The Symposium marked the start of the process to create the understanding of Sustainable Development (SD) concept, the emerging transition that required private sectors’ understanding, awareness, and serious implementation. Business and corporations in the modern era should focus on both generating profit and caring for people and environment. The innovation and technology should be developed in alignment with the value creation on environmental-friendly products and services that elevated lives of people in the community. The success in sustainable development implementation must take into consideration the collaboration from all related parties.

The exchange of experiences between world-class corporations in the adjustment to the sustainable development. Today the world faced the adverse climatic changes and increasing global population amid limited natural resources leading to high allocating cost of natural resources. Pollution control is necessary but requires generous amount of budget. Therefore, the best solution is to make optimum use of natural resources and minimize environmental pollution. Raising awareness of sustainable development starts from transforming people’s mindset, creating organizational culture that prompts to respond to sustainable way, in addition to balancing business growth and environment and society development.

The symposium was to extend the Sustainable Development concept from the national symposium to ASEAN SD Symposium 2012 as the rapid change of global climate has caused extreme abnormalities in all sectors. Private sector, in cooperation with government sector and other stakeholders, have the significant role in undertaking greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, reduction in resources and water consumption, forest restoration, zero waste cities, etc.

The symposium included the continuation of collaboration among ASEAN countries to further develop sustainable development mechanisms. As ASEAN is being pointed out as the world’s overcrowded region and the largest food producer, the regional improvement will, therefore, have impact on the world community. The private sectors are obliged to change their mindset from considering the investment in sustainable development as risk to allowing the investment in sustainable development for the better world.

One of the key successes of the world-class organizations is the use of innovation and technology as the tool to develop value-added products and service to fit the consumers’ needs, in concurrent with the improvement of quality of lives and the reduction of impact on environment. The organizations that funded and brought the projects to the market play the vital part in sponsoring innovation and technology. With collaboration from public sectors, the developed projects will be promoted to the production of valued-added products and services and create the new industry for the better sustainable future.

The concept of Sustainable Development has been promoted after consecutive years of symposium in the national and ASEAN levels. As Thailand has faced various types of water problem such as water scarcity and flooding, the platform was extended to solve the problems that obstruct the Country’s sustainable development. Thailand Sustainable Water Management Forum was organized to brainstorm ideas to tackle water management problems at hand. The water management had been systematically centralized to create the effective water resources conservation and restoration as well as sustainable water management. Results of the brainstormed ideas were adopted by the Government the concept and carried out as the concrete actions.

Amid the world natural resources crisis, it is important to gain a clear understanding of the new growing trend and awareness of Circular Economy concept. The comprehension of the make-use-return approach from all sectors will lead to the optimization of resources consumption during manufacturing and consuming processes. The innovation, determination, and engagement from all related parties will drive the creation of products with longer life span and platform for resources sharing and recycling. Moreover, business model would be accordingly adjusted to provide services as products and procure circular-economy-based resources. The application of circular economy concept in the symposium was well embraced resulting in the solid collaboration in the circular economy-based initiative projects between SCG and other organizations.

The purpose is to promote the continuity of circular economy by establishing the collaboration and calling for actions across all sectors; public, private and civil society. The symposium aims to initiate the collaborative network at national and international levels. Applying digital technology and innovation to drive business can achieve the optimal use of resources and deploy the circular economy principle. The symposium is organized to welcome the expert inputs and develop solutions that address national waste management. The outcomes shall be presented to the Thai government to create the national environmental management plan under the circular economy framework to attain the sustainable development goals for a sustainable world.

The Symposium demonstrates another step towards the application of circular economy. It provides a platform for all sectors to showcase their capabilities, build and expand collaborative networks in the area of sustainable development in Thailand and ASEAN and worldwide, and create innovation and technologies to save the world with the aim of achieving sustainable development goals mutually.