Brunei Shell Petroleum Co. Sdn Bhd (BSP) is proud to sponsor and participate in the 2021 ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS). Held on October 25, the annual summit is Southeast Asia’s premier forum, bringing together Head of States and Governments, Presidents, Prime Ministers as well as industry leaders and players to discuss on key topics and emerging trends in the ASEAN region. Echoing this year’s theme of “Building Our Sustainable Digital Future”, participants across the world connected virtually and highlighted the importance of being able to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic stronger.
Strength in Continuity
Even as the world tries to adapt COVID-19 presence as a new norm since 2020, the pandemic continues to impact lives and livelihoods across Southeast Asia. This has spurred many businesses and organisations around the world to rethink their business models and reflect on the future of work and education.
As Brunei undergoes its second wave, the pandemic has again highlighted the importance of business continuity for BSP, especially in facing a very fluid situation. Business continuity for BSP has been fortified by the implementation of COVID-19 precautionary measures such as staging, operation bubbles and mandatory swabbing within BSP operations. Aligned with the principle of fair distribution and access to vaccines, and with the strong support and supply from the Ministry of Health, BSP has also mobilised its health frontliners and volunteers in the Panaga Health Centre to not only vaccinate energy frontliners, but also extended this service to the communities .
Seeing Opportunities in Challenges
The pandemic has paved the way for a New Normal. The world has adopted new standards that we could not have fathomed a few years ago. Particularly, in the adoption of remote working.
For BSP, to safeguard business continuity, it is critical to fully enable its employees to work from home and support its many employees working on the frontline. This move was executed merely within a week in early 2020 during the first wave of COVID-19 in Brunei. It was not only a testament to BSP’s Business Continuity Plan (BCP), but a demonstration to a huge potential.
It has been truly encouraging to see the accelerated adoption of digital ways of working” states Agnete Johnsgaard-Lewis BSP Managing Director of BSP ”if there is such a thing as a silver lining to the ongoing situation it is that it has demonstrated our ability to be agile, rapidly embrace these new ways of working which will also serve us well going forward”
This provides the opportunity to accelerate strategic and operational reviews for companies, with digitalisation at the heart of this process. In a world that is rapidly adapting Industry 4.0, it is imperative to leverage off this development.
BSP started its Digital Transformation Strategy in 2019 as a roadmap to achieving specific strategic priorities to promote a more efficient ways of working. Through this strategy, BSP aims to reduce costs and increase productivity, reliability and performance by focusing on the development of in-house and specialist digital skills and nurturing digital-aware leaders and employees.
Collaboration in Driving Digital Transformation
The rapid digital transformation, propelled by the pandemic, and the projected economic rebound in Asian countries provide opportunities for businesses, industry leaders and players.
It is critical for us to continuously work together in sharing best practices, strengthening ASEAN networks for trade and especially in fostering growth through digitalisation and innovation. For BSP, this is more important than ever as the world currently records higher demand for energy.
Countries within the region have displayed commendable collaboration in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic through the sharing of each other’s containment Standard of Procedures, knowledge on digital contact tracing methods and most importantly, supply for vaccines.
It is important that this close partnership continues to prosper – more so now as we continuously adapt to an ever-changing situation. There will be many emerging challenges but together, ASEAN can overcome them as a region. Together we care, we prepare, we prospe