Last month at Nestlé Malaysia, we were honoured to receive an Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Award (AREA) for our collaborative project, Empowering Women in Setiu Wetlands.

In 2006, along with WWF Malaysia, we set up a sustainable community development programme in Kampung Mangkok, one of the poorest districts in Terengganu, to raise awareness among local women of their natural environment while supporting them to work together to increase their income.

The programme was selected for an AREA award (held annually to recognise organisations that have shown great effort and perseverance in corporate social responsibility initiatives) for its innovative approach to these two aims.

Initially Nestlé funded a survey of the existing conditions of communities in key villages in Setiu to determine capacity building needs, particularly of women. This was justified on the basis that as mothers and co-income earners, they had an important role to play in the area’s long-term sustainable development. In November 2007 this led to the establishment of PEWANIS (Persatuan Wanita Kampung Mangkok Setiu), an informal group of local women entrepreneurs from Kampung Mangkok.

During the second phase of the project, from 2007 to 2010, the PEWANIS group received training in basic entrepreneurial skills and were educated about the importance of the surrounding mangrove ecosystem, both in preventing erosion and as a breeding ground for marine life.

Since then, together with WWF-Malaysia, they have initiated mangrove replanting activities in Setiu, passing this new knowledge on to their children as well as visitors to the village. To date 3,000 seedlings have been planted and the surrounding environment has seen an increase in flora and fauna.

In 2009, with capital provided by Nestlé, PEWANIS began a pilot initiative to find an alternative or additional source of income through a traditional banana chips venture. With advice and help from Nestlé experts they have been able to expand this into a cottage industry scheme. They have made real progress. Not only are they earning an income for their efforts, but they have taken the next step to officially register their group so that they can be eligible for more assistance and funding.

The project has also encouraged women to explore other entrepreneurship opportunities such as eco-tourism. Now, they are looking forward to developing a home-stay programme for local and international visitors.

PEWANIS’s success shows that by uniting towards a common goal, local women found the strength to do more for themselves and their community. It is very likely that the concept can be duplicated in other communities to empower more women homemakers. In my opinion, this is a great example of how the private sector can work with NGOs and local interest groups to create shared value through partnerships and truly sustainable initiatives.

Nestlé was one of seven publicly listed companies in Malaysia honoured for its outstanding corporate responsibility practices at the StarBiz-ICR Malaysia Corporate Responsibility Awards 2009. Awards were given out under marketplace, workplace, environment and community for two market capitalisation segments, namely RM1 billion and above, and below RM1 billion. Nestlé won the award in the marketplace category (companies with market capitalisation of RM1 billion) for the second time running. Other winners were Guinness Anchor, DiGi.Com, Telekom Malaysia, Malaysia Airports Holdings, Tex Cycle Technology and Aluminium Co. Receiving the award for Nestlé, Marc Seiler, Executive Director, Finance & Control for Malaysia and Singapore said: “It is important for us to ensure we improve the quality of lives of the communities we work with. In order to ensure our business sustainability, we strive to obtain a win-win situation for all parties.”  

Speaking at a Forum* on the relevance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) during an economic downturn, Nestlé Malaysia’s Managing Director Mr Peter Vogt shared Nestlé’s concept of CSR called Creating Shared Value, which is to create value and sustainable growth for all of the company's stakeholders - from shareholders to the societies where it operates. He stressed that combining CSR and business strategy is good for both business and the community and enables Nestlé to have sustainable long-term initiatives. He added that even more so in a period of difficulty such as the economic downturn, Nestlé continues its CSR activities, as it is embedded in the company's business strategy. He also encouraged well-established companies such as Nestlé to mentor and assist SMEs in developing sustainable environmental management policies and practices. In the long term, these environmental practices can bring cost savings to the company, for instance, through energy-saving initiatives or effective waste management. Mr Vogt reiterated, “Companies should self regulate and adopt responsible and sustainable environmental approaches to their business operations. Where governments can assist is in strengthening enforcement.” *organised by the StarBiz-ICR Malaysia Corporate Responsibility Awards 2009, Star Publications (M) Bhd and Institute of Corporate Responsibility (ICR) Malaysia.

The seventh CSR Asia Summit was held in Kuala Lumpur on 27 and 28 October 2009 and aimed to be the most innovative and challenging conference on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Asia-Pacific region. The participants were reminded that amidst the global economic crisis, CSR is more important than ever. With the theme “Sustainable Business as the Road to Recovery”, the event was attended by more than 300 delegates from all over Asia. It explored key CSR issues and strategies to demonstrate leadership in times of turbulence. Nestlé Malaysia was an active participant in the Summit, featuring exhibits to introduce Nestlé’s concept of CSR, which is Creating Shared Value (CSV). The booth showcased both local and global CSV initiatives, as well as Nestlé Malaysia’s reporting initiatives. Nestlé’s CSV initiatives in Nutrition, Water and Rural Development were highlighted as exhibits as well as via a video. Apart from the breakout sessions, roundtables, training and stakeholder sessions were also organised for the delegates. The topics were mainly focused on Asia and brought new insights for businesses, governments, NGOs and other CSR practitioners.