KUCHING, Mar 23: The Small Medium Enterprise – Sustainable Development Goals (SME-SDG) Toolkit, which was co-developed by Sarawak Energy and UN Global Compact Malaysia and Brunei (UNGCMYB), has recently been added to the SME Climate Hub, an international portal for SMEs to access tools and resources and benefit from incentives designed to enable them to make a climate commitment.
The SME-SDG Toolkit, which was designed to promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or UN SDGs 2030, is the only ASEAN product that is part of the more than 60 tools that have been selected from hundreds of reviewed tools and resources by climate experts and small business leaders globally.
“We are honoured by the recognition by SME Climate Hub and we hope this helps SMEs around the world to create their unique sustainability roadmap and begin their journey. At the start of our sustainability journey, we learned from international best practices from partner organisations such as UNGCMYB and the International Hydropower Association. We continue to apply these standards to guide us as we build a more sustainable energy future.
“As we mature in our sustainability journey, we firmly believe that we should share our experiences. This toolkit was designed to make it easier for SMEs to adopt a sustainability mindset and responsibilities.
“Sustainability lies at the heart of our business, and we are guided by the UN SDGs in our ongoing effort to embed sustainability practices in our business, our projects and our operations – we believe in maximising the positive impact of our operations while minimising any negative impact on society and the environment,” said Sarawak Energy Group Chief Executive Officer, Datu Sharbini Suhaili.
Meanwhile, Faroze Nadar, Executive Director for UN Global Compact Network Malaysia and Brunei commented that the recognition from The Climate Hub affirmed its mission to encourage SMEs to use sustainability as an opportunity to innovate, build resilience and thrive in the transforming global economy.
“The global pandemic has shown us that businesses need to be agile in adapting to changes in the business environment, while making a commitment to fight climate change,” he said.
The SME-SDG Toolkit was launched at the GO ESG ASEAN Corporate Sustainability Virtual Summit 2020 for small and medium enterprises who want to incorporate sustainability good practice into their operations.
The free-for-use SME-SDG online toolkit is a step-by-step guide and incorporates a suite of tools, guides and other resources for SMEs to steer them towards a more sustainable business model.
The SME-SDG Toolkit was developed around a fit-for-purpose MAJU (Advance) framework to enable SMEs to create their unique sustainability roadmap. The MAJU framework is a 4-Step process encompassing (M)ission, (A)ctivity, (J)ustifying and (U)pgrading components designed as a complete Sustainability Management suite for SMEs.
Sarawak Energy is Malaysia’s largest developer and provider of renewable energy through a power generation mix that is predominantly hydropower and champions sustainability both in its business and operations and with its partners and the communities it operates in.
In its role as the energy arm and implementation agency of the Sarawak Government’s vision for sustainable growth and prosperity for Sarawak and beyond, the energy developer and power utility aligns itself with the UN SDGs, prioritising 6 with a focus on Goal 7 – Affordable and clean energy, and Goal 13 – Climate action.
The SME Climate Hub is an initiative of the International Chamber of Commerce, the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the We Mean Business coalition and the United Nations Race to Zero campaign, in partnership with Normative.
The initiative, which has also joined forces with Oxford University’s Net Zero Climate Research and Engagement, is designed to help millions of small and medium-sized businesses reduce carbon emissions, bring innovative green solutions to the market and build business resilience.
For more information about the SME Climate Commitment, visit: https://www.smeclimatehub.org/sme-climate-commitment. — DayakDaily
