Launch of the MY Orange Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) Working Group - Malaysia
Launch of the MY Orange Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) Working Group
On the 18th of April 2023, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Malaysia and the Malaysian Dutch Business Council (MDBC) launched the MY Orange Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) Working Group. This working group is aimed to create a joint-learning environment, where companies can exchange success stories and share common challenges regarding RBC and due diligence.
A large number of companies attended the RBC event, which was held for the launch of the working group, as well as for the re-accreditation ceremony of the MDBC by NLinBusiness. Ambassador Jacques Werner opened the event, by emphasizing the importance of responsible business practices, and of sharing knowledge but also challenges, to ensure the continuous improvement of a company’s value chain.
To inform the attending companies on the expectations and policies set by the Dutch government regarding RBC, Eva Oskam, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands Embassy, gave a valuable presentation, which also highlighted the current state of EU legislative proposals. This was followed-up by a presentation by Jai Shankar, the Sustainability Lead at MATRADE, who zoomed in on Malaysian RBC support systems and ESG frameworks.
The practical side of RBC was presented by Henk Jan Jonge Poerink, Senior Vice President of Global Operations at BESI, and Fadi Younis, Managing Director at HQ Pack. Both speakers gave more insights into real-life examples of undertaking due diligence, and how their companies introduced RBC to their corporate strategy.
The informative session ended with a panel discussion, where the audience asked the earlier speakers questions concerning the long-term effects of RBC, the availability of resources offered by both the Dutch and the Malaysian government, and practical advice for companies willing to get started on their due diligence.
This led up to the most important part of the night: the launch of the MY Orange Youth RBC Working Group by Marco Winter, Executive Director of the MDBC and Eva Oskam from the Netherlands Embassy. A first group of pioneer companies already showed their interest in becoming a member, and other companies are encouraged to register as well.
Edo Offerhaus, Managing Director of NLinBusiness, closed the event showing his admiration for the close ties between the Netherlands Embassy and the MDBC, combining forces to support the Dutch-Malaysian business community in their due diligence undertakings, and to promote RBC. A signing ceremony was held to officially reaccredit the MDBC as a Dutch business hub.
Ambassador Jacques Werner mentioned: “this working group will provide an opportunity to share challenges and lessons learned on responsible business conduct. At the Embassy, we believe this topic deserves a great push from all of us, and we are very happy to cooperate on this with the MDBC and the Dutch-Malaysian business community.”
The night ended with a Buka Puasa, where all guests enjoyed a wonderful dinner together, to celebrate the launch of the MY Orange RBC Working Group and the re-accreditation of the MDBC. This provided a great opportunity for the community to connect with each other and already start the conversation on how to incorporate best responsible practices into a company’s value chain. Overall, we look back at a highly successful event and we are very excited to continue the promotion of and support for RBC through upcoming events and working group sessions.
If you would like to get more information on Responsible Business Conduct in the Malaysian context, take a look at our Responsible Business Conduct webinar: https://youtu.be/gBx5vnWVI0o and our webinar on Responsible Manufacturing: https://youtu.be/o-82CeIjYXs.
Are you a company active in Malaysia and looking to improve your work on responsible business conduct (RBC)? Are you struggling with establishing the right due diligence strategy or do you have best practices to share? If so, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Malaysian Dutch Business Council invite you to share your challenges or success stories in our new MY Orange RBC Working Group!
This working group (WG) will provide an open space for knowledge sharing on best responsible practices, potential supply chain risks and overall experiences with sustainability measures.
Through interactive meetings, the WG will offer a platform for joint-learning through B2B knowledge exchange and informative sessions on the expectations set by the Dutch government on responsible business practices. The aim is to provide information on potential Dutch and EU due diligence legislations and initiatives, as well as on possible support by Malaysian authorities, to facilitate Dutch-Malaysian sustainable collaboration.
The WG is open for Dutch companies active in Malaysia, or Malaysian companies linked through trade, investment, and/or supply chain with the Netherlands. Companies taking part should be willing to actively participate by sharing experiences with sustainability and due diligence measures as well as knowledge on responsible business practices.