• What makes a company future-ready?

For Netflix, prioritising innovation has enabled it to adapt amid changing market trends and technological advancement while maintaining its dominance as market leader of the streaming services market.

An early adopter of streaming technology, Netflix began diversifying into streaming licensed movies and TV series to customers in 2007, and harnessed AI and machine learning algorithms to offer personalised recommendations for greater user engagement.

With 283 million paid memberships in over 190 countries, Netflix has revolutionised the way we consume entertainment and influenced many with its original content.  

Had Netflix failed to pivot away from its traditional business model towards subscription streaming and producing original content, it might have suffered the same fate as Blockbuster, which declared bankruptcy in 2010. 

In a rapidly evolving world driven by technological advancements, climate change and a volatile economic landscape – innovation is no longer just a buzzword but a necessity for long-term business success. 

The importance of innovation and sustainability

Innovation drives business performance, even during times of crises – according to management consulting firm McKinsey Global Institute.

Looking at companies who consistently ranked among Fast Company’s World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies list for over 2 years, McKinsey found that those who maintained their focus on innovation through the 2009 financial crisis, outperformed the market average by over 30% and continued to deliver accelerated growth over the next three to five years. 

Equally critical for business success is sustainability. 

Global consulting firm EY found that the world’s top sustainable companies – as ranked by media company Corporate Knights ‘Global 100’ most sustainable corporations annual list – outperformed their industry peers on gross profit, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation (EBIT), and net profit metrics.

Embracing innovation and sustainability stands companies in good stead not just in the present, but for the years to come. 

As more institutional investors take ESG considerations into their investment framework, companies that are committed to sustainability will be more favourable for potential investment, and have more access to lower-cost financing, as they tend to be less vulnerable to systematic risks, says EY. 

Innovation and sustainability are closely linked, as companies must continue exploring innovative means to resolve the world’s most pressing challenges in sustainable development, while sustainability serves as both driver and guide for innovation.   

Sunway is a thriving example of innovation and sustainability, having transformed over the past five decades from a tin mining and quarrying company into a conglomerate with 13 business divisions, with more than 20,000 employees across over 50 locations worldwide.

Guided by its vision to be Asia’s model corporation in sustainable development and innovating to enrich lives for a better tomorrow, Sunway continues to push the frontiers of innovation to stay relevant in changing times, achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs), as well as set the benchmark in business and sustainability for other organisations to follow.

Evan Cheah – Deputy president of Sunway Group

“In a rapidly evolving environment, Sunway’s commitment to continuous innovation and the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals will ensure we remain flexible, relevant and agile in responding to shifts in global megatrends which are reshaping the economy and market demand,” said Evan Cheah, deputy president of Sunway Group.  

Pushing the envelope of innovation

Sunway Group chief innovation officer and Sunway iLabs chief executive officer Matt van Leeuwen said that innovation has helped Sunway to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing global business landscape, by enabling the company to develop new products, services, and business models that meet evolving market demands and shifting consumer preferences. 

Innovation has also enabled Sunway to achieve its sustainability goals, through the development of eco-friendly practices and solutions to reduce the Group’s carbon footprint. 

The Group’s commitment to sustainability in turn has enhanced brand reputation and helped the company align with global trends that advocates responsible business practices. 

So how does a 50-year-old conglomerate continue to be innovative, as the company grows and evolves?

According to Matt, Sunway’s innovation success boils down to three key areas – continuous building of internal innovation capacity and talent, partnerships with the world’s best universities and organisations as well as strong leadership vision and support.

Matt Van Leeuwen – Chief innovation officer of Sunway Group and Chief executive officer of Sunway iLabs

“Sunway’s ‘inside-out’ and ‘outside-in’ innovation strategy enables the company to foster innovation from within, while scouting and investing in external innovations, by leveraging the Sunway City Kuala Lumpur ecosystem as a real-world sandbox for testing and scaling new business models,” he said. 

A key player in this strategy is Sunway iLabs, an innovation hub designed to nurture creativity and entrepreneurship among employees, students and entrepreneurs.

By offering tailored programmes, mentorship, and funding, Sunway iLabs supports individuals in transforming their ideas into impactful solutions.

As a hub for innovation support and governance, Sunway iLabs is able to decentralise innovation to the Group’s 13 business divisions for more tailored strategies, providing stability while encouraging agility and experimentation across these divisions.  

A strong believer in strategic collaborations, Sunway embarks on partnerships and invests into start-ups to tap into cutting-edge technologies and innovative business models beyond the company. 

Collaborations with start-ups help Sunway to manage risk by testing and piloting new ideas through small-scale experiments, reducing exposure while gaining valuable insights. When these experiments yield positive results, Sunway scales these innovations through its robust distribution channels, creating a win-win for both the start-ups and Sunway

Over the last six years, Sunway has invested in over 75 start-ups across Southeast Asia and Europe via Sunway’s corporate venture capital arm – Sunway iLabs Ventures.

