Urgent action needed on ESG goals

KUALA LUMPUR: The work must start now to promote the adoption of pro-green measures through environment, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, say the chief executive officers of three regional media powerhouses following the launch of the Asia ESG Positive Impact Consortium (A-EPIC) yesterday.

Star Media Group group chief executive officer Chan Seng Fatt said ESG efforts cannot wait, stressing the importance of achieving these initiatives.

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“The achievements so far are still behind. There’s a long way for us to catch up.

“This is not something that can wait where all of us have to catch up instead,” he said in reference to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030.

The United Nations SDG was signed by member states in 2015 with several goals, such as ending poverty, protecting the planet and to ensure everyone enjoys peace and prosperity by 2030.

Chan was speaking at a press conference following the formal launch of A-EPIC.

He added that the presence of foreign dignitaries and industry players across various sectors at the launch showed the idea was well received in the marketplace.

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“This signifies silent acknowledgement and a testament to this good cause.

“We hope the launch intensifies the adoption of ESG practices to reach a wider community,” he said.

KG Media chief executive officer Andy Budiman, who was also present, said among the measurable indicators for A-EPIC’s success is how their initiatives positively impacted the region.

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He also pointed out how only 15% of the United Nations SDG goals are on track to be achieved so far.

“There’s six years left but we are only halfway there,” he said.

“One of our main KPIs will be how our consortium contributes towards ESG progress in the Asia Pacific region,” he added.

Philippine Daily Inquirer president and chief executive officer Rudyard Arbolado said the newly launched A-EPIC would bring efforts of promoting ESG to the next level by focusing on environmental topics that are important to the region.

“We are also educating the public about the importance of ESG principles and the overall objective is to use our collective reach to speak to a broader audience.

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“Over time, this will bring solutions that will allow us to achieve sustainable practices,” said Arbolado.

Star Media Group chief business officer Lydia Wang said some of the issues that A-EPIC would focus on were poverty, environment and researching ways to improve the livelihood of various communities.

Wang also said Star Media Group collaborated with Indonesia’s KG Media and the Philippine Daily Inquirer because the two countries were strong trading partners of Malaysia.

“We need to get our ESG running before we can talk about economic growth. We also realise that in our communities, people struggle to get basic information and understand jargon,” added Wang.