Issue #262 - 26 July 2021 Dear Subscriber, |
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BMCC-UNGCMYB's CEO Climate Action Roundtable Underlines Urgency for a Strategic Leadership Framework to Guide Malaysian Businesses' Climate Ambitions
Floods of the century deluging Europe and Asia; forest fires ravaging North America; prolonged droughts devastating Africa ─ these headlines are fast becoming a staple in our daily newsfeed. As the world struggles with increasing climate change challenges, there has been an increased commitment in recent years among world leaders such as EU, China, Japan, and South Korea to achieving a net zero carbon future.
Likewise, a growing momentum towards the climate agenda among the Malaysian government, investors and businesses is observed. The government has declared its commitment to reduce CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 45% by 2030, and announced the continuation of the Green Technology Financing Scheme plus a RM600 million allocation to reverse environmental degradation in the 2021 Budget.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also intensified the urgency to address the deepening impact of climate change. As Malaysian businesses play an instrumental role in advancing the nation towards a low/net zero carbon economy, the BMCC and the UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei (UNGCMYB) hosted a CEO roundtable session entitled "Leaders for Climate Action: Enabling a Net Zero Carbon Economy Pathway" on 30 June 2021 with the following business leaders to discuss and exchange best practices on this topic:
- Shafie Shamsuddin, Chief Executive Officer, AEON Co. (M) Berhad
- Liew Tian Xiong, Executive Director, Eco World Development Group Berhad
- Stuart Milne, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad
- Yong Yoon Li, Managing Director, Royal Selangor International Sdn Bhd
- Dato’ Azmir Merican, Group Managing Director, Sime Darby Property Berhad
- Mark Arthun, Managing Director and Site Leader, Smith & Nephew Operations Sdn Bhd
- Shirley Loh, Regional Managing Director, Owen Mumford Sdn Bhd
- David Mizan Hashim, Group President, Veritas Design Group
The roundtable was aimed at deriving insights to be incorporated into UNGCMYB’s guide titled Thriving in a Carbon Net Zero Economy: A Guide for Malaysian Businesses for Positive Climate Actions, which will provide various comprehensive frameworks and business cases to empower other business leaders in steering their organisations towards achieving Net Zero.
The session opened with welcome remarks from BMCC Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Lopez, followed by an overview of the local and climate landscape by Faroze Nadar, Executive Director of UNGCMYB, in which he highlighted the urgency of taking action as the world's biggest companies are starting to cut off suppliers, including those from Malaysia, that are not moving quickly enough to help them achieve their own climate ambitions. He also quoted research on Malaysian public-listed companies that pointed to a gap between the set climate ambition targets and the day-to-day activities. Nonetheless, he is optimistic that with the initiatives being implemented and the commitments undertaken by leading Malaysian companies, Malaysia can play the role of a regional and global leader in this space.
With the achievement of constructive takeaways, which included an understanding of the participating leaders' decision-making best practices and challenges in guiding and operationalising their climate ambitions, the roundtable came to a successful close.
The BMCC wishes to thank our co-host UNGCMYB and all participants for contributing their time and useful insights to the climate change agenda.
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Shell Malaysia Illustrates How Malaysia Could Reach Carbon-Neutrality by 2065
The story's aspirational scenario illustrates a technically possible but challenging pathway for Malaysia and calls for fundamental changes to Malaysia’s energy system. With its natural advantages of "tree" and "sun", Malaysia has a chance to deliver economic growth that is environmentally sustainable by relying on low-carbon sources of energy, adopting new technologies, and preserving and restoring the country’s natural carbon sinks – its forests – but will have to accelerate its current pace of change.
The pathway described by The Tree, The Sky, The Sun highlights five critical “increase levers” that are likely to have the greatest influence on moderating carbon emissions in Malaysia: 1) the increase in forest acreage and density; 2) the introduction and gradual increase in the carbon price; 3) the emphasis on energy efficiency; 4) the greater push for electrification; and 5) a more widespread use of renewables, especially solar energy.
Recognition and understanding of these important levers as well as strong collaboration across government, business, and society will be crucial to make progress at the pace required for Malaysia’s energy system to be carbon-neutral by 2065. The publication was launched at a virtual event on 6 July 2021, graced by Dato’ Sri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, Minister of Environment and Water, and H.E. Aart Jacobi, Ambassador of The Netherlands to Malaysia.
Read The Tree, The Sky, The Sun here.
Launch event media release here.
The BMCC is proud to have Shell Malaysia as a Sterling Member of the Chamber. |
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Corporate Governance Malaysia | The Hornbill Award Competition 2021
The Hornbill Award Competition 2021 by Climate Governance Malaysia (CGM) is calling for submissions!
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are invited to focus on the area of Conservation, dealing with the preservation and management of biodiversity and natural resources in their proposal submission.
