Memorandum of Understanding with UN Global Compact Network…

Memorandum of Understanding with UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei

UN Global Goals

Institution

School of Business, Monash University Malaysia

Author

Dr. Daniel Loy

Partnership Category:

External partnerships on an Institutional level – e.g. community partnerships (such as with local government, with business associations, with NGOs)

Name of Partner:

UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei (UNGCMYB)

Name of Partnership:

Memorandum of Understanding with UNGCMYB

Primary purpose:

Monash University Malaysia’s School of Business and UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei have both agreed to drive multi-stakeholder action on sustainability through research projects, professional development programs and building dialogue through conferences, and roundtables to further the adoption of sustainable business practices guided by the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Secondary purpose:

To examine Malaysia's sustainability landscape and explore potential collaboration opportunities to advance the local sustainability agenda.

Contact for this partnership:

Prof. Mohan Avvari

Practical involvement:

The partnership has led to the following engagements:

8 Nov 2022 - A Roundtable titled, 'The State of Sustainability in the Malaysian Private Sector', was held at Monash University Malaysia, to discuss findings from the Malaysia Businesses Sustainability Pulse Report (SPR) 2022 launched by UNGCMYB. The Roundtable brought together public-private-academia actors to examine Malaysia's sustainability landscape and explore potential collaboration opportunities to advance the local sustainability agenda.

2022 - 5 ACCESS workshops were held for SMEs to participate in enhancing their knowledge and applying relevant tools to the organisation. These sessions provided candidates with various implementation tools specific to modules focus areas. Participants had the opportunity to develop sustainability initiatives for their own organisation.

3 March 2023 - A roundtable discussion on how Chairpersons can help Boards make value-based decisions to accelerate sustainability in their organisations. Sustainability, incorporating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is rapidly becoming a priority for many Chairpersons of Malaysian Businesses. They must make bold decisions about this key aspect of guiding the running of businesses, as sustainability is now an essential factor in corporate success and the ongoing success of an organisation. It has taken the spotlight in the boardroom and is the focus of attention moving forward. The roundtable discussion aimed to draw on the insights of Chairpersons on Boards of Malaysian businesses in transforming organisations towards sustainability.

Benefits of this partnership to the institution as a PRME Champion:

The School benefits from this partnership by:

jointly driving multi-stakeholder action in sustainability (through research projects, and hosting seminars, conferences, and roundtables) and further the adoption of sustainable business practices guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (“SDG”);
jointly developing and delivering executive education and/or continuous professional development programmes

Benefits of this partnership to the partner institution(s):

Associate Professor Dr Grace Lee Hooi Yean stated that academia could provide research support to investigate the reasons behind numbers to gain better insights into the impact work of the private sector.

Professor Mohan concurred by stating that academia and private sectors can work together to identify and build local or regional case studies of sustainability best practices which can be used in capability-building learning programs, which are also applicable to policy recommendations.

Access to exchange of data, information and pertinent publication in the fields of interest to UNGCMYB and Monash Malaysia