UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei (UNGCMYB) first-ever SME SDG Festival held in Johor and officiated by the mayor of Johor Bahru City, Dato Haji Mohd Noorazam Bin Dato Haji Osman, attracted over 200 participants from more than 100 Corporates and SMEs in Johor.
The UNGCMYB’s flagship SME SDG Festival 2022: #LEVELUP (SSF2022) is a four-day event that aims to inspire forward-thinking and progressive private-sector members to rebuild more effectively in the new operating environment — a carbon-neutral and resilient economy.
SSF2022 was a hybrid-style conference that encompassed a one-day physical conference at the Opero Hotel Southkey in Johor Bahru and three days of innovative virtual workshop series led by knowledge partners from EY Malaysia, Eden Strategy Institute, Taylors University, Alliance Bank, and the Institute of Public Relations Malaysia.
The first day of the festival featured a collective of industry speakers and sustainability experts such as Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim, President & Chief Executive of Johor Corporation, Nicholas Piggott, Co-CEO of Nutrition Technologies, Marco Neelsen, CEO of Port of Tg Pelepas (PTP), Gerard Soosay, CEO of Sunway Iskandar Sdn Bhd, Nargis Banu Kamal, Managing Director of ZincGrey Malaysia, Tham Chee Aun, Group CEO of Ditrolic Energy, Kiran Kumar, Senior Vice President of Biocon Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Dr Kamal Amzan, CEO of Gleneagles Hospital Medini Johor, Dr Sakina Sofia, Director of Operations of EduCity Iskandar Malaysia, Kian Hoe Seah, CEO of Heng Hiap Industries Sdn Bhd, Dafinah Hilmi, Director & Head of Commercial Banking of HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad, Zakiah Mat Esa, Head of Sustainability & Strategic Management of SME Bank, Roy Heong Beng Wai, Head of Strategic Partnership & Innovation of Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad and Peter Chua, Local Chapter President of JCI JBE.
“The objective of the SME SDG Festival is to ‘Awaken’ by raising awareness among companies towards advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, to ‘Activate’ action among to incorporate sustainability practices within their operations and strategies and to accelerate networking and partnerships among Corporates and MSMEs to transition towards a more sustainable Malaysian economy. In short, we want this to be a platform for MSMEs to exchange views and share ideas on how to grow, transform, and capture new opportunities,” said Edey Suresh, Johor State Director of the UNGCMYB.
The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) currently has over 16,000 participating companies globally and 69 local network offices worldwide. UNGCMYB, the official local network has over 180 participating companies locally, and currently has an office in Kuala Lumpur, Johor, and Penang next.
“Keeping in mind that the MSMEs are often neglected and left to figure things out for themselves in their transition to becoming more sustainable, UNGCMYB has put a lot of effort into making sure that in the spirit of leaving no one behind, our resources must also be dedicated to guiding the MSMEs,” added Edey.
UNGCMYB also launched an SME Action Guidebook at the festival. The sponsors for SSF22 are Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), Biocon Biologics Sdn Bhd, Ramatex Textiles Industrial Sdn Bhd and supporting partners, Johor Bahru City Council (MBJB) and Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA).
“There is an urgency to act. Without actions from the private sector, we cannot combat climate change. We cannot solve labour inequalities and social mobility issues. We cannot afford to remain behind schedule. For my fellow Johoreans, I wish to highlight that Johor Bahru recorded a surface temperature increase of 6.70°C within a short 13-year period between 2005 and 2018 based on a report by Think City. Johor-based businesses have also seen the risk of losing businesses due to ESG and labour standards. For Johor businesses, sustainability is not a want but a need,” emphasised Edey.
UNGCMYB will also be hosting the SDG Investment Forum on the 23rd of November and the GO ESG ASEAN 2022 Summit on the 24th of November in Kuala Lumpur.
More impactful events, roundtable sessions and seminars will also be held in Johor next year.
 first-ever SME SDG Festival held in Johor and officiated by the mayor of Johor Bahru City, Dato Haji Mohd Noorazam Bin Dato Haji Osman, attracted over 200 participants from more than 100 Corporates and SMEs in Johor.){kind=link}