Curtin Malaysia conducting workshops for organisations interested in ESG accreditation

Miri – 24 September 2022 – Investing in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) accreditation is increasingly critical to industries in Malaysia as the government and country places greater emphasis on sustainability and corporate responsibility, particularly the impact on the environment and society.

For companies, it is a rigorous credential that signifies their ESG knowledge, skills and experience, as well as a global symbol of excellence in sustainable policies, investment and business criteria to help them become sustainable complaint.

Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia), Curtin University’s largest global campus and hub in ASEAN, is a key contributor to the University’s strategic growth of sustainability education in the region. As such, it is taking the initiative to offer professional education in corporate sustainability and sustainable development through its School of Pre-U and Continuing Education (SPACE) and Faculty of Engineering and Science (FoES), leveraging Curtin’s acclaimed portfolio of international academic resources and expertise.

SPACE and FoES are jointly hosting ‘Pathway to ESG Accreditation’ workshops for industry practitioners whose organisations are interested to attain ESG accreditation to boost their corporate credentials. There will be two 2-day workshops on 3 to 4 October and 6 to 7 October 2022 respectively, to be conducted by Dr. Asif Iqbal Siddiqui, a sustainability expert from the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Faculty of Business and Law at Curtin University in Perth.

No prior knowledge of sustainability and/or ESG is required of participants and selected readings and learning resources will be provided. Those interested are encouraged to attend both workshops as the first will essentially be an introduction to ESG and the second a more detailed deep-dive into ESG accreditation.

The participation fee is RM1,200 per person and payments can be made online at payments.curtin.edu.my/event/menu.

The workshops are part of a Curtin executive training programme on corporate sustainability around ESG risk and opportunities as they unfold in Malaysia and ASEAN. Experts from Curtin’s main campus in Perth will visit countries and run workshops in ASEAN with the aim of engaging leaders and decision-makers in key private and public sector organisations to prepare them for fulfilling their obligations towards regulators, investors and the communities in which they operate.

According to Director of SPACE, Dr. Fidella Tiew, Curtin has an excellent sustainability track record and is fully committed to sustainability, and thus is well positioned to carry out the programme in the region.

“Sustainability is a key focus of Curtin University across all its global locations and is reflected in its curricula, teaching, research, constructs and culture,” she said.

“Furthermore, Curtin hosts a large number of experts, including several internationally reputable academics and researchers, who are working to solve various sustainability challenges faced around the world in partnership with industry, government and local communities.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Siddiqui said the workshop participants should be able to demonstrate better understanding of the concept and measures of sustainability, corporate sustainability and ESG performance management after attending the workshops.

He said the programme is built in line with the sustainability reporting guidelines of BURSA’s updated version, and major international standards and frameworks such as GRI, SASB, IIRC, TCFD recommendations and GHG protocol along with relevant local legislations will be consulted and discussed during the workshops.

Dr. Siddiqui, who is the lead academic for the programme, is trained in environmental economics and has more than 25 years’ experience in multi-stakeholder setup working with universities, NGOs, industries, and government agencies, promoting business cases for sustainable development since joining the Green Accounting Initiative of IUCN-World Bank as an environmental economist in 1997.

Subsequently, he led projects on the economic costs of ASEAN transboundary pollution, ASEAN carbon market, SDG localisation in Bangladesh, corporate sustainability, ESG due diligence, sustainable finance and climate policy with private and public sector clients and collaborators in Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh.

Dr. Siddiqui obtained his BA (Honours) in Economics from Delhi University, MSS in Economics from National University of Singapore (NUS) and MBA from Murdoch University. He wrote his PhD thesis on Sustainable Investment and Venture Capital in Australia at the Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute.

He has had teaching positions with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Sydney University and Curtin University; research and visiting positions with ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute (Singapore), Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (NUS), Economic Growth Centre (NTU), College of Mining (MISIS, Russia), among others.

For more information on the workshops, contact Dr. Yong Leong Kong at +60 16 807 8722 or by email to yongleongkong@curtin.edu.my, or Ms. Anita Drahman at +60 85 630100 ext. 2816 or by email to cm.space.curtin.edu.my.

Information on Curtin Malaysia can be found on its website at www.curtin.edu.my, or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Tik-Tok.

Workshops will help organisations fulfil their ESG obligations to regulators, investors, and the community

Workshops will be conducted by Curtin sustainability expert Dr Asif Iqbal Siddiqui