By Yasmin Ramlan
SHAH ALAM, Nov 21 — The Selangor government acknowledges the challenges faced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in adopting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices but will continue supporting them through dedicated allocations and grants.
State executive councillor for investment, trade, and mobility Ng Sze Han said through the Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec) and related agencies, the state is also actively driving ESG awareness and readiness among local businesses.
"The state government understands challenges in ESG compliance such as lack of exposure among SMEs, cash-flow problems and insufficient internal capacity to measure ESG performance.
"We must strike a balance between protecting the environment, ensuring good governance, and managing the cost of doing business," he said during the question and answer session at the Selangor State Legislative Assembly here today.
Ng said the state has identified allocations to support SMEs, including grants aimed at helping them to meet the ESG requirements, while new incentives will be prioritised and rolled out next year, alongside engagements with Bursa Malaysia, to develop suitable support programmes.
Other ongoing efforts include attending ESG Summits to educate SMEs on the importance and benefits of meeting ESG standards, and incorporating ESG elements into capacity building programmes such as the Selangor Accelerator Programme (SAP) and the Selangor E-Commerce Accelerator (ECX).
He also urged companies in Selangor that have already begun adopting ESG practices to continue doing so if they have the capacity.
Ng said ESG principles are also reflected in the state's development framework under the First Selangor Plan (RS-1), which emphasised sustainability and effective governance as core strategic themes.
Earlier, he shared recent developments in the European Parliament concerning the easing of ESG regulations, noting that the European Union had voted to roll back most of its sustainability reporting requirements following pressure from business groups.
He said the decision means more than 90 per cent of companies previously required to comply with the rule will no longer be subject to them.
