diversity team discussion focused on ESG (environment,social,governance) for net zero goals in a sustainable green office
BURSA Malaysia Berhad (Bursa Malaysia) and the UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei (UNGCMYB) jointly developed the Corporate Sustainability Practitioner (CSP) Competency Framework on Oct 28.
Referred to as CSP 2.0, it serves to support credentials building of practitioners and professionals involved in Malaysia’s corporate sustainability space, with the aim to raise the professional standards of corporate sustainability practitioners in Malaysia.
UNGCMYB shared with StarESG on how the framework supports sustainability practitioners, leaders, and talents across all organisational levels – entry-level, mid-level and senior-level.
Who can use the CSP 2.0As sustainability is a shared responsibility, this comprehensive framework enables individuals, regardless of their primary roles, to build essential competencies that foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and strategic alignment.
It serves as a definitive guide for organisations and practitioners by establishing clear performance expectations and competencies necessary for integrating sustainability into operations across sectors and industries.
It can function as a roadmap to identify skill gaps, set performance benchmarks, and implement structured development plans, ensuring professionals at all levels are equipped to meet the demands of sustainability.
For entry-level practitioners, the framework establishes foundational competencies that focus on building awareness and understanding of sustainability principles.
At the mid-level, it advances strategic thinking and implementation capabilities, empowering practitioners to lead impactful sustainability initiatives effectively.
(From left) UNGCMYB executive director Faroze Nadar, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul and Bursa Malaysia Group Sustainability director Dr Ahmad Hezri Adnan, during the launch of the CSP 2.0 by Bursa Malaysia and UNGCMYB.
For senior-level professionals, it outlines the leadership competencies for shaping and influencing sustainability governance, ensuring that organisational strategies align with broader stakeholder expectations and global sustainability goals.
By providing a clear and structured competency model, CSP 2.0 raises professional standards and also acts as a catalyst for cultivating a skilled workforce that can champion transformative change.
Critical skill development, innovative thinking and leadership qualities essential for navigating the complexities of sustainability are emphasised.
This approach fosters talent capable of bridging operational gaps, breaking down silos, and driving cross-industry collaboration.
Talent development becomes a holistic process that creates new job opportunities, enhances career growth, and improves the quality of life for all.
The framework positions sustainability as a business priority – a key driver of innovation, organisational resilience and societal well-being.
CSP 2.0 ensures that individuals across all levels are prepared to meet current sustainability challenges while anticipating future needs.
By fostering the right talent, the framework equips organisations to build resilient, forward-thinking teams to advance Malaysia’s sustainability agenda.
These practitioners become proactive change agents, driving progress and delivering a lasting impact on businesses, communities and the environment.
Who benefits from using CSP 2.0The CSP 2.0 is a transformative tool designed to benefit organisations across sectors, particularly those aiming to embed sustainability into their operational fabric, leadership strategies and various job functions.
By applying to disciplines beyond traditional sustainability roles, such as operations, finance and marketing, the framework ensures a comprehensive and inclusive approach to fostering sustainability.
Companies of all sizes can leverage it to tailor sustainability functions that align seamlessly with their unique operating environments and corporate DNA.
This flexibility enables businesses to demonstrate a “tone at the top,” cascading sustainability priorities from senior leadership to every level of management.
At its core, the CSP 2.0 serves as a definitive guide, outlining the skills and competencies needed for practitioners to navigate the complex corporate sustainability ecosystem effectively.
By providing clarity on the expectations for sustainability roles, it empowers organisations to foster a culture where ESG principles are understood and operationalised.For leadership teams, the framework offers strategic value by providing a structured roadmap to assess and develop the competencies required to drive sustainable outcomes.
It helps identify performance standards and pinpoint existing gaps in skills, knowledge or willingness in team members.
Such insights enable organisations to implement targeted training and development initiatives to bridge these gaps.
The framework also aligns sustainability efforts with broader business goals by equipping leadership teams with tools to inspire meaningful change, while achieving measurable results.
By fostering a structured approach to competency-building, it ensures that organisations meet compliance requirements but actively create value through sustainable practices.
CSP 2.0 key competencies
CSP 2.0 is built on a dynamic and progressive competency model that addresses the shifting demands of the corporate sustainability landscape.
