KUALA LUMPUR — Environmental sustainability measures undertaken by corporations and industry players should be viewed as an opportunity for growth instead of a “cost”, said Airbus Defence and Space’s Asia Pacific head Zakir Hamid.
A panelist at the International Regulatory Conference (IRC) 2025 held at the Grand Hyatt Hotelhere today, Zakir acknowledged that striking a balance between profit and social responsibility for companies can pose certain challenges.
However, there are ways for companies to formulate their business strategies in such a manner to achieve sustainability goals while also generating fair profits.
To illustrate his point, he said Airbus has aircrafts which operate a lighter and quieter condition while being more fuel efficient with lower emission rates.
“It delivers consistently to the needs of the customer. If you have that in mind, it is not only consistent with sustainability goals and objectives, but on top of that, it also helps us to be more profitable,” Zakir told a forum session at the IRC titled ‘The Transformation of Global Energy and Natural Resources through Technology Towards Sustainable Approaches’.
He also said Airbus aids organisations combating climate change by using approximately 20 Airbus field satellites in orbit monitoring the state of the Earth.
Satellite imagery, he added, has significantly benefited humanitarian assistance and disaster relief measures after a natural crisis to assess the extent of damage, thus helping authorities prioritise the required aid to affected victims.
“Within Airbus itself, we try to constantly look towards improving the way in which we operate. We’re committed to science-based targets for carbon dioxide emissions and we’ve also embarked on a plan to reduce the environmental footprint of our global operations by 2030.”
Today is the last day of the IRC 2025 which is hosted by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
The session on technology for sustainability was also joined by Telekom Malaysia’s (TM) chief corporate officer Nor Fadhilah Mohd Ali and Zaliha Mohamad Ali, the general manager for Sarawak Energy Bhd’s digital strategy and planning division. It was moderated by MCMC’s chief regulatory officer Ahmad Nasruddin ‘Atiqullah Fakrullah.
In her concluding remarks, TM’s Nor Fadhilah urged corporations to bear in mind how community engagements aimed at ensuring digital inclusion among the public is one of the pillars of sustainability.
“At TM, we make it our mission to guarantee that no one is left behind when we enjoy the prosperity of building a high functioning and fully digital nation.
“Use of technology is great, but it’s made all the greater if we as Malaysians can make sure that no one is abandoned in the digital race,” she added, noting that TM, as one of the nation’s largest network service providers, has engaged multiple ministries as part of its efforts.
The two-day IRC conference saw the gathering of industry leaders, policymakers and experts from within the nation as well as across the Asean region to discuss critical topics such as telecommunications regulation, cybersecurity resilience and the transformative impacts of artificial intelligence. – January 8, 2025