Caring CSR Companies in Malaysia – The Top 10

The annual Sustainability and CSR Malaysia Awards 2022 afforded the timely opportunity for the celebration of the outstanding achievements of inspiring Malaysian listed as well as private companies, GLCs, and governmental organisations together with corporate foundations for their sustainability and corporate social responsibility efforts in creating a better Malaysia. Inspiring Malaysian corporations that have excelled tremendously in the corporate sustainability and social responsibility arena in boosting the socio-economic and environmental transformation of Malaysia were honoured at the luncheon event. In this issue, Top 10 of Asia shares its pick of the top 10 caring CSR companies among the 50 award recipients that were honoured. 

Led by CEO Syed Abdul Aziz Syed Hassan, Bank Rakyat carries out its ‘Rakyatpreneur’ programme, a social financial initiative to assist asnaf and small businesses from underserved backgrounds to be equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to expand their business and achieving the desired capacity and competitiveness. The Bank also organises mentoring programmes via the ‘Rakyatpreneur’ webinar and ‘Unipreneur’ programme training to assist underprivileged young entrepreneurs. In addition, the Bank provides seed funding to help entrepreneurs grow these businesses. Another of Bank Rakyat’s CSR initiatives is the Nuri Nutrisi Program which is aimed at helping to solve the issue of malnutrition among school children. Bank Rakyat received the Bank of The Year Award for Overall Sustainability Excellence and the Long-Standing Excellence in Sustainability award for its excellence in giving back to society throughout the years and for its committed embrace of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where it became the first local organisation to partner under the United Nations in Malaysia’s ‘Together for Sustainable Development Goals’. The Bank’s CSR initiatives last year amounted to some RM1.3 million. 

Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai, Chairman of Top Glove Corporation Berhad

Another outstanding company in sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) excellence is Top Glove Corporation Berhad, the world’s leading award-winning producer of rubber gloves. Helmed by its Chairman and founder Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai, Top Glove, through its philanthropic arm, Top Glove Foundation, organises projects such as ‘Lend A Hand’  a food bank type programme that provides essential goods and groceries to families in need, a mangrove nursery and plantation project in cooperation with Forest Institute Malaysia (FRIM) and refurbishing and donating computers and laptops to connect underserved communities to the digital age through the Foundation’s EduShare initiative. With some RM190 million distributed among its various philanthropic projects, Top Glove is a worthy recipient of the Company of The Year Award for Overall Excellence in Sustainability & CSR.

Ahmad Fariz, CEO of KPS Berhad

Improving the livelihood of youths and the unemployed has been the focus of KPS Berhad’s sustainability and CSR initiatives. KPS is one of Malaysia’s most successful investment holding companies listed on the main market of Bursa Malaysia. Led by the company’s CEO Ahmad Fariz Bin Hassan, it carries out the ‘Celik programme’ for skilling youths from the B40 group in the digital field. The company also piloted the KPS Entrepreneurship programme to encourage unemployed individuals to start small-scale businesses. KPS received the Company of The Year Award for Overall Excellence in Community Upliftment Initiatives and the Long-Standing Excellence in Sustainability award for its excellence in giving back to society for many years through its various initiatives. The company spent some RM2.3 million for its CSR initiatives last year. Also among the award recipients is Daikin Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a producer of world-class energy saving air-conditioners, that has been actively carrying out CSR and sustainability projects. Headed by COO Shogo Ando, the company donates oxygen concentrators to Daikin India and Indonesia for the benefit of patients who are badly in need of these medical facilities. It also contributed to the use of renewable energy by installing 2MW solar panels on plant roofs. Through the PIKAS programme, a public-private partnership immunization programme, Daikin contributed vaccines to its employees and suppliers. Last year, the company has spent some RM2.1 million for its CSR initiatives and was awarded the Company of The Year Award for Excellence in Sustainability & CSR Initiatives. 

Kyle Choi, Managing Director of Coway (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd

As the Best Life Solutions company, Coway Malaysia, which prides itself on its innovative and technology-driven home appliances, is no stranger to carrying out meaningful sustainability and CSR initiatives to benefit the communities in Malaysia. Giving back to the Malaysians who have supported the company faithfully is a vital part of its mission and this is evident through its numerous sustainability-focused initiatives. Headed by Managing Director Kyle Choi, highlights of Coway’s initiatives this past year included the ‘Happy Water Project’, a project aimed at aiding underserved communities in Malaysia to access clean water and Coway’s collaboration with EcoKnights to clean up the environment especially, rivers, and to raise public awareness on taking action to maintain healthier rivers. The company received the Company of The Year Award for Overall Excellence in Sustainability & CSR Initiatives and it contributed some RM3.2 million towards societal and environmental benefits in 2021.

