On Tuesday 6 October 2009 from 9.00 to 11.00 a.m., Ambassador Nopadol Gunavibool was invited to attend the opening ceremony of the Inaugural International Singapore Compact CSR Summit at Orchard Hotel. Other special guests invited were the Ambassadors of  Finland, Norway, Denmark, the European Union Commission and the Philippines. Mr. Filemon Uriate, Jr. , Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation, based in Jakarta, was also present.

Before the Guest of Honour, Mr. Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Manpower, delivered the keynote address and opened the Summit, the President of Singapore Compact for CSR, Ms. Olivia Lum and Mr. Par Ahlberger, Ambassador of Sweden to Singapore, addressed the audience. The opening ceremony ended with the launch of CSR book on ten case studies of local companies. The book was written by members of academics and consultants’ network and edited by Ms Evelyn Wong, who had served as Advisor, Research and Publications.

The theme of this Inaugural Summit was "Corporate Social Responsibility: Strategy for Sustainability and Success". It aimed to raise awareness on CSR for business sustainability and success and sought to assist companies and stakeholders in developing clearer concepts and strategies pertaining to CSR in Singapore and in other economies. It also marked the culmination of various CSR projects and partnerships that the Singapore Compact has been involved in.

The Singapore Compact for CSR emphasizes that benefits of implementing CSR include risk minimization, increased staff morale, reputational gains, improved performance, cost reduction and attracting investors both locally and globally. CSR is growing global and regional trend, and Singapore as a global city depending on global markets cannot ignore these trends. Companies operating in Singapore will benefit from adopting strategic CSR, as it will enhance company’s reputation and attract customers. Despite many potential benefits, CSR reporting and implementation remains relatively low in Singapore. Existing initiatives, while laudable, do not fully exploit the strategic opportunities that CSR can offer. In this regard, the Singapore Compact CSR Summit helped bring together expert panelists from companies, business associations, civil societies, educational institutions and government agencies both local and international.