KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 — CEO Action Network (CAN), Malaysia’s first sustainability-focused informal coalition of leading CEOs and senior corporate decision-makers, has appointed Bursa Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift as chairperson of its steering committee.

CAN founding member and outgoing chairperson Datuk Tengku Muhammad Taufik, who is also Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) president and group CEO, handed over the leadership baton to Muhammad Umar at a CEO luncheon dialogue organised at the Malaysia Petroleum Club recently.

Tengku Muhammad Taufik, who served a two-year term, said that since its inception in late 2020, CAN has emerged as a credible voice of Corporate Malaysia on sustainable business and sustainable development.

“As a coalition of leaders with a purpose, our efforts continue to be focused on building capacity on sustainability (and) mobilising the necessary resources and tools to support environmental, sustainability and governance integration efforts.

“Most importantly, (the coalition) seeks active participation of CEO-level champions of the industry in shaping and/or advocating sustainability policies as well as regulations that will help Malaysia meet its global commitments to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Umar said that CEOs in Malaysia are also aspiring to meet relevant global goals, such as the UN SDGs, without losing sight of local priorities.

“I look forward to elevating CAN be a major driving force for good ESG practices, with fellow CEOs leading by example in championing higher levels of ESG literacy and convergence towards common sustainability benchmarks among Malaysian corporates of all sizes and industries,” said the incoming chairperson.

In the last two years, CAN members have worked to deliver 21 roundtable sessions covering sustainability-related issues and policy recommendations for seven critical industry sectors, helped build the capacity of nearly 1,000 sustainability practitioners and launched 10 digital learning assets for small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chains of its member organisations, the statement said.

CAN members have also initiated the process to devise a model policy with interventions to support its members on diversity, equity and inclusion issues, it noted. — Bernama