QSR Brands introduced its first green KFC outlet in Nilai, Negri Sembilan in 2015.
WHEN it comes to quick-service restaurants, KFC and Pizza Hut are undoubtedly household names across Malaysia. Behind these brands is QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd, and backed by major shareholders Johor Corporation (JCorp) and Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
It operates KFC stores across Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Cambodia, as well as Pizza Hut restaurants across Malaysia and Singapore.
Being a leading player in the quick-service restaurants sector, QSR Brands recognises the growing importance of sustainability and its integration into the supply chain and daily operations.
On the social front, KFC Malaysia demonstrates its commitment by establishing dedicated social care restaurants, providing employment opportunities for over 3,000 people with disabilities.
The launch of programmes such as Tabung Penyayang and Add Hope further reflect the company’s dedication to community well-being.
Environmentally, QSR Brands sets a milestone by introducing its first green KFC outlet, paving the way for more eco-friendly stores. The company continues to work on energy conservation initiatives to reduce energy consumption and carbon emission.
QSR Brands’ commitment to transparency, ethics, and accountability fosters sustainable growth and strengthens stakeholder trust, includingthe communities it serves.
In addition, both KFC and Pizza Hut have been actively recycling used cooking oil across all its outlets.
Tackling food waste and implementing sustainable packaging are initiatives that drive daily operations in all KFC and Pizza Hut stores in Malaysia.
QSR Brands chief executive officer and managing director Nehchal Khanna said, “Sustainability has long been a part of the company’s ethos.
“From the outset, we have embraced our societal obligations and acknowledged the broader impacts of our operations in the community.”
“We developed a comprehensive sustainability strategy based on a materiality assessment that identifies the key issues most important to our stakeholders and most impactful to our business. “Given our extensive footprint and the growing urgency of climate change, environmental resilience is a key focus area.
“At the same time, we remain true to our roots as a homegrown business and deeply value giving back to the communities that have supported our growth,” Nehchal added.
Driving environmental resilience while feeding communities
Demonstrating this commitment, the Harvest programme addresses both food insecurity and environmental sustainability by redirecting unsold but perfectly good food to communities in need.
While KFC Malaysia upholds strict food safety and quality standards, surplus food exceeding its holding time can no longer be served.
Meanwhile, food waste remains the largest component of solid waste in Malaysia, contributing to methane emissions—a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide.
Through partnerships with Kechara Soup Kitchen and The Lost Food Project, the programme channels surplus food to those in need, supporting global sustainability goals, particularly in combating hunger and reducing environmental impact.
To date, it has redirected over 12 tonnes of food, nourishing communities while minimising waste. Reinforcing this commitment in 2024, the programme expanded from 15 to 84 participating stores, with a target of 150 stores by 2025.
A holistic approach to sustainability in the food and beverage sector must address both food waste and packaging impact.
QSR Brands acknowledges these challenges and remains committed to reducing its environmental footprint.
To address this, the company’s supply chain management (SCM) team actively sources sustainable packaging solutions. Nearly all paper-based packaging is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
Additionally, the company has committed to ensuring that all consumer-facing plastic packaging is recoverable or reusable by 2025. Recognising the need for greater action, QSR Brands has led its sector by adopting a more structured approach to its sustainability agenda since 2021.
One of the key steps was ensuring clear accountability in driving sustainability-related initiatives, with decision-making taking into account not only economic impact but also the environmental and social impacts, to promote long-term business viability.
Corporate governance’s role as key enabler
QSR Brands upholds exceptional corporate governance with a Board Risk and Sustainability Committee overseeing ESG—an approach not commonly seen among non-publicly listed companies. It also prioritise board and gender diversity as key governance elements. The company’s commitment to transparency, ethics, and accountability fosters sustainable growth and strengthens stakeholder trust.
Nehchal also stressed that “corporate governance is more than just a set of rules; it is a system that shapes how the company operates and collaborates internally.“It fosters cohesion and efficiency across departments while rooting the organisation in accountability and transparency.”In 2022, the company took a significant step by establishing a dedicated sustainability function within the corporate governance division, led by the group head of governance and compliance, David Chiam.
“Unlike conventional setups, this unique structure embeds sustainability within a trusted framework that prioritises oversight, compliance, and ethics.
“It fosters cross-department collaboration and drives impactful sustainability initiatives,” said Chiam.
For example, the 2024 Harvest programme tripled the amount of surplus food diverted to communities compared to 2023. Meanwhile, the Energy Conservation Management project achieved up to a 16% reduction in energy consumption at selected outlets during its pilot phase.
In November 2024, the company launched a group-wide Corporate Governance, Risk & Compliance, and Sustainability (CORES) campaign to enhance awareness in these key areas.
A standout initiative was the divisional recycling challenge, which collected nearly two tonnes of recyclables in a week—highlighting the power of collective action.
ESG data governance and management
Like many organisations embarking on their sustainability journey, QSR Brands began collecting ESG-related data to gain a clearer understanding of its current state, establish baselines, and set measurable targets for meaningful progress.
QSR Brands invested in strengthening robust data governance and digitisation processes for ESG-related data.
This collaborative effort between the sustainability and digital teams involved extensive internal engagement to identify data sources, map end-to-end process flows, and establish clear guidelines for data interpretation and use.Qsustain, launched in 2024, is a centralised ESG data tool with visualisation capabilities to enhance decision-making.
It serves as a foundation for improving the organisation’s sustainability reporting as it evolves.
Notably, the entire effort and tool were developed in-house, sparking critical internal discussions on data ownership and the vital role of ESG data in achieving QSR Brands’ sustainability goals.
Inaugural sustainability report
These collective efforts, combined with a strong commitment to transparency, culminated in the publication of QSR Brands’ inaugural sustainability report in December 2024.
While sustainability reporting is not yet mandatory for privately-owned entities in Malaysia, QSR Brands has taken a proactive approach by aligning with best practices to future-proof its business.
“By publishing our first sustainability report, QSR Brands is not only positioned to comply with these requirements but is also preparing to advance to more sophisticated levels of disclosure,” Nehchal remarked.
As part of its ongoing journey, the company is committed to enhancing its data governance programme by leveraging innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data analytics.
These tools will be instrumental in improving data accuracy, streamlining processes, and ensure the reliability of sustainability disclosures.
Vision for the future
As QSR Brands continues its transformation journey, its commitment to integrating sustainability into every facet of its operations remains unwavering.
By combining a structured governance approach, innovative tools like Qsustain, and collaborative cross-departmental efforts, the company is paving the way not only to be Asean’s leading food-tech company but also to position itself at the forefront of sustainability achievements and corporate responsibility in the quick-service industry.
