KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 — The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is currently formalising a stewardship policy to address investee companies that fail to comply with the environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) standards, said chief strategy officer Nurhisham Hussein.
“In other words, (it addresses) the level of engagement and action we take in case somebody does not comply (with the standards), and I hope we will be able to issue that (the policy) sometime in the next few years.
“At least the people will be able to understand the consequences and the channels that they can use to communicate with the EPF and other big investors on specific issues that need to be addressed,’’ he said.
Nurhisham said this during the Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) Virtual Conference 2022, titled “Preserving the Climate through Sustainable Business and Living” today.
In March this year, the pension fund launched the Sustainable Investment Policy, Priority Issues Policies, and Priority Sector Policies to guide the EPF in making informed decisions by integrating ESG standards.
These initiatives are aligned with EPF’s commitment to two overarching sustainable investment ambitions that will guide its overall pursuit of sustainability, namely, to achieve a fully ESG-compliant portfolio by 2030 and a climate-neutral portfolio by 2050, in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan’s aspirations for a carbon-neutral country.
