Corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) is a concept that focuses on a corporation’s behaviour and actions. CSR has been defined as open and transparent business practices that are based on ethical values and respect for the community, employees, the environment, shareholders and other stakeholders. In essence, what this means is corporations integrating socially responsible behaviour into their business operations. For instance, this can range from making charitable donations or enhancing employee welfare to aligning or modifying the corporation’s operations to ensure that it is more environmentally friendly. These are of course very limited examples as there is no singular model on how to approach CSR. Each corporation, based on the nature of their business and resources may choose to undertake the CSR activities that are more suitable for them at that point in time.
Pursuant to item 30 of Part A, Appendix 9C, listed corporations are required to set out in their annual report, a description of the CSR activities or practices undertaken by the listed corporation. Does Bursa Securities prescribe the contents of the disclosure to be made in relation to the CSR activities or practices?
No, Bursa Securities does not prescribe the contents of what the listed corporations should disclose. A listed corporation must, however,n ensure that the disclosure complies with the requirements of Rule 2.18 of the ACE LR, as the case may be. Where a listed corporation has not undertaken any CSR activities for a particular year, pursuant to item 30 of Part A, Appendix 9C, a negative statement must be inserted.
By requiring listed corporations to disclose CSR activities in their annual reports, does it mean that Bursa Securities is making CSR activities compulsory for all listed corporations?
No, the practice of CSR is completely voluntary and at the discretion of listed corporations. The requirement for disclosure of CSR activities is for enhanced transparency and to encourage listed corporations to bear in mind CSR when undertaking their business and operations.
Bursa Securities has not prescribed any specific requirements pertaining to where the CSR statement should be located. A listed corporation may disclose the statement anywhere in the annual report so long as it is clearly set out.
Further information on CSR can be found on Bursa Securities’ website at www.bursamalaysia.com under the CSR Framework for Malaysian public listed corporations.