principles.

After a working lunch, the participants will go together to Cengkareng North Jakarta, to plant mangroves in this critical land. This mangrove planting is both an inaugural activity and demonstration of the participants’ commitment toward the environment. The mangrove plants are expected to impede water flow and thereby enhance the deposition of sediment in Cengkareng area, where flooding often occurs and disrupts transportation to and from the International Airport during the rainy season.

More information on the UN Global Compact is available at www.unglobalcompact.org.

The Asia-Pacific Business Forum (APBF) provides a unique annual forum for region-wide business networking, partnership building and dialogue among the business community, governments and civil society on how to create an enabling environment for sustainable business growth. Over 400 business executives, senior officials, academics and representatives of civil society from the Asian and Pacific region and other regions are expected to participate. Additional information on the Forum is available at www.unescap.org/tid/apbf/index.asp.

Headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is the largest of the UN's five Regional Commissions, in terms of population served and area covered. The only inter-governmental forum covering the entire Asia-Pacific region, it aims to promote economic activity and social progress in the developing countries of the Asian and Pacific region. More information is available at www.unescap.org.

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