KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Sime Darby Bhd has won the award for Best Overall Reporting for the second consecutive year at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Malaysia Sustainability Reporting Awards (ACCA MaSRA) 2017.

“They maintained their exemplary standards from the previous year as their submission was a class above and the organisation’s demonstration of how sustainability was innovatively managed at senior management level impressed the judges,” ACCA said in a statement today.

Malayan Banking Bhd came in a close second with its report, claiming the first runner-up position for a second consecutive year. Axiata Group Bhd, meanwhile, took the second runner-up position.

The Best Sustainability Reporting Award for Non-PLCs was awarded to Fuji Xerox Asia Pte Ltd’s Malaysian operations.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd took home the mantle of having Best Workplace Practices.

Commendation awards were claimed by DiGI.com Bhd, Sunway Construction Group Bhd, Cenviro Sdn Bhd and United Plantations Bhd.

The ACCA MaSRA was introduced in Malaysia in 2002 and is the longest running sustainability reporting awards in the country. The programme’s objective is to identify and recognise organisations that report and disclose full environmental, social and governance information.

The ACCA MaSRA 2017 received 59 entries, of which 11 were new participants. The total entries also marked a 20% increase in participation compared with the previous year.

According to ACCA, the judging criteria were in line with Bursa Malaysia’s Sustainability Reporting Framework which was introduced in 2015, mandating public-listed companies to publish a sustainability statement in their annual reports.