PETALING JAYA, 28 August 2022 – WCT Holdings Berhad (“WCT” or “the Group) an investment holding company with businesses in engineering and construction, property development and investment in and management of retail malls, hotels, and business aviation, has once again been awarded the Company of The Year Award under the Engineering, Construction, and Property Development category at the Sustainability and CSR Malaysia Awards 2022 held recently.
The notable honour was in recognition of WCT’s community support initiatives of RM2.8million throughout FY2021. WCT had partnered with local NGOs alongside government ministries and agencies to participate in various community-based programmes, as well as engagements such as promotion of health and well-being, support for disaster relief efforts, assistance to food banks and contributions to the underprivileged members of society.
Peter Chow, Deputy Managing Director of WCT Holdings Berhad said, “The ‘Company of the Year’ award is a testament to our continuous community-building efforts in Malaysia. In creating and distributing value to our diverse stakeholders, we have pledged to extend our support to various community programmes and initiatives across the country. It is hoped that beyond these efforts, the Group’s interactions with the local communities can create sustainable, positive outcomes that deliver meaningful and lasting benefits to society.
Among notable programmes under the community support initiatives include the annual distribution of Bubur Lambuk to the Klang community and Buka Puasa events with the underprivileged families during the Ramadan period, as well as partnerships with various NGOs such as Food Aid Foundation, Kechara Soup Kitchen, Food Bank Ji Shan, KWP Food Aid Programme and Ranau Chinese Chamber of Commerce to provide food aid to the needy. These initiatives by and across the Group’s various business divisions including the hotel and malls - Première Hotel in Klang, Paradigm Mall Petaling Jaya and Johor Bahru were in line with WCT’s sustainability goal of Enhancing Livelihood and are in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (“UN SDGs”) 1 and 10 on No Poverty and Reduced Inequality.
In safeguarding WCT Group’s workforce and their families against COVID-19, the Group had in 2021 vaccinated 2,000 employees and their families through its collaboration with the Ministry of Federal Territories. On top of that, WCT through its retail mall and hotel namely Paradigm Mall Petaling Jaya and Première Hotel, Klang had also supported the government’s initiatives in achieving higher vaccination rates by providing rental waivers to ‘Pusat Pemberian Vaksin’ (“PPV”) organisers. These programmes were part of WCT Group’s sustainability goal of Empowering People and Enhancing Livelihood, as well as targeting the UN SDG 3 on Good Health and Well-Being.
Separately, WCT’s commitment to environmental protection is another core focus of the company. The Group is gradually reducing waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse throughout its business operations, supporting target 12.5 of SDG 12 on Responsible Consumption and Production. The Group is collaborating with Tzu Chi Foundation (Malaysia) to meet its sustainability goal of reducing waste by 10% by 2026. A long-term waste segregation initiative, WCT’s Landfill Waste Reduction Programme, was introduced at the Group’s various offices since 2020 to create awareness to all employees on the importance of waste segregation and encourage good recycling habits amongst its employees. To date, the programme has successfully diverted 7.32 tonnes of waste from being sent to the landfill.
Peter Chow added, “We will continue our effort to integrate sustainable development goals in all our economic endeavours to meet our aim of building sustainable and thriving communities. As a Group, our focus revolves not only around driving collective economic growth, but we also strive to build a meaningful relationship with our communities as well as to uphold environmental stewardship.”
Previously, WCT was awarded the Company of The Year Award for Community Sports Development in the Engineering, Construction & Property Development Category at the Sustainability & CSR Malaysia Awards 2020. The accolade was in recognition of WCT’s community-building efforts via the WCT KIDSS 2019 – WCT’s flagship community sports development programme that was aimed at providing free sports training, encouraging an active healthy lifestyle among children, and promoting social interaction through team sports, while inculcating the spirit of patriotism and unity.
The Sustainability & CSR Malaysia Awards organised by CSR Malaysia Publications recognisesoutstanding corporations that have excelled in the socio-economic transformation of Malaysia. The event is endorsed by the national sustainability body which is Pertubuhan Amal Tanggungjawab Kemapanan Dan Korporat Malaysia and supported by Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.
For more information about WCT’s sustainability, visit https://www.wct.com.my/sustainability/