Central to the framework are five proficiency levels for each sub-competency, based on Bloom’s Taxonomy.
This tiered approach offers organisations a structured pathway to assess, develop and enhance their workforce’s capabilities, enabling them to achieve higher levels of expertise in sustainability practices effectively.
Drawing inspiration from the Learning Leader Competency Model, CSP 2.0 outlines six critical leadership competencies: managing essential processes and resources, inspiring people, building social networks and partnerships, achieving personal mastery, and governing organisational performance.
Together, they empower leaders to seamlessly integrate sustainability into their governance structures and operational strategies, driving transformative change across their organisations.
To remain relevant, the framework is designed to be periodically updated. This adaptability ensures it reflects emerging best practices, innovative learning approaches, and evolving stakeholder expectations.
Organisations are encouraged to use the framework to conduct regular self-assessments, to stay aligned with global trends and proactively address new challenges in the sustainability domain.
CSP 2.0 bridges current practices with future expectations, positioning itself as a forward-looking tool for navigating the complexities of corporate sustainability.
It equips leaders and practitioners with the knowledge and skills needed to design and implement impactful, long-term initiatives while maintaining agility in the face of emerging global priorities.
Its comprehensive approach defines competencies that are essential for success and fosters continuous improvement.
Doing so also prepares organisations to meet the demands of an evolving sustainability landscape in confidence and with a sense of purpose.
The framework also highlights seven core competencies tailored to different roles within an organisation:
> for senior executives, the framework
emphasises strategic leadership by focusing on driving sustainability governance, securing resources, and earning stakeholder trust.
> sustainability managers will be
equipped to implement initiatives, manage departmental performance, and foster cross-functional collaboration.
> entry-level practitioners can
concentrate on executing sustainability programmes, monitoring and reporting performance, and building a strong foundation of knowledge.
Each competency is designed to reflect the evolving corporate sustainability landscape, blending technical expertise with personal mastery.
This ensures that practitioners at all levels are not only effective in their roles but also serve as credible and trustworthy advocates for sustainability within their organisations.
As the framework’s dynamic structure is based on the Bloom’s Taxonomy, it promotes continuous professional development.
With its five proficiency levels, it allows individuals and organisations to progressively enhance their capabilities while conducting regular self-assessments.
This ensures that they remain agile and well-prepared to adapt to the ever-changing priorities and challenges in global sustainability efforts.
Where CSP 2.0 has most impactCSP 2.0 aims to create an immediate and transformative impact by operationalising sustainability across industries, enabling businesses to meet the growing demand for sustainable practices in a competitive global market.
In the current landscape, sustainability considerations are emerging as critical benchmarks for trade, rivalling traditional parameters such as price and quality.
To stay relevant and competitive, businesses must now integrate ESG sustainability into their core operations.
This shift necessitates a robust framework that clearly defines the skills and competencies required for sustainability practitioners to effectively drive change within their organisations.
It addresses this need by offering a structured roadmap that supports the creation of tailored sustainability functions across sectors and industries.
It acknowledges the diverse operational environments of Malaysian companies, enabling them to adopt approaches that align with their unique organisational DNA.
By embedding sustainability into governance, strategy and value chains, the framework empowers organisations to achieve tangible outcomes that align with global sustainability benchmarks.
The most immediate impact of the framework will likely be seen in sectors that are directly tied to trade, manufacturing and supply chains, where sustainability credentials are increasingly scrutinised by international stakeholders.
Industries such as palm oil, manufacturing, energy and retail are expected to benefit from its implementation, as they respond to mounting pressures from regulators, investors and consumers to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable practices.
Additionally, the framework’s role in elevating the competencies of corporate sustainability practitioners will have a ripple effect across all levels of management.
By defining aspirational roles and equipping practitioners with the necessary tools, organisations will be able to foster a culture of accountability and innovation, ensuring sustainability is not just a compliance exercise but a driver of long-term value creation.
Finding support when implementing
To empower organisations and practitioners in adopting the CSP 2.0, a Digital Self-Assessment Tool has been developed as a cornerstone resource.
