Supporting social enterprises aligns closely with the PwC’s Purpose ‘to build trust in society and solve important problems’, showcasing our commitment to being a responsible business.

PwC Social Enterprise Mentorship

The PwC Social Enterprise (SE) Mentoring Programme is a 3-month mentorship programme that aims to bridge the gap between experienced professionals and social entrepreneurs, providing them with the guidance and support they need to navigate the complexities of the business world. The mentorship sessions were conducted via FutureLab’s mentorship portal.

We focused on 3 core areas that our people could provide expertise in:

Impact:

• 17 Social Enterprises and 20 mentors from PwC Malaysia participated in this Programme
• 92% of mentees found their mentors were able to address their challenges and provided valuable insights
• 92% of mentors found the Programme rewarding, recognising the valuable two-way learning experience and saw that corporates can potentially benefit from some of the unique business practices of social enterprises. 

Supporting local social entrepreneurs: 

We continue to support and bring awareness on social enterprises to our people and embed this throughout the firm.

• At PwC Diversity Week 2022 and 2023, we featured local social enterprises which empower people with disabilities (PWDs) by offering training and/or jobs. Our collective purchases from SEs totaled an impressive RM10.8k in just one day. 
• We collaborated with Infinite Minds Academy in designing our corporate T-shirts with a purpose – they are designed by individuals from neurodiverse backgrounds.
• We support social procurement by onboarding social enterprises as vendors. This  is an opportunity for our people to support purchasing with impact e.g. B40 and PWDs as vendors.

Link to Annual Report

Silicon Island Development Sdn Bhd (“SID”), a joint venture between Gamuda and the Penang State Government is fully committed in achieving its sustainability goals for Silicon Island, a development under the Penang South Islands (PSI) project. The 2,300-acre low carbon smart city development is aligned to Penang2030 vision in addressing the issue of liveability, economy and resiliency for the State, and international standards of environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. 

Recognising how a major development can also positively impact the local community from the onset, the project introduced the Social Impact Management Plan (SIMP) for south Penang Island fishermen to ensure they receive aid and benefits that improve their socioeconomic situations, lives and profession even before construction began.

The SIMP, drawn up based on feedback from the fishermen and relevant government agencies, offers financial aid (ex-gratia), new jetties, larger boats equipped with more power engines, training and upskilling courses, job and business opportunities, and a home ownership scheme to fishermen from nine south Penang Island fishermen units registered with the Fisheries Department. The SIMP also provides education support programmes for fishermen’s children, who are in school and higher learning institutions, to encourage them to strive for academic excellence to secure better jobs after graduating and improve their families’ socioeconomic conditions. 

Implemented alongside the SIMP is the PSI Ecology Offset Master Plan (PEOM), which aims to mitigate the project’s impact and create new marine habitats. Programmes under the PEOM include mangrove planting, deployment of artificial reefs and fish aggregating devices, releasing fish and prawn fries, funding for marine and fisheries-related studies, building eco-friendly enhanced shorelines and others.

Although the implementation of SIMP and PEOM began in stages only last year, engagements with the local fishermen already started in 2016 with fishermen service centres – Pusat Perkhidmatan Setempat Nelayan (PPSN) – set up to reach out to the local community to find out how the PSI project could improve their lives.

With Silicon Island construction underway, the implementation is in full swing. Fishermen who have received benefits from the SIMP, such as training and job opportunities, new boats and engines, ex-gratia and others, acknowledge how the scheme has brought betterment to their lives.

SID strongly believes that both initiatives will bring long-term benefits to local fisher families and the fisheries industry, proving that development, environmental sustainability and the progress of stakeholders collaboration can go hand-in-hand to meet ESG principles that drive today’s construction business and land developments.

For more information, please visit https://gamuda.com.my/our-expertise/engineering-construction/penang-south-island/

Throughout 2023, Starbucks Malaysia continues to provide its unwavering support to YWCA Kuala Lumpur (“YWCA KL”), a non-profit organization that works for the development of women and girls established in 1913, with the Starbucks Upcycled Flavorlock™ Pouch Project. The Starbucks Upcycled Flavorlock™ Pouch Project began in 2019 as a partnership between Starbucks Malaysia and YWCA KL. Starbucks Malaysia collects empty Flavorlock™ whole bean bags from its customers, which the graduates of YWCA KL’s Vocational Training Opportunity Centre (VTOC) program collect to clean, sort, and match the bags to then turn into the Starbucks Upcycled Flavorlock™ Pouch. These pouches are then sold to over 400 Starbucks stores across Malaysia.

