Press Release

Sunway Group (“Sunway”) and the Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia (“EUD”) entered into a strategic partnership to advance a broad range of joint sustainability initiatives.

This landmark collaboration between the diplomatic mission of the world’s largest trading bloc and one of Southeast Asia’s leading conglomerates marks another significant milestone in both entities’ commitment towards a net zero future.

The existential threats posed by climate change require greater ambition and increased action on sustainability.

Through this partnership, Sunway and the EUD are committed to fostering a more sustainable and greener future by leveraging mutual strengths, shared knowledge and funding, capacity building, and joint initiatives.

Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia Chargé d’affaires a.i Timo Goosmann said, “The European Union is glad to partner with Sunway Group to raise awareness on sustainable practices in Malaysia.

The EU has worked diligently to ensure that environmental sustainability becomes a common vision. At home, EU has adopted the European Climate Law, which defines that Europe’s economy and society must become climate neutral by 2050.”

Sunway Group executive director of chairman’s office Ong Pang Yen added, “The partnership between the EU and Sunway reflects the spirit and importance of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG), in particular UN-SDG 17 – Partnership for the Goals.

We look forward to working with the EU and its Member States to do as much as we can in making meaningful and purposeful progress towards achieving as many of the UN-SDGs as possible here in Malaysia and throughout the region.”

Goosmann and Ong signed a Letter of Intent to formalise this partnership at a signing ceremony in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur, which was witnessed by Sunway Group CEO of Digital and Strategic Investments Evan Cheah and Embassy of Belgium in Malaysia Deputy Head of Mission Pierrick Massaux.

In Malaysia, the EU works together with various Malaysian organisations to combat the effects of climate change and environmental degradation.

Among others, the EU supports wildlife conservation, smart cities and sustainable business practices and continues to explore new critical areas of collaboration.

At Sunway, since making a pledge to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 three years ago, the diverse conglomerate has implemented several carbon reduction initiatives.

These include introducing an internal carbon pricing strategy into all its business divisions, among the first in Asia to do so, as well as a first-of-its-kind green lease partnership programme among tenants and lessors through its Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) arm.

This year, Sunway is pioneering a unique initiative to address urban poverty through the Desa Mentari Community Observatory project.

A multi-sector team comprising the private sector, civil society and educational institutions will design a holistic and data-driven approach to resolving quality-of-life issues in Desa Mentari, a public housing scheme in Subang Jaya with a community of close to 30,000 residents.