Balancing between existing core businesses and future growth can prove challenging; Sunway manages this delicate task by adopting the McKinsey 3-Horizon Model framework, which helps the company identify, prioritise and pursue innovation initiatives and partnerships across different time horizons.

The three horizons include optimising and strengthening core businesses, exploring new opportunities within adjacent markets, and fostering radical innovations that will define the future.

“In summary, Sunway’s innovation strategy is designed to be both proactive and reactive, nurturing innovation from within while embracing external opportunities. We balance short-term needs with long-term ambitions, and manage risk through a structured, hybrid approach that allows us to remain both innovative and stable,” he said. 

For Matt, seeing innovation come to life at Sunway continues to drive him to push the boundaries of innovation in his role as the Group’s chief innovation officer and CEO of Sunway iLabs.   

“We’re not just creating products or solutions—we’re shaping the future of sustainable cities and improving the quality of life for people. What I find most rewarding is the tangible difference we make in people’s lives through the initiatives we lead at Sunway,” he said.

“My vision for the next 50 years is that we continue to develop and embrace breakthrough technologies that accelerate our transition to a more sustainable world—creating smart, energy-efficient systems and circular solutions that reduce waste and carbon emissions. Imagine cities where buildings generate more energy than they consume, where food is grown locally and sustainably within urban environments, and where waste is not just minimised but transformed into resources.”  

Sustainability – the key to relevancy

Like innovation, sustainability is the path towards staying relevant as a business.

“Since the early days of Sunway, Tan Sri Sir Dr. Jeffrey Cheah has always emphasised that we must stay relevant to be sustainable as a business, and that we can do well by doing good,” said Ong Pang Yen, executive director of chairman’s office at Sunway who oversees Group Sustainability. 

Ong Pang Yen – Executive director of chairman’s office at Sunway Group

Defining relevance as “being able to meet the needs and wants of the people, and then earning their trust”, Ong said Sunway will have to change with time and not rest on its laurels.

“Looking at the household names of the past like Nokia and Kodak, this is the danger that Sunway must be careful of when we are at the peak of our branding; we become irrelevant when we become complacent, lose touch and are not giving the market what it wants anymore. When you’re 50 years old, there’s a sense of accomplishment and a sense of pride, but we must be reminded that we have to be very careful as to not get complacent,” he said.

“Moving forward in the next 50 years, business will change but the principles, the ecosystem we have created for ourselves, and the commitment to transparency and accountability, if it remains there, it will ensure our survival and our relevance,” he said.

Sunway’s commitment to ESG helps the company to be transparent in its sustainability journey, which keeps the company accountable to its sustainable goals.  

“ESG keeps us on the right track of sustainability because it keeps us accountable,” said Ong.

The first conglomerate in Malaysia to introduce the internal carbon pricing framework, priced at RM15 per tonne of carbon emissions, Sunway is able to incentivise business divisions to be more proactive in their carbon emission reduction efforts, as there are now repercussions for inaction. 

Business divisions that use more energy than the benchmarked industry standard have their bonus pools deducted.

“Some business divisions failed so they sat up and worked harder to provide accurate data in the following year. When there is a consequence, we will act on it. We need to provide an ecosystem to make things happen, to encourage innovation among our people. In 2024, those who produce renewable energy will earn RM15 per tonne of CO₂e, while those who divert waste from landfills will earn RM150 per tonne of CO₂e,” Ong said.

Adopting the policy of progress over perfection, Sunway waived the penalty in the first year as the business divisions were only in the learning phase. “As we better understand, we perfect it along the way. Sunway has 13 business divisions so there is a lot to learn about the different businesses. At the early stage, progress is the most important. We cannot wait until we get it perfectly, otherwise we will never get started,” he said.

Currently Sunway discloses more than five years’ worth of sustainability data in its sustainability report – which exceeds Bursa Malaysia’s sustainability reporting framework requirement for public-listed companies to disclose three years’ data to demonstrate the effectiveness of their sustainability practices over time. 

Obtaining data and creating awareness is the first stage of Sunway’s sustainability journey; the next stage will involve making more initiatives, such as green leasing among its tenants, mandatory. 

“My biggest reward is seeing our people, the Group Sustainability executives, being dedicated and passionate about sustainability, and no longer being confused by what sustainability is,” he said.

Ong credits Sunway’s progress in its sustainability journey to the company’s core values of Humility, Integrity and Excellence.

“Integrity speaks of accountability while humility is about continuing to be conscious that we don’t know everything, and we have to continue learning. Our founder’s ability to evolve the business through different industries demonstrates good entrepreneurial skills and excellence. The sustainability agenda can only be sustainable when it is based on our values and not external pressures,” he said.