Shedding light on green practices

MORE than 60 Star Media Group (SMG) employees gained valuable insight into the world of sustainability as well as environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations during a talk held at Menara Star in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

In his opening remarks, ESGright principal consultant Prathab V provided an overview of the varying degrees of success experienced by countries worldwide in achieving the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

He touched on the fundamentals of sustainability and its role for a better future for the planet, as well as the global climate change agenda.

Throughout the two-hour session, he also posed thought-provoking questions to the employees.

Prathab went on to share practical recommendations to help individuals contribute to sustainability efforts, such as reducing plastic use, minimising food waste, cutting down on electricity consumption, and promoting recycling.

He spoke on local green practices, giving the attendees an up-to-date glimpse into the state of sustainability based on the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Report 2024.

Prathab explaining an aspect called green washing.

Quoting the report, Prathab said only 16% of the SDG targets were on track to be achieved globally by 2030, with the remaining 84% demonstrating limited progress or even regression.

“This is a multistage goal and it cannot be done in one generation,” Prathab emphasised, highlighting the collective effort required to ensure a sustainable future for the next generation.

“Sustainability is about the next generation,” he said in his closing remarks.

The event organised by SMG’s corporate communication and social impact department was organised to create a basic understanding and awareness of sustainability while fostering a sense of responsibility among employees.

The talk concluded with a question-and-answer session, which gave the employees a chance to share feedback and their personal commitments to sustainability initiatives.

StarMetro journalist Jarod Lim said the talk was insightful as it contained ESG statistics and updates on how countries were performing in terms of ESG.

“The speaker demonstrated the importance of companies and individuals advocating for ESG,” he added.