The UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei (UNGCMYB) and the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the country’s leading agency for the digital economy, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase the adoption of sustainability and climate action across Malaysia’s digital economy.
The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), which seeks to mobilize a global movement of sustainable businesses and stakeholders, has established the UNGCMYB as its official local network. Businesses in Malaysia and Brunei are being awoken, activated, and accelerated by UNGCMYB to become more profitable and sustainable. In five critical areas, MDEC and UNGCMYB will collaborate to deepen understanding, develop capability, and boost adoption among enterprises in the digital economy:
- Developing a Climate Action Guide and Toolkit for digital economy businesses, to help them take action and to assess their carbon footprint;
- Exploring ways to increase access to chargeable sustainability e-learning programs for tech small and medium enterprises (SMEs); and promoting freely accessible e-learning resources, including through the Digital UNGC Academy;
- Encouraging digital economy businesses to adopt initiatives that address Climate Change, for example, renewable energy or energy efficiency measures;
- Promoting sustainable practices among tech organizations to help them achieve sustainable performance; and
- Developing and collaborating on outreach and engagement events.
The MoU expands on already-existing collaboration between the two organizations, including the Malaysia Businesses Sustainability Pulse Report 2022, in which MDEC participated. The report, which was released on July 14, 2022, seeks to determine the degree to which Malaysian businesses are prepared to adopt, measure, manage, and monitor sustainability within their various organizations.
The Twelfth Malaysia Plan has prioritized national development via public-private partnerships aimed at promoting sustainable measures, according to MDEC’s chief executive officer (12MP). The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are in line with this plan.
He added that MDEC, which is spearheading Malaysia’s progress toward becoming a digitally competitive nation, is completely dedicated to promoting the adoption of sustainable practices throughout the ecosystem of the digital economy.
He continued by saying that because the SDGs sometimes seem out of reach for businesses, they may find it difficult to relate to and translate them. Following the signing of the MoU today, efforts will be made to assist in supplying resources and practical suggestions that businesses may use to advance the SDGs.
According to the UNGCMYB Executive Director, the digital economy will be at the center of future global development and will thus be crucial to guaranteeing sustainable development. With this relationship with MDEC, it is envisaged that the Malaysian digital economy ecosystem would play a significant role in catalyzing national sustainability and contributing to the SDGs on a global scale.
The Government of Malaysia’s goal to maintain the inclusive, inclusive, sustainable economic growth that leaves no one behind is perfectly aligned with the objectives of this MoU.
Malaysia is still dedicated to tackling climate change and is working to achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible, by the year 2050. According to 12MP, the Government wants to attain a 31% renewable energy mix by 2025 and a 45% reduction in the GDP’s intensity of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 when compared to a baseline of 2005.
