Companies Should Adopt ESG Initiatives, Avoid Being Laggards In Global Economy

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- More companies in Malaysia should start adopting environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives in their business to avoid being laggards within the global economy. FTSE Russell Sustainable Investment Analyst for Asia Pacific Edward Tsui said companies should see ESG as compliance-driven, key performing and strategic value to generate new returns for long-term benefits. “The compliance cost to carry out ESG initiative might be higher, however, the benefit and value generated in the long term would actually outweighs the cost, not to mention that ESG is becoming mainstream around the world now,” he said in the second day of a webinar titled, “ESG and You: Beyond Investing”, organised by Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF) Tuesday. He said ESG has built up some momentum, especially last year, in which more attention were given with plenty of ESG assets seen to outperform in the market and industries. As such, Tsui said it is important for companies to have a good ESG ratings to demonstrate and attract more investors with better resilience and corporate governance practices. Meanwhile, on the property side, Eco World Development Group Bhd corporate services head Wong Sheue Yann said more people in the industry were concerned about the surrounding environment and sustainability since the pandemic started last year. “It’s just not about the cost or money they invest in the property but also the surrounding offered by the developer whereby they prefer more greener atmosphere around their neighbourhood,” she said. Hence, she noted ESG is seen as a complete ecosystem for the industry to grow with support from the regulators and the buyers’ awareness on the importance of sustainability. However, she said with the post pandemic recovery, the struggle faced by the industry to implement the initiative likely be real, and therefore, more encouragement and awareness from the government and relevant authorities was needed to make sure sustainability remains relevant. “It’s a shared responsibility between the government, businesses and the people. Hence, more educational campaign is needed to encourage sustainable practices and to have a flourish business in the country,” she added. -- BERNAMA