KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Dutch Business Council (MDBC) has added two new segments to this year’s MDBC Sustainability Awards (MSA). The awards are open to the Malaysian business community.

The new segments are They are the MSA Innovation Pioneer that recognises those who have encouraged innovation in their corporate organisations and the Jaafar Indot Award that honours those with exemplary corporate governance practices.

MDBC executive director Marco Winter said in a statement the new Innovation Pioneer segment is a reflection of the continued growth and evolution of the awards.

“It is in fact part and parcel of our own journey along the path of sustainability ... Those who do not have the foresight and willingness to invest in the future risk losing relevance in the market place,” he said.

The MSA, now in its fourth year, is jointly organised by MDBC and the Netherlands Embassy. The awards aim to foster a deeper understanding of sustainability through the sharing of best practices and recognising sustainability efforts of organisations.

The nomination deadline for both the MSA Innovation Award and the Jaafar Indot Award is this Friday.

“Shortlisted companies will be decided after an evaluation by independent, expert judges, led by chief judge Harry Molenaar (Netherlands ambassador to Malaysia),” said MDBC.

These companies will be announced on Nov 17 and are expected to take part in the MSA day programme scheduled for Dec 3 at the DoubleTree by Hilton here.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 12, 2014.