Dato’ Azmir Jaafar, Managing Director of McDonald’s Malaysia

Taking its commitment to long-term sustainability efforts seriously, McDonald’s Malaysia, operated by Gerbang Alaf Restaurants Sdn Bhd, has been proactively introducing green solutions through its outlets in the country and minimizing its carbon footprint in the country. Headed by Managing Director Dato’ Azmir Jaafar, McDonald’s Malaysia in its CSR efforts  has also been providing millions of meals weekly to frontliners and contributing some RM2 million worth of zakat to assist the underprivileged communities in the country. With RM17.4 million contributed to sustainability initiatives last year, McDonald’s continues to shine brightly as a pillar of the community and environmental sustainability. McDonald’s Malaysia received the Company of The Year Award for Overall Excellence in Community Well-Being & CSR Initiatives and the Long-Standing Excellence in Sustainability award for its excellence in giving back to society for many years through its various CSR and sustainability initiatives.

The well-being of communities in Malaysia and the practice of sustainable manufacturing have always been close to the heart of Flex Malaysia (comprising Flex Penang and Flex Johor), one of Malaysia’s leading design and manufacturing companies. Helmed by CEO Revathi Advaithi, Flex Penang donates essential home appliances, cooking ingredients and personal care products to families throughout the country that have been badly affected by flash floods. It partners with local NGOs in the hiring of hundred of people with disabilities or PwDs for its sustainable manufacturing operations. Flex Penang received the Company of The Year Award for Excellence in Sustainability & CSR Initiatives and the Long-Standing Excellence in Sustainability. Its CSR activities amounted to some RM6.5 million last year. Down south, Flex Johor’s commitment to CSR is actively manifested through its sponsorships of face masks to schools, and protective suits and coveralls to hospitals in the prevention of the spread of the Covid-19 virus.  Flex Johor also collaborates with Ukhuwah4Ummah to distribute packs of ready-to-eat food to the homeless in the region. Some RM2.3 million was spent by Flex Johor on its CSR initiatives last year and it received the Company of The Year Award for Excellence in Community Well-Being Initiatives. 

Eleven Malaysia Sdn Bhd is one of the largest convenience store chains in Malaysia, serving more than a million customers daily. Nearly everywhere you go, you are bound to see the familiar trademark that has become synonymous with convenience for the local community with its myriad of services and products. Led by Co-CEOs Wong Wai Keong and Tan U-Ming, 7-Eleven contributed over RM4 million for CSR initiatives in 2021 through its #BuatBaikTogether initiative and the ‘Kotak Putih’ campaign that benefitted hundreds of underprivileged groups in the country. The company is also actively involved in giving financial aid to flood relief and refugee centres in the country. 7-Eleven received the Company of The Year Award for Outstanding National CSR Initiatives and the Long-Standing Excellence in Sustainability award for its excellence in CSR and sustainability efforts throughout the years.

Kenanga Investment Bank, an award-winning home-grown financial group led by Group Managing Director, Datuk Chay Wai Leong, incorporates sustainable practices in its business operations through its environment, social and governance or ESG framework anchored upon sustainable economic growth, environmental stewardship, empowering people and community and good corporate governance. In addition, some RM4 million was spent on CSR initiatives in 2021 which included donations of Covid-19-related supplies to the Health Ministry of Malaysia that benefitted hundreds of thousands of Malaysians and the supply of tablets for thousands of underprivileged children in Selangor. Kenanga Investment Bank received the Bank of The Year Award for Environmental, Social & Governance Excellence and the Long-Standing Excellence in Sustainability for its excellence in sustainability and in giving back to society for many years through its various initiatives.

Actively pursuing solutions in connection with its corporate social responsibility agenda comprising education, youth, environment and community has been a focus of KPMG PLT, a global professional services firm providing expertise in main areas of audit, tax and advisory headed by its Managing Partner, Datuk Johan Idris. Sustainability practices have been embedded within the firm’s operations for a long time in addition to its embrace of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Last year, the firm spent some RM1 million on its CSR and sustainability initiatives, focusing mainly on flood relief work in the country and the firm also involved itself in the raising of funds to support The Lost Food Project’s hunger relief initiative. KPMG received the Professional Services Firm of The Year for Outstanding Community, Public Health & Environmental Initiatives award. The firm also received the Long-Standing Excellence in Sustainability award for its excellence in contributing to the welfare of communities and a sustainable environment throughout the years.