As a media partner of the Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards (ASRA) 2024, ESG Post had the opportunity to speak with Ms Evelyn Chee, Chief Sustainability and Strategy Officer of Leader Energy Group Berhad—the recipient of three accolades this year: Bronze for Asia’s Best Sustainability Report (First Time), Bronze for Asia’s Best Stakeholder Reporting, and Silver for Asia’s Best Sustainability Report (Human Rights).
In this exclusive interview, Ms. Evelyn sheds light on the challenges and commitments behind Leader Energy’s award-winning sustainability reporting. She emphasises that their reporting is not merely a compliance exercise, but a strategic tool to drive accountability, stakeholder trust, and impact.
Why does your company publish a sustainability report?
Leader Energy is an independent power producer (“IPP”) primarily engaged in the development, ownership, operation and maintenance of renewable energy power assets, transmission and projects with a strong regional presence, and we have sustainability at the core of our business strategy. Hence, we recognise our responsibility to play an active role when it comes to addressing environmental, social and governance challenges.
Publishing a sustainability report gives us a platform to transparently communicate our efforts, progress, and commitments to our stakeholders. It also ensures accountability in our journey towards a net-zero future. Publishing a sustainability report also allows us to align ourselves with global best practices.
Which part of sustainability reporting did you find to be the most challenging?
Leader Energy operates across seven countries and this geographical diversity brings the challenge of consolidating data that adheres to both local regulations and global reporting standards. Aligning the data across different regulatory frameworks while ensuring consistency with international sustainability standards can be complex. Each country has its own unique reporting expectations, requiring careful harmonisation to present a unified and transparent sustainability report. However, this challenge has driven us to strengthen our reporting mechanisms. By refining our data collection, verification, and reporting processes, we ensure that our sustainability commitments translate into measurable and impactful outcomes.
How has your company benefitted from disclosing sustainability performance?
Disclosing our sustainability performance has strengthened Leader Energy’s position as a responsible energy provider. It has also enhanced the confidence of our stakeholders, such as bankers and investors, in us.
What steps do you take to ensure that your sustainability report is reliable and credible?
Our data undergo a rigorous data validation process to ensure reliability and credibility. Further to internal reviews, our Greenhouse Gas inventory data is ISO 14064-1 verified by third-party annually to ensure their credibility.
We also align our reporting with globally recognised frameworks such as:
- Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards
- Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
- International Sustainability Standards Board – Climate-related Disclosure (ISSB S2)
- Bursa Malaysia Reporting Sustainability Reporting Guide (3rd edition)
How do you think sustainability reporting will evolve in the next five years?
Sustainability reporting will evolve to become more data-driven, with a greater emphasis on impact measurement. With this, there will be a greater need to focus on the accuracy of data collected and its analysis of its outcome. Regulatory bodies are also pushing to encourage ESG disclosures for businesses to encourage accountability when it comes to ESG efforts.
What advice would you offer to other companies striving to enhance their sustainability reporting practices and earn recognition in initiatives like the Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards?
Our advice is to look at integrating sustainability as part of your business strategy instead of treating it as a compliance exercise. It is also important to consistently engage with your stakeholders to ensure that your sustainability efforts address material issues. Adopting globally recognised standards and engaging with independent validation are also important, as they could significantly enhance the credibility of your sustainability impacts. Last but not least, use the data you have to tell a compelling, impact-driven narrative that would not only inspires, but also sets the trend.
