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When your customer sends the ESG memo: How big buyers are forcing Malaysia’s SMEs to comply

As the country’s biggest corporations race to meet the year-end sustainability disclosure deadline, the pressure is being felt along their supply chains 

    • Above: The headquarters of the stock exchange of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. Sustainability mandates are working in practice, not through regulatory force alone, but through the market power of large buyers who need supplier data to complete their own compliance reports.
    • Above: The headquarters of the stock exchange of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. Sustainability mandates are working in practice, not through regulatory force alone, but through the market power of large buyers who need supplier data to complete their own compliance reports. PHOTO: TAN AI LENG, BT
    Published Wed, Oct 29, 2025 · 10:58 AM

    [KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia’s army of small suppliers is discovering that environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance is much more than a buzzword – it is now a business requirement. For many, the message arrived not in a government circular, but in an e-mail from their biggest customer.

    As Bursa Malaysia’s phased sustainability reporting requirements take effect – with the largest listed companies facing their first deadline this December – corporations are requiring ESG data from small companies up and down their supply chains. 

    This is effectively creating a de facto compliance regime for thousands of unlisted businesses that have never been directly regulated.

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