KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 9): The Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA) launched the Retail ESG Standard (RES) Wednesday to help retailers of all sizes assess and improve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices.
Unveiled at MRA’s Annual Sustainability Symposium at the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB) Centre of Excellence, the retail-specific framework aims to address the lack of practical industry guidance on ESG implementation as sustainability expectations from customers, investors, business partners and regulators increase.
Through tailored guidance, retailers can use RES as a tool to understand ESG implementation, identify the areas of the business that require attention and improvement, evaluate their current level of ESG performance, potentially uncover opportunities to drive innovation and use the assessment as a practical checklist to stay on top of key sustainability requirements.
“The question is not whether ESG is important. The challenge is in turning sustainability ambitions into action and this is the gap that we wanted to address with the RES framework, to provide retailers with a comprehensive framework that is designed specifically for the retail industry,” said Molly Fong, chair and founder of the MRA sustainability committee.
The RES framework is built on three pillars involving five common sustainability matters across a business’s environmental, social and governance progress.
The environmental pillar includes examination of greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, water consumption, waste management and use of sustainable and safe materials.
The social pillar looks at labour and human rights, occupational safety, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), customer welfare and community impact.
Lastly, the governance pillar covers governance structure, business ethics and policies, risk management and reporting, supply chain screening and data privacy and security.
Additionally, the RES framework has been designed in alignment with international standards such as the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S1 and S2, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Malaysia’s National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF), B Corp standards and the Simplified ESG Disclosure Guide (SEDG).
Most importantly, the RES platform is free for all retailers to access to encourage wider ESG adoption. A paid independent audit process is also available for retailers seeking formal, validated and recognised certification.
“Rather than adopting a generic ESG framework, we designed RES specifically with the realities of retail businesses and the retail ecosystem in mind,” shared Fong.
Alongside MRA, the initiative was developed in collaboration with the ESG Business Institute, a global think tank and network of ESG professionals committed to shaping responsible business and a sustainable future.
The launch was held in conjunction with the inaugural MRA Sustainability Awards, with Aeon C (M) Bhd and Innature Bhd as co-recipients of the Sustainable Retailer of the Year award.
Other winners include Katrin BJ Sdn Bhd as the winner of the Rising Star in Sustainable Retail award while Parkson Corporation Sdn Bhd, Uniqlo (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and MST Golf Sdn Bhd received merit recognition for their sustainability excellence.