The event today drew over 300 participants from local SMEs, Asean countries and Hong Kong and China.


KUALA LUMPUR: SME Corp Malaysia has led a pivotal Asean Hong Kong, China SMEs Going ESG Policy Dialogue and Workshop 2024. 

The event today drew over 300 participants from local SMEs, Asean countries and Hong Kong and China. 

It served as a platform for knowledge exchange, fostering awareness of environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices, and sharing best practices on sustainability among Asean countries, SME Corp said.

The one-and-a-half-day event centred around the theme "Empowering SME Sustainability". 

"This event, attended by government officials, ESG experts, SME owners, representatives from financial institutions and academia, aimed to educate participants on the importance of ESG practices, development of ESG strategy, as well as measurement and monitoring of ESG performance. 

"The dialogue session focused on developing policy recommendations to promote the adoption of ESG practices among SMEs, sharing stories of SMEs pioneering the ESG journey, and highlighting efforts of the government and relevant agencies in the region."

SME Corp added that the sharing session specifically provided participants with insights into best practices, challenges, and recommendations from prominent speakers.

Rizal Nainy, the chief executive officer of SME Corp shared that being ESG-ready is a huge advantage for SMEs to access local and global markets. 

"Hence, SME Corp has launched the ESG 

Quick Guide for MSMEs to facilitate the adoption of ESG practices among MSMEs, which can be downloaded for free upon taking the ESG assessment on our website."

Given its importance, SME Corp has taken the initiative to recognise the MSMEs that actively integrate ESG practices into the company's business and strategy with a new special award under the Enterprise 50 Programme this year, the Best E50 Award for ESG Practice. -- NST