Aimed at cultivating the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) perspectives, and enhancing the strategic partnerships with wider performing higher learning institutions from all over the world, UTAR Division of Community and International Networking (DcInterNet) successfully organised the International Collaboration Forum (ICF) 6.0 on 11 November 2022 on online platform ZOOM.

Themed, The Roles of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in Innovating Higher Education, the bi-annual forum attracted more than 100 participants from seven partnering universities, namely De La Salle University, Nanhua University, Pingtung University, Universitas Gadjah Mada, ViTrox Academy of Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia and UTAR.

The forum kick-started with an opening remark by UTAR Vice President for Internationalisation and Academic Development Ir Prof Dr Goi Bok Min.

Emphasising the importance of sustainability in tertiary education, Prof Goi explained, “Over the years, education has evolved to more than just providing knowledge and skills for people to excel in life. Today, educational institutions are seen as informative platforms that empower individuals to drive change and even tackle global problems. These efforts are more than just doing the right thing, rather it is asking us to evaluate the impacts of our actions on achieving sustainability. Sustainability is important because it enables us to meet our needs, without compromising the needs of the future generations. Sustainability can only be achieved if all parties work together because E, S, and G are all interconnected.”

He added, “In UTAR’s efforts to contribute towards ESG, we have set up the UTAR Green Campus Committee in 2017 to raise the environmental awareness among students and staff; provide understanding on environmental issues; share information and continuous education; engage in environmental stewardship; promote sustainable use of the earth’s resources by adopting socially and ecologically responsible practice, and instil environmental responsibility as a corporate goal. We have also outlined several policies and action plans to strengthen our efforts to promote a greener campus. These include Energy Management Policy Statement, Responsible Resource Management Policy, Sustainable Procurement Policy, UTAR Climate Action Plan, and Guidelines for Energy Conservation Infringement. Ultimately, these policies, action plans and guidelines are meant to create campus culture with sustainable and inclusive behaviour.”

The forum then continued with two talks. The first talk on “Carbon neutrality path in Nanhua University” was conducted by an academic from Nanhua University Prof Yao-Ming Hong. He started the talk by explaining the meaning of carbon neutrality and its roles and perspectives in building a climate-smart healthcare system. Prof Yao explained, “Carbon neutrality means having a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks.” His talk also emphasised how to reach carbon neutrality as well as the efforts taken by Nanhua University in tackling this serious issue.

The second talk was delivered by UTAR Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology (FEGT) Deputy Dean Assoc Prof Ir Ts Dr Leong Kah Hon. Titled “ESG the ways forward in the education force”, his talk focused on topics such as ESG and its framework, the roles of ESG in the education workforce, greenwashing and how greenwashing affects the education sector. Dr Leong explained, “ESG means a deliberate Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy, accompanied by a coherent framework of actions and transparent communications about the impacts of these actions. It can go a long way in helping an institution attract and retain students, faculty and staff, while also enhancing relationships with the wider community.” He also emphasised on how to embrace ESG and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in the transition of the universities.

The forum then continued with three parallel sessions, sub-themed Environmental in Innovating Higher Education, Social in Innovating Higher Education and Governance in Innovating Higher Education. Among the topics discussed in the parallel sessions were “Reducing universities carbon footprint as part of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy” by Prof Dr Budi Setiadi Daryono from Universitas Gadjah Mada, “Designing programmes & activities in enhancing graduate employability” by Dr Anees Janee Ali from Universiti Sains Malaysia, “Building the social innovation ecosystem in the academe through social entrepreneurship” by Norby R. Salonga from De La Salle University, “Examining ESG's impact on Malaysia’s higher education landscape: From a strategic perspective to actual implementation” by Dr Abdelhak Senadjki from UTAR and etcetera.

ICF 6.0 ended with a closing remark by Director of DcInterNet Assoc Prof Dr Lai Soon Onn.