PETALING JAYA: The ESG Positive Impact Awards 2024 (ESG PIA) Winners Showcase has kicked off with sponsor OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd spearheading the event with a talk on sustainable financing.
The talk was held at Menara Star yesterday.
OCBC Bank’s commercial banking head Kevin Choo said the event allows ESG PIA winners to share their experiences and insights, providing inspiration and learning for current participants of the award.
“It is also a fantastic opportunity for everyone to come together, share ideas and explore new possibilities in sustainable approaches.
“Transitioning to ESG excellence is rarely a straight path, there are bound to be challenges along the way.
“What truly matters is the commitment to innovate and persevere, even when faced with obstacles,” said Choo.
At the event, the first presenter for the day, OCBC Bank sustainable finance vice-president Teoh Shi Sheng elaborated on the bank’s sustainable financing, which he said has already been providing green financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) since five years ago.
Next to present were the winners of the Most Outstanding ESG Initiatives of the Year award for the SME to mid-tier category Iskandar Malaysia Studios and gold winner in Talent Management category AIA Bhd.
They shared about their experiences in setting up ESG-related programmes that have made them winners in the ESG PIA 2023.
AIA Bhd sustainability director Muhammad Junaid Iqbal, winner of ESG PIA 2023 in the Good Health and Wellbeing category, spoke on the importance of employees’ physical and mental health through programmes and plans that the insurance agency has done via its AIA app.
Iskandar Malaysia Studios chief executive officer Rashid Karim emphasised on the necessity of instilling sustainable practices in the filming industry to save energy and to overcome burning fuel due to excessive travelling.
Bursa Malaysia’s Bursa Carbon Exchange assistant vice-president business development and sales Muhammad Rizal Azmi delved into the intricacies of carbon credits that can be traded on the Bursa Carbon Exchange (BCX).
Rizal said the world cannot achieve net-zero by 2050 with the current available solutions.
“A lot of these technologies are not commercially viable yet. The carbon markets actually provide an avenue, a market-based instrument to allow offsetting and to develop more carbon projects in Malaysia and the world, so that we can actually achieve our net-zero goals together,” he said in an interview.
He added that there are many types of carbon credits suitable for any business, from large corporations to even SMEs.
The event also featured exhibitors which were previous ESG PIA winners. They showcased some of their sustainability efforts at the venue.
These include 2023 gold winners Complete Human Network Sdn Bhd in the Sustainable Ecosystems category, MM Century Sdn Bhd in the Waste Management category and Heliosel Sdn Bhd in the Renewable Energy category.
All three winners won under the SMEs and mid-tier companies segment.
The ESG PIA Winners Showcase was organised by Star Media Group, in partnership with OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd.
Star ESG PIA is open for submission, for more info visit https://staresgawards.com.my/
