The past decade has brought significant changes in the employer-employee relationship and sharp acceleration in the uptake of net zero targets, and "sustainability" has become a crucial aspect that organizations, no matter how big or small, embrace into their operation. Thailand is also one country that starts to take firm steps towards sustainable development goals (SDGs) including the government's policy to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2065, rules of sustainable disclosure imposed by Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and the launch of the first Carbon Credit Exchange to curb emissions. Moreover, sustainable disclosure (ESG) is officially made mandatory for all listed companies.
ABeam Consulting, one of the leading global business and digital transformation consulting firms with headquarter in Tokyo, Japan, with expertise in digital transformation and data-driven solutions, sets its 2023 goal to step toward a sustainability world by deepening their understanding of social and environmental issues, identifying commonalities, and initiating practicable solutions.
"Consultants who continue to do business as before are going to lack competitive edges as experts in their fields," says Tatsuya Kamoi, President and Chief Executive Officer of ABeam Consulting Ltd. The CEO does not only value the significance of power of digital technology and know-how in the workplace, but he is also aware that investing in people also leads to greater competitiveness. ABeam Consulting offices are created to encourage face-to-face conversations, flow of movement and productive interactions.
"People are the most important asset for any consulting company," says Tatsuya Kamoi. "We already employ 6,800 people in Japan and elsewhere, and constantly work on setting our own sustainable development goal targets to provide our clients with valuable advice and results. We believe these goals are an essential consideration linked directly to our values, business performance, and our corporate identity."
The goals that are fundamentally connected to the basis of ABeam Consulting's business include Goal 8, which stands for decent work and economic growth. The firm believes that business will grow if employees enjoy their work. Goal 9 is all about industry, innovation, and infrastructure where proper leveraging of digital technology promotes sustainability of the economy and companies. The third and final is Goal 17 partnerships for the goals. According to the CEO, a consulting firm requires some external support to realize these goals and boost their own value.
Another factor that helps ABeam Consulting reach SDGs are close relationships with NGOs (non-government organizations) and NPOs (non-political organizations) "Since 2013, we have provided support to WaterAid Japan, an NGO working to provide clean water, toilets, and sanitation to people around the world. In cooperation with IT firm and women's employment support company among others, we are also involved in promoting the role of women in digital technology together with running training programs to advance this goal," Tatsuya Kamoi explains.
As for ABeam Consulting (Thailand), the company has been monitoring its fuel consumption since 2021 to reach carbon neutrality by 2030. In addition, the company is also initiating the flagship Graduate Analyst Program (GAP) training program. The program has been running for 11 years to spread the expertise and know-how to aspiring analysts, as well as instill proper professional ideologies forged by ABeam Consulting 's unique organizational culture that will create decent workforce for the global labor market and a sustainable world for the future.
And as the firm with unique expertise in digital transformation and strong work ethics that revolve around ESG, ABeam Consulting also provides ESG Platform solutions to collect, accumulate, analyze ESG information scattered inside and outside of an organization with the latest digital technology to resolve any related issues and strengthen competitiveness of their clients.
"Companies that promote ESG activities are now on the rise, but most have not reached the stage at which they can strategically incorporate the results into their overall corporate management," says Mr. Ichiro Hara, Managing Director and SEA Leader of ABeam Consulting (Thailand) Ltd, . "As a top runner in digital ESG, ABeam Consulting does more than just scientifically indicate the relationship between ESG activities and corporate value. We help genuine ESG activities take root in corporate management, and we intend to continue to provide support until further corporate value increases are achieved. In doing so, I want us to take care not to forget the importance of adhering to the corporate principles that are so important to clients as we offer proposals suited to a company that is one step ahead.
"At ABeam Consulting, we approach measures to address important ESG issues at private industry firms and public-sector organizations from the dual perspective of management and workforce, from strategy formulation to the implementation and operation of measures. We build an ESG data-driven management model to improve IR response and business results, analyze the relationship between ESG activity KPIs and corporate value and provide comprehensive support for continual, highly effective ESG issues measures that are linked to management strategy."
ABeam Consulting will contribute to the realization of a sustainable society as a "social transformation accelerator" that promotes data-driven corporate transformation and accelerates major social changes by supporting companies in the ESG field.