Globally, consumers and investors are increasingly demanding that brands and organisations align with their environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities and do their part for the future of humanity and the planet. However, ESG issues can be complex and abstract, and assessing and properly addressing sustainability concerns can be a challenge.

Nevertheless, Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd is nailing it. The leading content and entertainment company in the country is a big believer in standing up for the good of all and its Group CEO-Designate Euan Smith — a passionate advocate for climate change — is ready to take its ESG efforts to the next level.

Smith has been in the TV industry for 20 years and has experience in five different markets. On a personal level, he is a big proponent of organic, sustainable farming practices. Professionally, he says, he first started to lean in seriously as part of Sky UK’s Carbon Neutral programme back in 2004.

“It was a real pioneering initiative (we built a wind turbine on site!) and the team’s initial successes included switching the fleet to electric vehicles and significantly reducing the electrical consumption of Set Top Boxes,” he recalled. “My interest has grown from there and a programme we ran enabled Sky Germany to make a step change in its recycling volumes.”

It will be interesting to see what sustainable ideas Smith will be bringing to Astro. The broadcaster, which advocates Responsible Business, Caring for Our Environment, Community Development, Voice for Good and Education for All, reaches 70% of Malaysian homes. Its biggest contribution is in the social space as it currently serves over 5.5 million households, more than 18 million radio listeners and in excess of 11 million digital unique visitors.

This puts it in a unique position to effect positive change, which is particularly important when it comes to education. The group seeks to make education entertaining and fun while transforming lives, and nurture young, bright minds through its foundation, Yayasan Astro Kasih. It has been championing education for over a decade now, having invested more than RM126 million in learning content.

Students across the country are able to access Astro’s successful and hugely popular Tutor TV channels, which are made available for free across Astro platforms, as well as national syllabus education content that it broadcasts on its channels. Through its Kampus Astro programme, the group has equipped 10,500 government schools with decoders and TVs, providing over five million students free access to 13 learning channels.

Astro has also built three Astro Hostels — for SK Magandai and SK Malinsau in Sabah and SK Sungai Paku in Sarawak — that helped over 200 students annually save time on their daily commute to school, giving them more time to focus on their studies. “I found it really heartwarming to hear on my visit there last month that these hostels and tutorial workshops led to an improvement in the then UPSR passing rate of SK Magandai students from 42% in 2010 to 63% in 2019 and a 100% pass rate in science at all three schools in 2019,” Smith says.

Astro is not known as “The Home of Sports” for nothing. Sports programmes aside, it is big on developing young talent. Astro Kem Badminton (AKB) has coached over 18,000 children since 2012, guiding young badminton players in their journey to become professional players under the watchful eye of coaches who comprise former national players. In fact, almost three-quarters of Malaysia’s national junior squad are alumni of AKB, some of whom like Jacky Kok are now representing the nation on the international stage.

Another way Astro brings about positive change in the community is through the provision of airtime via its TV, radio and digital platforms to civil society groups and organisations so that they may promote their social and environmental causes. In 2020 and 2021, the broadcaster aired in total over 27,600 hours of public service announcements to advocate for Covid-19 vaccination and deliver other messages on health and safety as well as social issues.

On its radio platform, its “KamiCare” campaign, for instance, saw the team distributing care packs to communities in need, while a food donation drive raised 3.5 tonnes of daily necessities for families affected by the lockdown. Astro also strives to create quality responsible content with strong social values such as The Conservationist on Astro Shuang Xing CH307.

A local documentary on Malaysian rainforests, The Conservationist provides viewers with a closer look into the daily life of conservationists and a better understanding of the latest situation of Malaysia’s wildlife. Meanwhile, Astro Awani — known for its independent and unbiased approach in its reporting — has been named in the 2022 Digital News Report as the most trusted news brand in Malaysia for the fifth straight year.

Internally, diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental to Astro’s corporate culture and long-term growth. The group is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. It has a fair and equitable recruitment and compensation structure in place, fosters staff development and facilitates career progression based solely on performance and merit.

To this extent, it encourages its employees to be part its sustainability journey by volunteering their time and effort to help the community. This is aimed at building a culture of shared purpose and mission. Next year, it plans to kick-start formal staff volunteerism, aiming to achieve 20,000 hours of volunteer work over the first three years and more in the years to come. All this has paid off for Astro, resulting in a happy, engaged and productive workforce. “Our staff engagement is close to an all-time high,” Smith notes. “We saw a sharp increase in our People survey response rate to 90% from 78% previously, surpassing industry benchmarks.

Our people take real pride in our brand, products and services. Team Astro has a clear understanding of what is expected of them and are empowered to find new and better ways to serve our customers.” As an organisation, Astro is also committed to carbon neutrality by 2040, and aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in its operations by 10% in the next three years. On the product development front, it is constantly finding new and sustainable ways to reduce plastics, amplify recycling and steer its vendors and partners towards sustainable practices.

Its efforts have not gone unnoticed. Recently, Astro received the Industry Excellence Award for Corporate Governance Disclosure at the MSWG-ASEAN Corporate Governance Award 2021, where it topped the Telecommunications and Media category and ranked #11 overall. Smith says, “We may be in the earlier stages of this journey, but it is a good place to strengthen our foundation and develop our ESG roadmap.”