JOHOR BARU, July 17 — The Johor state government is urging more companies in the state to practise environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) to curb pollution and achieve environmental sustainability.

State Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman K. Raven Kumar said companies have to play their roles as various government initiatives to protect the environment involved expenditure.

"ESG initiatives in terms of company involvement, aren’t restricted to Johor, but encompass the entire country. So to ensure environmental sustainability, prevention is needed.

"Early prevention is better and I believe everyone must play their part and carry out their responsibilities,” he told reporters here after attending the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Persada Johor and United Nations Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei (UNGCMYB) here today.

Under the MoU, Persada Johor will be the first convention centre in the country to join the UNGCMYB, a local network that encourages businesses to streamline their operations with the 10 universally accepted principles, including human rights, labour rights, environmental rights and anti-corruption efforts. — Bernama