14/10/2026

ESG WEDNESDAY | OCT 14, 2026

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M’sia’s carbon market is taking shape o Real work for businesses starts before you ever trade a credit • Respond to growing customer expectations for supplier-level emissions data

and where to look. First, be clear about what you are measuring Which companies, sites, operations and activities are you including? This is your reporting boundary, and getting it right is important if the numbers are going to tell you a useful story about the business. Then start with information the business already has electricity and fuel consumption are often recorded through utility bills, invoices and financial accounts. These can provide a practical first estimate of where emissions are coming from before moving into more detailed measurement. With that, carbon accounting should do more than produce numbers for a report. It should help management identify where money and resources may be leaking, through energy inefficiencies, wasteful processes, unnecessary transport or other operational hotspots for example. The result is better emissions data and a clearer view of where costs can be reduced. Governance should be built in parallel. This means establishing clear responsibility for climate related risks at management and Board level and understanding how they could affect strategic and capital investment decision From readiness to advantage This is why we should not frame carbon readiness as simply preparation to meet future regulatory requirements. The same capabilities that help organisations understand and manage their emissions can also support better business decisions. A clearer understanding of emissions: • Strengthen business resilience • Help organisations identify supply-chain vulnerabilities

That does not mean every company needs a sophisticated carbon programme immediately. It means knowing enough about the business to answer some basic questions: Where are our emissions coming from? Which activities contribute most? Where are the biggest opportunities to reduce them? And what external

• Assessed how climate-related risks could affect future business decisions. • Gives management a stronger basis for evaluating investments in areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable finance. Looking ahead The direction is becoming clearer. Mandatory sustainability disclosure is expanding under Malaysia’s National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF), while the NCMP is establishing the infrastructure for a domestic carbon market. The government is also in the final stages of developing a national carbon tax policy, with initial implementation focused on the iron, steel and energy sectors. Together, these developments point to a business environment in which emissions data and carbon-related risks will increasingly influence decision-making What changes between now and then is not whether businesses will need credible emissions data and governance, but how much runway they have to build those capabilities properly. The NCMP gives businesses a window to prepare, but that window may not remain open indefinitely. The companies that use it well will not necessarily be the ones that trade the most carbon credits. They’ll be the ones that know their numbers first. This article is attributed to Joshua Rayan (pic), CEO of Joshua Rayan Integrated & Sustainability Reporting Specialists, an integrated and sustainability reporting specialist advising Malaysian businesses, climate governance, emissions data and ESG disclosure.

SEPANG: AEON Delight (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (ADM) successfully hosted Spogomi 2026 at Pantai Bagan Lalang, Selangor, bringing together 52 teams and 233 participants from Aeon Group Malaysia, business partners, government agencies educational institutions and local communities in a unique environmental sporting event that combines competition, teamwork and environmental stewardship. The event also brought together participants from eight other companies within Aeon Group Malaysia, reflecting a shared commitment to environmental sustainability and community engagement. The participating Aeon Group companies included Aeon Co. (M) Bhd., Aeon Credit Service (M) Berhad, Aeon BiG (M) Sdn Bhd, Aeon Bank (M) Berhad, Aeon Fantasy (M) Sdn Bhd, Aeon Global Supply Chain Sdn Bhd, Aeon360 Sdn Bhd and Aeon Insurance Brokers (M) Sdn Bhd. The event also received valuable support and participation from business partners and supporting organisations, including Majlis Perbandaran Sepang, IN April 2026, Malaysia took an important step towards building a national carbon market with the introduction of the National Carbon Market Policy (NCMP) by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES). While the perception may be that this is primarily about carbon trading, its implications extend well beyond the carbon market itself. The NCMP puts the building blocks in place for Malaysia’s domestic carbon market, beginning with forestry-based credits through the Forest Carbon Offset (FCO) programme. But it arrived without the carbon tax many had expected. The government is now developing a separate national carbon tax policy, with initial implementation focused on the iron, steel and energy sectors. It would be easy for businesses to see this as something to deal with when the rules become mandatory. However, I believe that would be the wrong approach. The NCMP is part of the groundwork for it. And this groundwork that businesses need to lay is not primarily about carbon markets at all. What the NCMP signals The bigger message is that climate risk, emissions data and carbon management are becoming mainstream business issues. This is the real headline for Malaysian businesses. Carbon markets cannot function without credible measurement, governance and disclosure. A registry

is only as trustworthy as the emissions data feeding it. A credit is only as valuable as the verification behind it. But businesses should not wait for a functioning market

before getting their own house in order. Whether or not a company ever buys or sells a carbon credit, it needs to understand its own emissions and climate related risks. This is becoming a basic business capability, much like the financial and operational information

developments could affect our costs, customers, financing or supply chains? This is true even for companies with no intention of trading credits. Investors, customers and other stakeholders increasingly want businesses to demonstrate how they understand and manage sustainability and climate-related risks. None of that requires a

companies already use to m a k e decisions.

company to be a m a r k e t participant. It requires a company to know its numbers.

P r e p a r e now, not

later That

said, before any organisation c a n meaningfully participate in a carbon market, or even assess whether it should, it needs to understand its own emissions

W h a t businesses can do now Preparation d o e s n ’ t need to start with a consultant g r a d e emissions inventory. It starts with understanding what you have,

profile and the climate-related risks specific to its operations. Spogomi 2026 brings together 52 teams and 233 participants

Banking & Finance Participants compete to collect and sort waste within a designated area and time limit, with points awarded according to the quantity and categories of waste collected. The format makes environmental conservation engaging, educational and impactful. During the competition, participants collected a total of SWCorp Malaysia, MILO Malaysia, Sunshine Bakeries, IMEC Hygiene and Neutrovis. Students from Sekolah Menengah Hin Hua also participated together with corporate teams, highlighting the importance of engaging younger generations in environmental conservation. Building on the success of Malaysia’s inaugural Spogomi event organised by ADM in 2024, Spogomi 2026 further demonstrates the company’s commitment to promoting environmental awareness and encouraging communities to take practical action towards cleaner and more sustainable public spaces. Originating in Japan, Spogomi combines the words “spo” for “sport” and “gomi” – the Japanese word for “trash” – transforming litter collection into a competitive team activity.

The event exceeded its

target by collecting 371.10kg of waste.

The event was attended by Minister Nihei Daisuke of the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia, together with representatives from Majlis Perbandaran Sepang and SWCorp, senior leaders from Aeon Group Malaysia and representatives from participating organisations.

The significant increase highlights growing awareness of environmental responsibility and demonstrates how collaboration among businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and local communities can contribute to cleaner and more sustainable public spaces.

371.10kg of waste, exceeding the event’s 100kg target by 271.10kg and achieving 3.7 times the original target. Compared with the approximately 74kg collected during Malaysia’s inaugural Spogomi event in 2024, this represents approximately five times the amount of waste collected.

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