In Malaysia, the Sustainability Reporting took effect on a staggered basis over three years, starting from 31 December 2016 to 31 December 2018. As of 2019, all companies listed on Bursa Malaysia under the Main Market and ACE Market are required to publish a Sustainability Statement in their annual reports. Sustainability Statement is a narrative statement of the listed company’s management of material sustainability matters. Sustainability matters refer to the risks and opportunities arising from the economic, environmental and social (EES) impacts of a company’s operations and activities. A principle of materiality is applied to the Sustainability Statement. As such, companies are expected to disclose only sustainability matters that are considered to be the most important to them and their stakeholders. 

Sustainability matters are deemed to be material if:

• They reflect the company’s significant EES impacts
• They substantively influence the assessment and decisions of the company’s stakeholders
  
  

For companies listed on the Main Market, the Sustainability Statement must also include detailed disclosures on the following:

• Governance structure in place to manage sustainability matters
• The scope of the Sustainability Statement and the basis for the scope
• A description of how sustainability matters are identified, why they are important to the listed company and how they are managed (including information on the policies to manage the sustainability matters, measures undertaken to deal with the sustainability matters, and indicators which show how the listed company has performed in managing the sustainability matters)
  
  

Detailed disclosures are not required for companies listed on the ACE Market.

Bursa Malaysia has issued a Sustainability Reporting Guide which provides guidance to companies on how to identify, assess and manage EES risks and opportunities and prepare the Sustainability Statement. The guide provides a list of sustainability themes and indicators that companies may consider when identifying, managing and disclosing their material sustainability matters.

Bursa Malaysia and Securities Commission Malaysia are both supporting the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). As TCFD supporters, they pledge support to climate-related disclosures.