Corporate Sustainability (CS) Practices

Dayana Mastura Baharudin

 Is an ethical concept related to the fight
against poverty, social cause and to protect
the environment (Zahid & Ghazali, 2015;
Baumgartner & Ebner, 2010)
Sustainable
Development
The World Commission on Environment and
(SD) Development (WCED) in 1987 described SD as
‘a process of change in which the exploitation
of resources, the direction of investments, the
orientation of technological development, and
institutional change are all in harmony and
enhance both current and future potential to
meet human needs and aspirations
 Terms such as ‘ triple bottom line’ (TBL), Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainable Development (SD)
and Sustainability are being used interchangeably (Zahid
& Ghazali, 2015; Elkington, 2004; Marrewijk, 2003)

TBL comprises of People, Planet & Profit or Economic,

Social and Environment

TBL, SD, CSR,

Sustainability……
Single bottom line = Profit (as in the Profit figure in the
PLC’s Annual Report / Integrated Report)

Since the 1980s, corporations are moving away from the

single bottom line to the TBL in order to satisfy
shareholders and stakeholders demands
TBL, SD, CSR, Sustainability……

CSR is widely used by the PLCs to show that they have given back to the community or stakeholders

Sustainability reflects more on how PLCs or any type of organisations are able to survive independently based on the current
resources owned 100 years into the future

If companies are sustainable or have practiced sustainability, then only they can practice CSR

Prior research have shown that during economic downturn, CSR practices decreases or disappears

Greenwashing is another term to reflect companies practicing CSR just to save their damaged corporate reputation (e.g
Baker Hughes OG in the US donated USD200k to a breast cancer campaign when it was proved that the OG drilling caused
harm to the water source due to the chemicals used during the drilling process – which in turn caused cancer)
• The environmental dimension of
sustainability concerns the organization’s
impact on living and non-living natural
systems, including land, air, water and
ecosystems (GRI, 2013)
• Energy and water use
• Emissions
• Effluents
• Waste
• Biodiversity
• Environmental compliance
Environmental
Sustainability
Social
Sustainability

• The social dimension of

sustainability concerns the impact
the organization has on the social
systems within which it operates
(GRI, 2013)
• Labour practices
• Decent work
• Human rights
• Maintain positive relationships
with all present and future
stakeholders
Economic
Sustainability

• The ability to remain the market for

a long time, which leads to good
financial and sustainable results of
the company (Zahid & Ghazali,
2015; GRI, 2013; Baumgartner and
Ebner, 2010)
• Market presence
• Corporate governance
• Earnings, value creation
• Acquisitions
• Locals in management
• Research & Development
• Internal control
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

• Most widely used reporting guideline globally (Zahid

& Ghazali, 2015; Isaksson & Steimle, 2009)
• GRI was established in 1997 by the Coalitiion for
Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) and
the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP).
• The current version of GRI is G4 released in May
2013 (GRI, 2013) and are compatible with the
United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) (Isaksson
and Steimle, 2009)
• Commitment to raise the profile of listed
companies with socially responsible
practices and reporting
• The Bursa Malaysia sustainability reporting
index has 3 dimensions – Environmental,
Bursa Malaysia
Social and Governance (ESG) (formerly
• Bursa Malaysia requires public listed
companies (PLCs) to report on its known as the
sustainability practices but does not make
it compulsory on which framework to use
as in the GRI or ESG or the United Nations
Kuala Lumpur
17 Sustainable Development Goals
(UNSDGs)
Stock
Exchange)
CS in Malaysia vs. Globally

• Previous studies have identified the CS practices and reporting are

more matured in developed countries (Goyal et al, 2013; Junior et
al; Kolk, 2010), while in developing and emerging economies like
Malaysia, it lacks interest among companies and still CS is in its
infancy stage (Atan & Razali, 2013; Nazli et al, 2004, 2013; Yam,
2013)
Sustainability Disclosure Index (Zahid & Ghazali,
2015; GRI, 2013; Bursa Malaysia, 2013)
CS practices within the Real Estate Investment
Trusts (REITS) industry (Zahid & Ghazali, 2015)
UN SDGs (2015 – 2030)…..we have 9 years
left….
Hands-on example
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (Top 30
Malaysian PLC on Bursa Malaysia)