NEWS & UPDATES

KUCHING
2 JULY 2020

Sarawak Energy launched "Sustainability & Sarawak Energy" this Monday, marking the start of a 6-month staff campaign to build a common understanding of sustainability for the staff of the energy developer and power utility Group.

Led by Group Chief Executive Officer Datu Haji Sharbini Suhaili and Senior Vice President for Corporate Services Hajah Siti Aisah Adenan, the virtual event was attended by almost 700 employees through a virtual collaborative platform.

During his speech at the event, Datu Sharbini said that Sarawak Energy hoped to raise awareness on sustainability and educate the 5,200 strong workforce on how to internalise the sustainability mindset and culture across the organization.

“As the world progresses towards building a more sustainable energy future, we aim for Sarawak Energy to be a leader at national and regional level through our role as a renewable hydropower developer and sustainability champion. We are aligned with the 17 United Nations Sustainability Development Goals 2030 or SDGs, and prioritise 6 of them in our business and operations,” he said.

The launch also saw Sarawak Energy achieve a major national milestone when it became the first corporation in Malaysia to commit to the "Business Ambition for 1.5°Celsius" under United Nations Global Compact. The announcement of the pledge was witnessed by Neha Das, United Nations Global Compact’s Senior Manager of Global Operations, heading its Asia Pacific Operations and Faroze Nadar, Executive Director of Global Compact Network Malaysia.

By signing the pledge, Sarawak Energy has committed to set a science-based emission reduction target across relevant scopes, in line with the Paris Agreement to pursue efforts to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2030.

The pledge sends an important signal to other businesses in Malaysia to work towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. As of 18 June 2020, 249 companies around the world had signed the Business Ambition for 1.5°C commitment.

Sarawak Energy’s focus on renewable hydropower as the primary component of its generation mix has seen the carbon dioxide emission intensity of Sarawak’s main grid decrease by 68% in 2019 as compared to 2011.

Datu Sharbini said that the campaign was also a platform to raise awareness and knowledge on how to incorporate sustainability practices into the daily lives of employees to contribute to global efforts at an individual level.

Earlier in her opening remarks, Senior Vice President for Corporate Services Hajah Siti Aisah Adenan said that Sarawak Energy was focused on efforts to integrate a robust sustainability agenda into its business and operations.

"This campaign aims to create a platform of awareness and discussion of our sustainability efforts within Sarawak Energy and also to build our position as a leading proponent of sustainability in Sarawak,” she said.

In conjunction with the pledge and the campaign, Sarawak Energy also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) virtually with Global Compact Network Malaysia to focus on promoting and achieving the UNSDGs.

Under the MOU signed by Hajah Siti Aisah and Faroze Nadar for their respective organisations, both Sarawak Energy and Global Compact Network Malaysia will collaborate under the latter’s “ #mySDGAction2030 ” campaign which is a local call for a more sustainable and resilient Malaysia by accelerating sustainable solutions to the world's biggest challenges which include climate change, inequality and closing the financial gap.

The event included a panel discussion with Datu Sharbini and sustainability leaders Faroze Nadar representing Global Compact Network Malaysia; Andrew WK Chan, Consulting Leader (Malaysia) and Sustainability & Climate Change Leader PwC's South East Asian Consulting Services; and Michele Lemmens, Regional Head ASEAN Hub Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The session was moderated by Sarawak Energy's Sustainability Senior Manager, Mohd Irwan bin Aman.

Sarawak Energy’s Sustainability and Sarawak Energy virtual campaign launching

Faroze (top) and Hajah Siti Aisah (bottom) sealed the virtual signing between Sarawak Energy Berhad and Global Compact Network Malaysia.

Memorandum of Understanding between Sarawak Energy Berhad and Global Compact Network Malaysia