Kuala lumpur: The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), as the chair of the Advisory Committee on Sustainability Reporting, announced its approach to addressing non-compliance with regulatory sustainability reporting requirements. This approach was developed in alignment with the National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF).

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the SC, in collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia, the Companies Commission of Malaysia, and the Audit Oversight Board, will focus on a phased and practical approach in reviewing disclosures. SC chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi highlighted the challenges companies face in meeting the new sustainability reporting standards, citing issues such as a lack of resources, the quality of external data, and the difficulty in obtaining necessary expertise.

The SC's strategy aims to balance the need for compliance with the varying levels of readiness across reporting entities. Emphasis will be placed on capacity building and skills enhancement during the review to ensure reporting entities can make reasonable and meaningful progress in disclosing consistent, comparable, and reliable sustainable information.

In cases of non-compliance, the SC plans to address these through active engagement and corrective action. This strategy acknowledges the transition period for reporting entities to adopt the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.

Launched in September last year, the NSRF represents a significant step in advancing Malaysia's corporate sustainability agenda. It applies to listed issuers on Bursa Malaysia's Main and ACE Markets, as well as large non-listed companies with annual revenue of RM2 billion and above.