For each pouch sold, RM1 is contributed to YWCA KL to develop the VTOC curriculums that have been built around empowering young girls and women from the B40 community. Customers who purchase these pouches are invited to volunteer their time to YWCA KL. The result helps to build stronger communities, empower women, and reduce waste in landfills. To celebrate the success of this Project, Starbucks Malaysia earned the Community Engagement Award as Company of the Year under the Food & Beverage category at the Sustainability and CSR Malaysia Awards 2023. This award showcased Starbucks Malaysia’s commitment to giving back to the communities it serves while doing its part to mitigate climate change.

At Standard Chartered, our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique  diversity. Our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise – Here for good. We  are committed to promoting social and economic development in the markets we serve and  proud to have grown with Malaysia for 148 years. 

Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, is our global initiative to tackle inequality and promote  greater economic inclusion for underserved youth under 35. Since its launch in 2019,  Futuremakers programmes have successfully reached over one million youth globally while  in Malaysia over 30,000 beneficiaries have benefited. Through strategic partnerships,  Standard Chartered Malaysia has contributed MYR6.7 million and impacted lives of 10,000  Malaysian youth through various programmes such as: 

• Goal: Our global education programme for adolescent girls. Goal combines sports with  life-skills training to empower girls with the confidence, knowledge, and skills they need  to be integral economic leaders in their families and communities 
• Digital Entrepreneurs: A programme that prepares unemployed and underemployed  graduates in the digital economy through a digital readiness course and career  mentorships 
• Women in Entrepreneurship: An accelerator programme that provides hands-on  learning experiences and workshops focused on business strategy, financial  management and marketing  
• Young Futuremakers: A programme that supports the employability of young workers,  as well as technical vocational education and training trainees and graduates 
• Employee volunteering: Giving back to the community is an integral part of the Bank’s  DNA. Each employee is given three days of volunteering leave annually. We encourage our  colleagues to volunteer our skills and expertise in the local communities 

We are also proud of our green initiatives to protect the Environment. This year, we planted  1,200 mangrove trees and collected 15 tonnes of waste over regular beach clean-ups along  the Selangor coast.

STMicroelectronics Muar, a leading global semiconductor back-end manufacturing company, has  proven an unwavering commitment to giving back to the community through their Corporate Social  Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. STMicroelectronics Muar encourages its employees to volunteer  their time and skills to support various community initiatives under the ST4Good corporate  volunteering platform, which has made a significant positive impact on the community. 

Their CSR initiatives include quarterly blood donation drives, book donation drives, disaster relief  fundraising, and STEM activities. The company’s dedication to promoting diversity and inclusivity in  STEM education is evident through the Break the Bias in STEM program under the Girls in  Engineering, Mathematics, and Science (GEMS) project. This program aims to empower and  encourage young girls to venture into the STEM education path by providing them with access to  resources, mentors, and role models. 

Moreover, STMicroelectronics Muar has established two Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) Labs in  UTeM Melaka and UTHM Pagoh. Equipped with the latest STM32 products, the IIoT lab provides a  wide range of learning resources including a 3D printer, a set of MPS system, and workstations that  

will bring great benefits to students, researchers, and the local industry, reflecting the commitment of  STMicroelectronics to advancing education and innovation in the rapidly developing digital era  among local institutions and communities. 

Under the auspices of the STFoundation, STMicroelectronics Muar has also launched computer  basic courses through the Tablets for Seniors & Kids Program and the Digital Unify Lab for refugees.  These programs aim to bridge the digital divide and provide access to technology for those who  need it the most. 

The company’s CSR initiatives have not only made a positive impact on the community around  Muar, Tangkak, and Melaka but have also helped to foster a culture of giving back among its  employees.

At Venture, we are committed to the communities we operate in. Having operated in various sites in Malaysia for more than 30 years, Venture has made substantial contributions to the local communities. 

In 2021 and 2022, our active participation in the Jamin Kerja and Penjamin Kerjaya programmes led to over 2,000 job placements within the Venture Group and earned us the prestigious “Employer Care Award” by PERKESO KL in 2022 and by PERKESO Johor in 2022 and 2023. 

Our commitment to the community extends beyond the workplace. Venture employees actively engage in various initiatives such as volunteering at the Sherun Old Folks Home in Johor where essential items such as diapers and groceries were donated, and red packets distributed during Chinese New Year. In another initiative, our employees prepared and distributed 6,000 packs of Bubur Lambuk to the Kangkar Tebrau community during Ramadan. Additionally, we organised an environmental clean-up which saw more than 250 employees cleaning the surrounding industrial area, resulting in the collection and segregation of 757 kg of trash.

We also partnered with Penang General Hospital and organised an on-site blood donative drive. Close to 100 employees from our Penang site volunteered as blood donors, which raised awareness on the importance of blood donation and how it saves lives. In addition, 50 employees visited Pusat Jagaan Warga Emas Old Folks’ Home and Pusat Jagaan Nasyiatul Aishah Orphanage Home, distributing non-perishable food items. 

The Venture Group will continue to strengthen our CSR initiatives and encourage employee participation, giving back to the communities in which we operate.