The winner of The Hornbill Award will walk away with prize money of RM90,000 which judges will award to one NGO or CSO to fund an innovative proposal in response to the theme identified for the competition. The selection will culminate during Climate Week New York, which is the largest climate event of the year, and this decision will take into account audience voting as well.
Closing date: Friday, 13 August 2021
More details and proposal submission here.
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Take 5 | Q&A with Dato’ Abdul Rauf Rashid, Malaysia Managing Partner, EY
EY is committed to building a better working world ─ one that creates sustainable and inclusive economic growth. At the heart of this commitment is the recognition that the responsibility to minimise the environmental impact of EY business operations extends to EY people, clients and to the wider communities.
Dato’ Abdul Rauf Rashid, Malaysia Managing Partner, EY shares with us EY’s sustainability strategy and initiatives to decarbonise its business operations and help clients do the same, anchored by a culture of disruptive innovation that empowers EY people to drive positive change, find creative solutions that address global environmental challenges and create a better world. |
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HSBC | HSBC Amanah Launches Its First Green Trade Finance Proposition with a Client HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad (HSBC Amanah) has launched its first Islamic Green Trade Finance proposition with the issuance of a Green Bank Guarantee for Cenergi SEA Sdn Bhd (Cenergi), the largest grid-connected biogas-to-energy player in Malaysia.
The Islamic Green Trade Finance proposition ─ which includes Islamic trade finance products such as the Islamic Documentary Credit, Bank Guarantee and Clean Import Financing ─ adheres to the HSBC Sustainable Trade Instrument Principles and the Green Loan Principles. Both principles promote the integrity and transparency of green trade finance products by setting the standard for "green".
HSBC’s trade facility will be used to support Cenergi’s solar and energy efficiency projects that will contribute to their vision of building a sustainable business and further support the Governments efforts in combating climate change in line with Malaysia’s Shared Prosperity Vision 2030.
Read more about our Green Trade proposition with Cenergi here. |
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PwC | Unlocking Capital for Net Zero Infrastructure
In June 2019, the UK became the first major economy to set a legally binding commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. This PwC Strategy& publication, commissioned by the Global Infrastructure Investor Association (GIIA) explores the level of investment in energy, transport, and digital infrastructure needed in the UK to reach this net zero target. Based on interviews with leading infrastructure investors, this publication highlights several opportunities and challenges policymakers will face when considering how to accelerate efficient private infrastructure investment in the UK. Businesses can learn how the government and private investors can work together, based on five key policy recommendations to channel efficient capital into net zero infrastructure investment.
Read the publication here. |
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Ricardo | Ricardo's Tech and Geofencing Expertise Supports Accelerated Adoption of EV and Hybridised Bus Fleets in the UK
Ricardo recognises there is increasing pressure and interest in electrifying vehicle fleets, to reduce emissions, lower operating costs, and improve efficiencies.
To support our clients in their de-carbonising challenges, Ricardo has developed a suite of modelling and simulation toolsets to enable system specification, optimised energy capacity, battery and charging infrastructure, and validated performance over any duty cycle.
In this article, we examine the role of geofencing and simulation tools in accelerating the move to EV and hybridised vehicle fleets. For more information on Ricardo’s strategic engineering and environmental consultancy work, email Dr Leon Rosario, Ricardo ASEAN Region Technical & Marketing Director based in Kuala Lumpur, at Leon.Rosario@ricardo.com. |
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ZICO Law | Infographic Series 1 (Part II) – Sustainable Supply Chain
Sustainability is more than just “going green” – it is the future of global businesses. There is a growing need to integrate sustainable solutions into the supply chain process, from procurement, production to transportation of supplies and finished goods. A sustainable supply chain is a long term commitment to the processes that considered and identified the impact on the environmental, social and economic factors. With many consumers becoming more vocal and conscious on sustainable practices globally, businesses are responding by integrating sustainable practices into their supply chain. Sustainable solutions that businesses have adopted include sourcing of raw materials, reducing carbon footprint and promoting human rights and fair labour practices in the supply chain process. This infographic provides a brief outlook on how sustainable practices can be implemented by local businesses, with practical examples on how it has been done by other businesses in this space. The infographic also looks at the relationship between the government and the private sectors and how they can collaborate in implementing initiatives that are sustainable for the future, including an idea on the implementation of "green-walls" as a form of carbon sinks in urban areas.
Download the infographic below. |
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UK Government Releases Trend Deck 2021 for Climate Change
On 28 June 2021, the Government Office for Science released the Trend Deck 2021: Climate Change, covering environmental trends on climate change impacts and the global response. Topics include updates on UK urban air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, net zero legislation and more.
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British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce Berhad 201801018075 (1280091-P) E04C0, 4th Floor East Block, Wisma Golden Eagle Realty, 142-B Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur Copyright © BMCC 2021 |
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