Petaling Jaya, 26 October 2021 – IJM Corporation Berhad (“IJM” or “the Group”) recently launched its inaugural IJM Sustainability Week which took place from 28 to 30 September. The three-day event showcased a series of mostly virtual internal events aimed to raise awareness and deepen company-wide engagements around sustainability. The Group’s Business Divisions and functions also showcased their sustainability efforts and progress, as well as explored the challenges they still face in environmental, social and governance (ESG) areas.

In September 1986, IJM was listed on Bursa Malaysia, marking the beginning of its journey as a public listed company. Two of the core benefits that IJM had enjoyed from the listing status – access to capital and a heightened public profile – are now subject to increasingly different dynamics, particularly from a sustainability standpoint, compared to 35 years ago.

“How we proactively engage, adapt and evolve in response to these changing dynamics will impact our future growth and success. IJM Sustainability Week presented an opportunity to recognise this inflection point and communicate the message across the Group,” said Mr Liew Hau Seng, CEO & Managing Director of IJM.

“As a company, we have always believed in holding ourselves to the highest standards of business ethics and conduct.  We were early adopters of ISO quality and safety standards, taking a professional approach to business and organisational set-up, boardroom governance, risk management, adopting strong environmental protection measures, corporate social responsibility and ensuring our employees are treated fairly and based on meritocracy – among many others,” Mr Liew added.

“A milestone event, IJM Sustainability Week enabled the Group to celebrate our strengths and efforts in our sustainability journey, as well as serve as a catalyst platform to reaffirm our present commitments and set higher ambitions for the future.”

Over the three days, presentations and activities by employees across the Group’s operations and external speakers covered a wide range of sustainability content. To generate event traction and drive participation, interactive lucky draws, quizzes and short video messages were organised.

Day one of IJM Sustainability Week kicked off with an ‘Environment’ theme. The day began with a keynote address by Group Chairman, Tan Sri Krishnan Tan, who reminded employees that sustainability has always been part of IJM’s DNA and encouraged IJMers to strategically incorporate sustainability as a driver of business value over compliance. This was followed by a tree-planting ceremony, to symbolise IJM’s commitment to sustainability, as well as the energising of newly-installed solar panels at Bandar Rimbayu, which has won numerous environmental awards for its green features.

The programme continued with virtual presentations by the Group’s Construction, Property, Industry, Toll and Port divisions. Each division showcased their environmental sustainability efforts – from inviting a speaker from the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) to talk about the industry’s green efforts; supporting natural ecosystem and biodiversity initiatives in Penang; reducing carbon footprint through the use of modified additives in concrete mix; fully-installed LED lights across the Toll divisions’ highways in support the Malaysia Green Highway Index (MyGHI) initiative; to spotlighting the Port division’s adoption of green technology through hybrid rubber tyre gantry cranes. 

Day two, which centred on ‘Social’ aspects, started with the launch of the Group’s Employee Wellness Resource Centre and a talk by an external speaker on mental health. The Construction Division presented its health and safety efforts and hosted a Covid-19 talk by an official from the Ministry of Health. The day concluded with a presentation on the Group’s Covid-19 community relief efforts and how IJM has come forward to support the communities where we operate.

Day three, on ‘Governance’ started with an anti-corruption and bribery system talk, followed by a presentation on the Group’s whistle-blowing mechanism by its Internal Audit Department. The final event and highlight of IJM Sustainability Week was IJM’s signing up as a participant member of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact Network, after a short presentation by En. Faroze Nadar, President of UN Global Compact Malaysia & Brunei. This served to reinforce the Group’s commitment to the UN Global Compact Ten Principles of safeguarding the environment, respecting human and labour rights, and working against corruption.

In March 2021, the UN Global Compact Council adopted a new three-year strategy (UN Global Compact Strategy 2021-2023) to broaden business ambition. The plan calls for companies to increase their contributions and work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) and the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact.

“We want to do our part in adopting these principles and measures part of IJM’s strategy, culture and day-to-day operations. Our sustainability pillars are aligned with the SDGs and we have incorporated nine of the SDGs to guide our sustainability framework. To etch IJM’s going forward ambitions, we signed up as a participant member of the UNGC during Sustainability Week. Being a participant member to UNGC is a direction to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development,” said Mr. Liew on the joining the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.

IJM is also looking forward to deploying the UNGC Academy as part of its organisational learning syllabus to enhance sustainability maturity across the Group. Through these efforts, the Group hopes to establish a collective culture of accountability, respect and trust as the foundation to drive sustainable improvements across its business.

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A tree-planting ceremony of a 17-year old Baobap tree, one of the five signature trees planted in different locations at Bandar Rimbayu, led by Tan Sri Krishnan Tan, Group Chairman; Mr Liew Hau Seng, CEO & Managing Director; and Mr Lee Chun Fai, Deputy CEO & Deputy Managing Director. The tree planting marked a symbolic gesture to affirm IJM’s commitment to sustainability.

IJM joins the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, joining thousands of other companies from around the world in demonstrating its support for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practices.

Most of the IJM Sustainability Week 2021 events were held virtually and broadcasted on Workplace from Facebook with participation from employees across the Group.

IJM's Group Chairman, Tan Sri Krishnan Tan signed on a plaque during the tree-planting ceremony to symbolise IJM’s commitment to sustainability.

About United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)

The United Nations Global Compact is a corporate initiative that encourages organisations to establish and define strategies, policies, and procedures aligned with the Ten Principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption.

It is a worldwide network of more than 9,500 companies and 3,000 non–business participants committed to building a sustainable future. A key requirement for participation is a member's annual submission of a Communication on Progress (COP) report detailing efforts to implement the Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. 

About IJM Corporation Berhad

IJM Corporation Berhad (“IJM”), formed in 1983, is one of Malaysia’s leading construction groups and is listed on Bursa Malaysia. Its business activities encompass construction, property development, manufacturing and quarrying, infrastructure concessions and plantations.

Headquartered in Selangor, its operations are located in 8 countries, with primary focus in Malaysia, India and Indonesia. The Group presently has a market capitalisation of around RM6.5 billion and as of March 2021, the Group employed around 4,000 employees and had total assets of RM23.5 billion.

The Group’s belief in a shared destiny with its employees remains pivotal to its growing success while its reputation for professionalism, performance and good governance is acknowledged by customers and investors alike from its numerous corporate and industry accolades. IJM is committed to ethical business conduct and subscribes to the principles of good corporate citizenship for sustainable growth and development.For more information, visit www.ijm.com/">http://www.ijm.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">www.ijm.com

For media enquiries, please contact:

Ms. Mandy Chen, Corporate Communications, at mandychen@ijm.com or + 60 12 607 6121

Ms. Ili Nadrah, Corporate Communications, at ilinadrah@ijm.com">mailto:ilinadrah@ijm.com" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">ilinadrah@ijm.com or +60 13 344 2329