Stop becoming a "Jaguh Kampung" when it comes to championing SD

A "Jaguh Kampung" or Local Champion is a classic syndrome of Malaysians when we participate in competitions. Apparently we are able to perform exceptionally well in our own country but more often than not, we choked at International stage.

An extreme Jaguh Kampung case is when only Malaysians are the only ones who are good at doing certain peculiar things. It is a well known fact that even BBC reported this record-breaking obsession. 

In the case of SD; most companies, NGOs and government agencies claim to champion in doing something big in areas of green initiatives, corporate social responsibility etc. The reality is that we will still be a jaguh kampung until the outside world recognizes our achievement. 

Part of SD principles is to embrace openness and social justice when disclosing information without fear of being criticized. This approach allows stakeholders to learn the success stories as well as to appreciate any shortcomings. Evidently, we have seen some organisations behave like a true SD global champions. They are able to admit their mistakes, learn and minimize the probability to repeat them. So where can you find such organisations?

Today, we have many independent bodies that give recognition to these organisations. One established example is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). From the website: Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a network-based organization that has pioneered the development of the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework and is committed to its continuous improvement and application worldwide. 

As of January 2009, more than 1,500 organizations from 60 countries produce "GRI compliant" sustainability reports.From that list, 6 companies are from Malaysia. They are Kulim Berhad, MRCB, PETRONAS, Plus Expressway, Telekom Malaysia and UEM Environment. Malaysia representation is still small in number (0.4 % from total submitted report) but we need to emulate these local SD players that have proven their ability to play at the international level. 

A special mention should be given to PETRONAS, that was once ranked last in a survey of the "World's Most Sustainable and Ethical Companies" conducted among 15 major oil companies by a Spanish-based ethics rating firm. This clearly shows that if you are really serious about SD, you can stop becoming a Jaguh Kampung and seriously join the true Global SD champion league.