A framework takes shape
September-October. 2026 | @ green • COVER STORY 05
A framework takes shape
THE Malaysian Association of Public Advocacy for Nature( MAPAN) is looking beyond its 2026 ESG summit as it expands its role in ESG capacity building and practical adoption.
Dr Ben Ong, founder and chairman, said the organisation is working with universities on certified training programmes, including TVET courses, to build a stronger pool of people equipped to lead ESG initiatives within businesses.
MAPAN also plans to coach SMEs through their first ESG reports, including helping businesses form sustainability committees to oversee their ESG work.
Technology will be another part of that effort. The organisation is engaging technology partners to improve data collection, digitisation and analysis, with the broader aim of making ESG compliance more affordable and efficient for smaller businesses.
At the same time, MAPAN is developing the AMANAH Index, which Dr Ben described as a measurement matrix that could connect sustainability education with the UN Sustainable Development Goals( UN-SDGs) and, eventually, business ESG.
The initiative is part of a broader effort to bridge the gap between what is taught, what is measured nationally and what businesses are required to report. MAPAN has also begun planning its 2027 summit, with education expected to play a greater role in its ESG agenda.
For Ben, the longer-term objective is to create a system where sustainability knowledge begins early, develops through education and eventually translates into practical business action. – @ green
A DIFFERENT MEASURE: ESG can influence how businesses manage costs, people, resources and long-term resilience.
about their own environmental and operational practices.
" The standard, if it is there, it is going to be a law," Ben said in describing the message MAPAN wanted smaller businesses to take from the summit.
His point was less about waiting for requirements to arrive and more about preparing before they become unavoidable.
The summit also brought regulators, businesses and academics into the same discussion, with MAPAN seeking greater public-private partnership.
For Ben, the objective was to reduce siloed thinking and move sustainability discussions from theory into business practice.
" What it means is it will sustainably team around everyone tend to speak more, interact more, coordinate more and less silo mindset," he said.
MAKING THE NUMBERS WORK
For businesses trying to put ESG into practice, however, the challenge is often not understanding why it matters but figuring out how to implement it without creating an unmanageable burden.
MAPAN ' s approach is, therefore, deliberately hands-on.
Instead of teaching sustainability as an isolated subject, it starts with existing business information and processes. The same principle applies to technology. MAPAN is working with technology partners to make data collection more efficient and accurate, while helping businesses use the information generated through ESG exercises to improve their operations.
" Decarbonisation involves, say, digitisation," he said.
The organisation is also expanding its work with universities, including plans for certified training programmes and TVET courses, while
If we can manage a supply chain properly, it literally means we also, along the way, reduce carbon.”
- Dr Ben Ong coaching SMEs through their first ESG reports and helping them establish sustainability committees.
BEYOND COMPLIANCE
For Ben, the longer-term ESG conversation starts even earlier than the business itself.
MAPAN is developing the AMANAH Index, which he described as a matrix intended to measure performance against the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals( UN-SDGs).
The idea is to connect three stages that often operate separately: sustainability education, SDG measurement and business ESG.
In his vision, sustainability concepts can be embedded in education, measured through a framework such as the AMANAH Index, and eventually carried into the workplace through ESG practices.
" At the end of the day, the three will become one," he said.
The approach also reflects his concern about the quality of ESG implementation. Without proper training and measurement, he warned, businesses risk creating a disconnect between sustainability claims and actual performance.
For MAPAN, the next phase is therefore not simply about producing more ESG reports.
It is about building the people, systems and technology needed to make those reports meaningful- and helping businesses see sustainability not as something sitting outside their balance sheet, but as part of the way they remain viable.