Corporate Social Responsibility in Malaysia Made Compulsory

All listed companies in Malaysia will have no choice but comply with CSR programs. This is following the orders of the International Trade and Industry Ministry secretary-general Datuk Isham Ishak recently, Bursa Malaysia. 2019 is, therefore, a good time to launch a CSR program in your business.

This may come up as a shock to many, but for the firms that understand the benefits of corporate social responsibility, this is merely a challenge. Companies that realize that CSR benefits both the company and the community are already doing it. Click to see the top 10 of Malaysia CSR Stars.

If you are just getting started with CSR, this article will help you understand why CSR is just not for the world but your business as well, and later give you ideas of the best CSR activities for your business.

Let’s do this!

Best Corporate Social Responsibility Examples

When a firm goes above, and beyond the social responsibility expectations of the clients, they are engaging in CSR. Did you note that? It’s pretty important.

A company cannot too their horns for simply practicing human rights or practicing good environmental practices. That is just following the law. However, brands go past this andpractice exemplary CSR initiatives. Socially responsible companies are more concern about the impact of their business in society than financial matters.

Here are the most common examples of corporate social responsibility:

+    Making social and environmental conscious investments.

+    Decreasing carbon footprints and climate change

+    Adjusting corporate policies for environmental benefits

+    Engaging in charity and volunteer activities within your community

+    Improving labor policies and embrace fair trade

Engage in charitable giving and volunteer

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer writes a list of organizations that give. They provide care for women and children with poor living conditions and raise awareness for non-infectious illnesses.

The firm’s humanitarian activities include donating multi-dose vials of its vaccine Prevenar 13 at a discounted rate.

Financial giant Wells Fargo is committed to fulfilling its goal of donating 1.5% of its annual revenue for charitable courses such as NeighborWorks. Besides the huge financial gesture, Wells Fargo workers are given two paid off days a year to volunteer; a trend that is rapidly growing in organizations. 50% of the Fortune’s 100 Best Companies are
giving paid leaves to encourage their employees to grow their community. Encouraging your employees to participate in CSR activities is a good way of strengthening your corporate citizenship.

Change corporate policies to benefit the environment

Hydrofluorocarbons (a chemical coolant commonly used in cold-storage facilities) is one of the leading prevalent greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. This is why Target committed itself to use ammonia to moderate temperature instead. Also, the Cleaning Product Company Method creates sustainable products by using plastics collected from the ocean to package their hand soap and dish. Their motto is “being tough on the dirt and kind to the planet.” It stays true to its motto in other different ways too. Method powers its production plants using solar and makes its soap as eco-friendly as possible.

These are some way socially responsible companies can help the environment;

+    Reduce your paper waste

+    Distribution of recycling bins throughout the organization

+    Making environmentally and socially conscious investments.

+    Have an annual tree-planting event

+    Reduce the negative impact of commuter traffic by permitting remote work.

+    Replace incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving LED bulbs.

10 Socially Responsible Malaysian Companies

1. Sime Darby Berhad

The company began as a small British firm managing 500 Acres of rubber in 1910. Over the years, Sime Darby has established itself in industrial equipment, plantation, energy, motors, and properties stretching to over 25 countries. The company has launched a subsidiary, Yayasan Sime Darby. The latter carries out the firm’s sustainability work in support of the company’s belief in economic and personal growth. Sime Darby made its name by being the first organization to develop an in-house Child Protection Policy. This helped in addressing the well-being of kids, protection and child safety.

2. Axiata Group Berhad

Axiata is recognized as the telecommunications titan in Asian countries with 290 million subscribers in 10 countries. With control brands such as ‘XL’ in Indonesia, ‘Dialog’ in Sri Lanka and ‘Celcom’ in Malaysia, not to forget the ‘edotco’ which operates across six countries, they hit an impressive RM19.9 billion in 2015.
The multinational company continues to support its IT CSR programs Kampung Tanpa Wayar (KTW) and Pusat Internet Malaysia. Thanks to their CSR initiatives they got the third place under the Edge Billion Ringgit Club Corporate Awards 2014 for CSR initiatives.

3. CIMB Group Holdings Berhad

CIMB has more than 1080 branches across the globe making it one of the biggest investment bank in the Asia Pacific. Their services include corporate banking, consumer banking, and strategic investments in different countries with their main focus being Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.
One of their CSR divisions of the group, CIMB Foundation, is the spearheading firm in CSR advocates. They have contributed more than RM76 million for community development. The donation led them to earn the first position in 2013 under the CSR best initiatives in The Edge Billion Ringgit Club Corporate Awards.

4. Malayan Banking Berhad

Malayan Banking Berhad also is known as Maybank is ranked fourth among ASEAN banks in terms of assets. As a result, it is the fifth largest Islamic bank in the world. The company launched the Maybank Foundation in 2010 for sustainability across the network.
They have joined with other employees and stakeholders to improve the lives of communities where possible. Thanks to their endless efforts in CSR programs, they have won several awards including the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting Award (Platinum) at the National Annual Corporate Reporting Awards (NACRA) 2015.

5. Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Berhad

The firm is well-known for its stout, beer manufacturing and other malt-related beverages since 1969. They take pride in their international brands such as Asahi Super Dry, Hoegaarden, SKOL, Somersby Cider and Kronenbourg 1664 just to list a few. Carlsberg is also recognized for its CSR activities. They were the first prize receivers in The Edge Billion Ringgit Club Corporate Awards 2014 under the Best CSR Initiatives for below RM10 billion market cap. They also raised RM469 million for 690 schools. This was done through ‘I Love Chinese Education East Malaysia’ and ‘Top Ten Charity Campaign’ charity concerts.

6. Allianz Malaysia Berhad

Allianz is among the leading insurance companies in Malaysia through its subsidiary branch (Allianz General Berhad). They have a broad portfolio of services in personal lines, motor insurance, large industrial risks and small to medium enterprise businesses. One of their CSR Programs Allianz4Good, volunteer in Financial Literacy, Road Safety, Community and Environment, and Financial Literacy.
In 2014, 417 volunteers dedicated 3,050 hours to reach 17,600 people through their structural voluntary programs. The firm won the Best CSR Initiatives under the RM10 billion market cap in The Edge Billion Ringgit Club Corporate Awards 2014.

7. DiGi.Com Berhad

Through their innovation in product and services, they have attracted more than 12.1 million customers in the telecommunication industry. The Telenor Group was one of Forbes’ 100 World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2014. The firm is famous for creating social-economic developments and assisting companies with technology advancement. DIGI’s company helped more than 38,098 school kids and reached out to more than 130 ICT teachers understand online safety methods. Their program also helped children living in poor urban centers.

8. RHB Capital Berhad

RHB Capital Berhad is Malaysia’s fourth-biggest financial institution. The bank resulted from the merging of Kwong Yik Bank and DCB Bank. The group’s CSR programs are mainly directed to children. The initiatives include; the RHB-The Star Mighty Minds National Challenge, the Students Educational Enrichment Development Leadership Programme, and the RHB-NST Spell-It-Right Challenge. From 2007, the group has also been offering a helping hand in uniting missing kids with their families.
Additionally, the Jom Sihat and the RHB TrEx Broga Challenge encourages healthy living and environmental awareness.
The company’s attempts have not gone unnoticed as they received The Asset’s Excellence in Management and Corporate Governance Benchmarking Award, the Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability Awards 2015, and the ASEAN Corporate Governance Awards for Top 50 ASEAN Publicly Listed Companies.

9. Petroliam Nasional Berhad

This is an oil and gas company. It is commonly known as Petronas. Petronas was founded in 1974 and is currently owned by the Malaysian Government. The firm is in the list of Fortune Global 500‘s largest corporations in the world.
The firm is known for its CSR activities to help the community they are based in, in activities such as; supporting health and safety, environmental conservation, and promoting education among other issues.
Their other project is on biodiversity, which helps in preserving nature parks in Malaysia. The company also sponsors community-based activities such as science and exhibitions, and drug prevention.

10. Fraser & Neave Holdings Berhad

F&N is a household name in Malaysia when it comes to dairy products and beverages. The company has a turnover of RM4 billion annually. The company has been named as the caring corporation due to its CSR activities. As part of the CSR Initiative, 100 Plus has been the Official Isotonic Drink of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and supporting the National Circuit Championships and other events hosted by BAM.
In the education program, the F&N Empowering Lives through Education (ELITE) programme collaborates with Kassim Chin Humanity Foundation (KCHF). Through the program, they were able to provide 600 poor households with tuition fees.

11. KFC Malaysia

When you hear of KFC what comes in mind is their mouth-watering delicacies, but you may have a different positive perspective after this. KFC uses its chain of buyers, employees, and suppliers to spread their love to the world. One of their projects is the KFC community impaired community stores (Matang (Sarawak), Sentul Raya (Kuala Lumpur), and Tanjung Aru (Sabah)) that has hired more than 350 individuals with disabilities. Other KFC CSR initiatives include; Tabung Penyayang KFC Malaysia, KFC Greek Outlet, and the Add Hope Malaysia Program, which has raised more than RM 25.5 million.

KFC Green has gone to another level with the partnership of Eclimo Sdn Bhd. Eclimo is providing KFC with Eclimo ES11 eco-friendly electric scooter for deliveries. The scooter is powered by electricity. It, therefore, has no carbon dioxide and reduces noise pollution.

Last Word

There are a million ways through which your firm can contribute to its humanitarian efforts and be on the line of globally sustainable development contribution.

Find new ways to increase the comfort of your staff at the workplace, and offer them generous
offers based on the revenue of your firm.

The other factor that  you need to consider is the impact your business has on the community around;
participate in charity organizations and ensure you regulate GHGs emitted by  your firm as possible.

The rewards of CSR are worth the trouble!