This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 12, 2022 - December 18, 2022

Digi.com Bhd bagged the gold trophy for the telecommunications and media sector at The Edge Malaysia ESG Awards 2022. Philip Ling, head of sustainability at Digi, attributes the success to the company’s commitment to responsible business, which is one of the three key pillars of the company’s strategy.

“Collaboration and commitment from every level of the organisation, from our board of directors to managers and associates, are crucial factors in ensuring that we execute our responsible business strategies consistently over the years,” says Ling.

“Our ESG strategies are guided by our long-term ambition to create value for our diverse stakeholder groups and to build a trusted brand that helps drive our business forward.”

Digi’s responsible business framework is anchored on its “Yellow Heart” brand aspiration, adds Ling, which is to raise standards across its operations and supply chain, and partner effectively to build skills and resilience for an accelerated digital future.

“Fundamentally, we believe that business and ESG targets are complementary and not contrasting, and fortunately, we are not alone in this battle. We enjoy strong support from our board, which continues to push for Digi to maintain its responsible business leadership among corporates in Malaysia,” he says.

This emphasis on responsible business is also applied to its suppliers. For instance, its vendors have to answer a mandatory Privacy Vendor Questionnaire, which is a checklist on sustainability practices.

Ultimately, tackling ESG issues requires a “whole of society” approach, observes Ling, including better public and private sector alignment. That’s why Digi has been working closely with different government bodies, United Nations agencies and social purpose organisations to obtain guidance on best practices when developing policies and manuals.

For instance, the company produced its whistleblowing, human rights due diligence and supplier code of principles based on these engagements.

“There will be much more to do in the coming years to advance our ESG agenda. We need to deepen engagements with our broad stakeholder groups, especially by facilitating more in-depth and open discussions on topics where we can potentially create the most impact,” says Ling.

“Additionally, timely and transparent access to national policies and roadmaps will also help in providing a direction for corporates to effectively undertake forward-looking planning and investments.”

On the environmental front, Digi has initiated several activities since 2009 to combat climate change. These include getting the first Green Building Index (Gold) Certification for its data centre, running mobile device recycling campaigns and modernising its network by swapping out legacy equipment for energy-efficient modern technologies.

In the short term (2022–2025), Digi’s key focus is to reduce its carbon emissions, ensure high-quality climate reporting and conduct a climate risk assessment. It also hopes to register a localised science-based target for 2030 and net-zero ambitions for 2050. In the long term (2030-2050), it will address all greenhouse gas emissions with reduction strategies and targets.

“By demonstrating our continuous commitment to ESG, this indirectly translates to improved business performance over the long run, as we gain the support of like-minded stakeholders, be they consumers, business partners or vendors,” says Ling.

“We aspire to be a leader in exemplifying ESG best practices among corporate Malaysia, as well as taking bolder decisions and commitments, particularly in addressing climate action and delivering on our social purpose, guided by strong governance and responsible business practices.”

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