TAIPEI,TAIWAN - Media OutReach -10 June 2019 - A total of 64 projects andbusiness leaders across 16 countries in Asia were selected as recipients ofAsia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) 2019, an increase of 19% from lastyear. Regarded as the top corporate social responsibility awards in Asia, thisyear's ceremony was organized in Taipei, after being held in Macau, Singapore,Bangkok, and Manila previously.

Organized by Enterprise Asia, the leading non-governmental organizationfor responsible entrepreneurship in Asia, the AREA aims to recognize and honorAsian businesses and leaders for championing sustainable and sociallyresponsible business practices. The award categories are socialempowerment, investment in people, health promotion, green leadership,corporate governance, and responsible business leadership. Some of thedignitaries who graced the event include Mr. Chang San-cheng, former premier ofthe Republic of China (Taiwan) and Mr. Hou Yu-Ih, mayor of New Taipei City.

Leading the list ofwinners was Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) who received two awardsunder the health promotion and corporate governance category. MWA is a stateenterprise under the Ministry of Interior. It started its operations in 1967under the Metropolitan Waterworks Act B.E. 2510 (AD 1967) with an aim toprovide raw water sources for waterworks activities, including producing,distributing and selling treated water in Bangkok - Nonthaburi - Samuthprakan,as well as running other businesses related or beneficial to waterworks. Therespective winning projects of MWA were "School Tap Water System Project" and "MWACorporate Governance Council".

SchoolTap Water System Project

MWA initiated theSchool Tap Water System Project in 2016. The project was developed fromWatershed Forest Conservation Project to honour His Majesty The King. Theproject consisted of three activities including reforestation, weirconstruction and school development. The goal of MWA was to develop and provideclean water to at least four schools in remote areas per year as well as tobuild good relationships between MWA and the communities by bringing out the expertiseand knowledge in waterworks of the organization to help the community.

The School Tap WaterSystem project brings out the expertise of MWA to help the Mae Klong RiverBasin Communities by developing and improving school tap water system via thedevelopment of groundwater system and mountain water system, providing highwater storage, water filter and plumbing system by the volunteer team whichconsists of operational staff and MWA executives, reflecting the unity andcooperation of the Company.

From 2016-2018, MWA hasprovided clean water to 21 schools and plan to provide clean water to at leastfour schools per year. There was an increase in cooperation in the area ofwater conservation among governmental agencies, local authorities, private sectorsand various civil societies. Furthermore, students, teachers and schoolpersonnel have equal access to sufficient clean water and this has helped reducethe expense in purchasing bottled waters. There has also been a decrease inhygiene and health problems of students, reduced sick leaves, and improvedquality of life. The project has won Enterprises of the Year Award in 2017 foroperations to include social and environmental excellence from State EnterprisePolicy Office, Thailand's Ministry of Finance in 2017.

The School Tap WaterSystem Project is placed in the short-term and long-term plan of MWA allowingthe distinct continuous of the operation in the future. This Project alsosupports the 6^th goal of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals ofensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation forall. In the fiscal year of 2019, the revision of Annual Operational Plan madethe change of School Tap Water System Project into Development/ Improvement ofTap Water System Project to further expand the target groups to religiousplaces together with expanding the area to Chao Phraya River Basin, anothermajor area of MWA.

MWACorporate Governance Council

The MWA CorporateGovernance Council was derived from "CG My Idol Project" which searched forleaders and role models in corporate governance among their employees since2012-2015. It is the first state enterprise which founded the CorporateGovernance Council.

In 2016, the board of directorsprovided Anti-Corruption Policy which focused on corruption prevention asfollowing declaration "MWA with Transparency and Corruption Free" throughadding more channels for reporting problems and fault clues within the organization.The MWA CG Council aims to build righteousness and strengthen morality, virtueand corporate governance within the organization. Staff within organization canshare their opinions, concerns and problems with the management.

The MWA CG Council wasfounded in accordance to the National Strategy (2017-2036), the NationalAnti-Corruption Strategy (2017-2021) and the 4^th MWA's StrategicManagement Planning (2017-2021) that aims MWA to be a high-performance organizationwith excellent corporate governance, reaching international standards andresponding to all stakeholders need. Currently, there are 101 people fromelection and 15 people are selected to be in MWA CG Council Commission.

The MWA CG Councilestablished MWA CG Council Action Plans to build confidence, faith and solutionsto corruption. Furthermore, it can drive operations of MWA to be more effectiveand efficient with sustainable growth which will lead to excellent service tocustomers and raise stakeholders' trust and confidence. From the result ofoperations, the Integrity and Transparency Assessment (ITA) score was more than90% which shows that MWA is a well-managed organization with a high level of integrityand transparency.

There are many externalorganizations which are interested in MWA CG Council such as Anti-CorruptionCenter, Moral Center, Office of National Anti-Corruption Commission etc. In2017, MWA received award from Office of National Anti-Corruption Commission;and in 2018, the score of ITA in part of internal stakeholders increased andachieved an overall score of 92.40% which was higher than the target.

In the future, MWA CGCouncil hopes to emphasize on the working standards as righteous andtransparent practices, applying corporate governance principles in order tomaximize stakeholder satisfactions and result in an increasing ITA score. TheCouncil plans to act as the role model to other state enterprise organizationsand companies; moreover, the council has the main liaison linking betweenexecutives and employees, encouraging better employee engagement and organizationcommitment as well as stakeholders' trust. For this result, it shall becoordination mechanism from MWA policies to organizational practices, regardingthree aspects which are 'Personnel' (Appointment/ Transfer / Welfare etc.),'Work' (Proper Chain of Command / Administration / Input- Output Relation) anda problem of 'Economy' (Value for investment / Procurement).

About Enterprise Asia

Enterprise Asia is anon-governmental organization in pursuit of creating an Asia that is rich in entrepreneurshipas an engine towards sustainable and progressive economic and socialdevelopment within a world of economic equality. Its two pillars of existenceare investment in people and responsible entrepreneurship. Enterprise Asiaworks with governments, NGOs and other organizations to promote competitivenessand entrepreneurial development, in uplifting the economic status of peopleacross Asia and in ensuring a legacy of hope, innovation and courage for thefuture generation. For more information, visit: https://www.enterpriseasia.org/.

About Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards

The Asia ResponsibleEnterprise Awards recognizes and honors Asian businesses for championingsustainable and responsible entrepreneurship in the categories of GreenLeadership, Investment in People, Health Promotion, Social Empowerment,Corporate Governance and Responsible Business Leadership. For more information,visit: https://enterpriseasia.org/area/.