This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 28, 2024 - November 3, 2024

Wasco Bhd (KL:WASCO) has won two silver awards in The Edge Malaysia ESG Awards 2024, for best  performer in the energy sector and most improved ESG performance over three years for companies with a market cap between RM800 million and RM5 billion. 

Recalling the past year, Wasco managing director and group CEO Gian Carlo Maccagno attributes the company’s most significant ESG-related achievement to its inclusion in the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia (FTSE4GBM) and FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Syariah (F4GBMS) indices.

“This recognition, while not directly contributing to our financial performance, has increased our visibility among sustainability-focused and shariah-compliant investors and has strengthened our competitive position by attracting clients who value partnerships with sustainable organisations,” says Maccagno.

He shares that this recognition of Wasco’s ongoing efforts has motivated the company to continuously enhance its sustainability efforts, such as reducing emissions intensity, increasing the use of renewable energy, promoting workplace diversity and staff training and development, to name a few examples.

While many in the industry focus on carbon offsets, he says Wasco prioritises operational efficiencies and sustainable practices, as well as providing tailored solutions to help clients realise their sustainability targets.

This is also in line with Wasco’s ambitious target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2026. “Today we are actively engaging with industrial clients to lower emissions by using biomass waste as fuel for energy. We are also promoters of the circular economy, providing clients with alternative solutions to minimise usage of materials.”

The biggest current challenge for Wasco was balancing growth and sustainability amid fluctuating global energy prices and evolving regulatory requirements.

The company approached this obstacle by integrating ESG considerations into its core strategy, strengthening governance through an internal sustainability steering committee, and implementing a comprehensive emissions reduction plan.

These actions include using renewable energy, subscribing to green energy tariffs and adopting energy-efficient practices, such as replacing diesel air compressors with electric ones to reduce carbon emissions.

Wasco has also introduced a circular economy-focused initiative that recycles discarded polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) from its three-layer anti-corrosion coating process.

The recycled materials are then reprocessed into resin to keep the company’s machinery clean and production-ready, and it has achieved significant cost savings by replacing a portion of the virgin materials previously required with the recycled materials.

With consumers playing a more crucial role by actively supporting businesses with verifiable ESG credentials, Maccagno says he hopes to see greater regulatory clarity and incentives from the government to help support sustainable business practices in the coming years, along with a stronger push for standardised ESG reporting for transparency and trust in the market.

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