Sharbini (seventh left) and the team from Sarawak Energy pose for a group photo after the awards ceremony.
KUCHING: Sarawak Energy’s ongoing effort in embedding sustainable practices into its business functions was recognised at the Sustainable Business Awards Malaysia 2019 with the award for ‘Best Overall’ for sustainability excellence, in addition to four other awards.
The energy developer was also winner in Strategy and Sustainability Management, Energy Management, Climate Change, and received a Special Recognition in Stakeholder Engagement and Materiality, according to a press statement from the utility yesterday.
The prestigious event, held for the second time in Malaysia, is organised by Global Initiatives and recognises companies who are leading in sustainable business best practices and for their commitment to embedding sustainability into their long-term business strategies.
This year’s other corporate recipients included Petroliam National Berhad (Petronas), AirAsia, MISC Berhad, Sime Darby Plantation Berhad and Heineken.
Earlier this year, Sarawak Energy received the Best Strategy and Sustainability Management Award, Best United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Award and a special recognition for Sustainability in the Community at the Sustainable Business Awards Malaysia 2018.
Group Chief Executive Officer Datu Sharbini Suhaili received the awards from Minister of Entrepreneur Development Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan.
“The road to sustainable growth and prosperity requires a commitment to continuous improvement across all our departments and performance benchmarking with the industry’s best.
“This is a good affirmation of the work that we do as we continue in our efforts to integrate sustainability in our decision making as well as how we manage and operate our business as a renewable energy provider,” Sharbini was quoted as saying in the press statement, in commenting on the awards.
Sarawak Energy’s Senior Vice President for Corporate Services Siti Aisah Adenan, Executive Vice President for Project Delivery Pramod Kumar Karunakaran, Senior Vice President for Human Resources Dr Mak Met, General Manager for Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Jiwari Abdullah and other members of the senior management team were at the event to join Sarawak Energy’s Sustainability team led by Mohamad Irwan Aman, who is Senior Manager for Sustainability.
Sarawak Energy, after being shortlisted for the awards, went through a comprehensive assessment conducted by the award’s assessment partner PricewaterhouseCoopers Malaysia, based on a framework developed in collaboration with stakeholders and leading global experts consistent with international best practices.
The results were then reviewed by the award’s National Advisory Panel inclusive of key representatives from Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute, United Nations Global Compact Malaysia, Global Environment Centre, Control Union Malaysia, Global Initiatives and The Edge Media Group.
Sarawak Energy’s pursuit of balanced development is founded upon energy affordability, energy security and energy sustainability.
These principles form the foundation of its ownership and operatorship of its power plants including the Bakun, Murum and Batang Ai Hydroelectric Power Plants.
It has formed a sustainability partnership with the International Hydropower Association to ensure best practices in hydropower development, and voluntarily adopted the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocols for its hydropower projects, including the Baleh Hydroelectric Project due for completion in 2026.
Addtionally, Sarawak Energy and the Ministry of Utilities are organising the upcoming Sustainability and Renewable Energy Forum (Saref) 2019 in Kuching from Dec 10 and 11.
Saref will serve as a platform for greater discussion on sustainability and renewable energy and how different stakeholders can work together to deliver the United Nations sustainable development goals by 2030.
The two-day forum will gather industry experts and champions of sustainability to discuss how governments, energy developers, utilities and communities can work together to build a sustainable energy future.