KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) awareness is growing exponentially in Asean, with 77 per cent of organisations in the region focusing on becoming sustainable organisations, said Kyndryl, the world’s largest information technology infrastructure services provider.
According to its recently launched Asean Digital Transformation Study 2022, in collaboration with technology research and advisory firm Ecosystm, organisations are being driven to develop and demonstrate ESG consciousness in their actions and investment, by their customers, investors and governments’ sustainability mandates.
“Despite the greater focus on sustainability, organisations still lack a holistic strategy and are grappling with how to integrate their data to set science-based targets, while navigating external challenges such as stricter regulations.
“The results indicate that while organisations in Asean are aware of their responsibility to balance sustainability and profitability, there are still challenges that hinder them from setting and achieving their sustainability goals,” it said.
The report noted many organisations pursue sustainability goals without a backup strategy, which saw only 23 per cent of organisations in Asean having a corporate sustainability strategy.
Meanwhile, the study revealed that only four per cent of organisations across the region have a holistic strategy and are focusing on external and last-mile challenges such as negotiating ambiguous reporting frameworks.
The study also found that the leading barriers to sustainability projects in Asean are operational costs (60 per cent), data availability (55 per cent) and lack of dedicated resources (50 per cent).
This confirmed that organisations’ sustainability initiatives are still at a preliminary stage, it said.
Kyndryl Malaysia managing director Joey Mak said as Asean is predicted to become the fourth largest economy in the world by 2030, there is now a huge responsibility for businesses in Malaysia to balance the long-term imperative of a net-zero future with the short-term need to safeguard the bottom line.
“I strongly believe that the success of sustainability lies in how well an organisation can integrate its people, processes and technology to achieve a common goal.
“To achieve this goal, we need to put people at the centre and embed sustainability principles at all levels of the organisational culture,” he said in a statement today.
— Bernama