This tool offers a practical and user-friendly entry point for evaluating existing competencies and pinpointing areas for growth.
By identifying specific gaps, practitioners can address skill deficits that may hinder their effectiveness in sustainability roles and align their capabilities with evolving organisational demands.
Upon completing the self-assessment, users receive customised recommendations for learning materials, training modules, and resources tailored to their unique capacity-building needs.
This personalised approach ensures that both individuals and organisations can strategically enhance their sustainability competencies, fostering a culture of continuous professional development.
Accessible via Bursa Malaysia’s Sustainability Portal (https://csp.bursasustain.bursamalaysia.com/login), the tool provides a seamless platform for practitioners to deepen their expertise and align their roles with broader sustainability goals.
By streamlining access to curated resources and actionable insights, it supports organisations in systematically embedding sustainability at every operational level.
Reasons for developing CSP 2.0Malaysia’s corporate landscape faces a growing need for sustainability leaders who can bridge strategic objectives with actionable outcomes.
Traditionally, businesses have grappled with challenges such as fragmented approaches to sustainability, unclear role definitions, and inconsistent governance practices.
The framework addresses a critical gap in the local ecosystem by defining clear, aspirational roles that enable organisations to effectively operationalise sustainability across diverse sectors and industries.
It provides a structured roadmap that aligns organisational goals with global sustainability benchmarks, empowering practitioners to act as change agents for responsible, future-ready businesses.
More importantly, the framework does not advocate a one-size-fits-all solution.
By recognising the diverse operational environments and unique DNAs of companies, it offers flexibility for organisations to tailor their sustainability functions in alignment with their strategic priorities.
Rather than prescribing a specific governance structure, it encourages companies to adopt practices that resonate with their culture, ensuring a strong “tone at the top” cascades through every layer of management.
By equipping sustainability practitioners with the competencies needed to navigate evolving demands, the CSP 2.0 strengthens the foundations of Malaysia’s corporate sustainability ecosystem.
It establishes a shared language and benchmark for excellence, fostering a cohesive approach to embedding sustainability into business strategies, operations and decision-making processes.
Reasons for building competencies
In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, sustainability is no longer an optional initiative – it is a vital driver of business resilience, innovation and long-term success.
The Covid-19 pandemic illuminated vulnerabilities across global systems, prompting governments, investors, and corporations to reassess their priorities.
ESG considerations have emerged as key factors in mitigating risks and seizing opportunities in this new era of business.
In Malaysia, regulatory frameworks such as the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG 2021) place significant emphasis on the roles of boards and senior management in addressing sustainability challenges.
However, achieving meaningful and lasting progress requires a commitment to building sustainability competencies across all levels of an organisation, from leadership to operational teams.
This ensures that sustainability is not siloed but becomes a shared responsibility across all disciplines and job functions.
It promotes accountability, as employees at all levels gain the knowledge and tools needed to align their actions with the company’s sustainability goals.
It also enhances collaboration, bridging gaps between departments and creating a unified approach to ESG initiatives.
Embedding sustainability competencies across an organisation also drives value creation.
From enhancing resource efficiency and reducing operational costs to improving stakeholder trust and opening doors to new markets, companies that prioritise sustainability are better positioned to thrive in a competitive, ESG-driven global economy.
Investing in these competencies signals a strong tone from the top, while empowering teams at every level to contribute to sustainability objectives that are scalable, consistent and impactful.
From practitioners to change agentsThe framework equips practitioners with the tools and insights needed to lead a transformation within their organisations.
By defining clear competency standards across various levels, it provides a structured pathway for building expertise in corporate sustainability.
Practitioners can align their initiatives with organisational goals, regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations, making sustainability a core business driver.
Through targeted professional development and skills enhancement, it empowers leaders, talents and practitioners to bridge gaps in knowledge and adapt to the fast-evolving ESG landscape.
By fostering a culture of collaboration and inclusivity, it equips all employees with the tools to integrate sustainability into their daily responsibilities and decision-making processes.
They become strategic leaders who are inspired to champion initiatives that drive measurable environmental, social and economic impact.
It nurtures their capacity to engage stakeholders effectively, influence organisational culture, and deliver outcomes that resonate far beyond the bottom line.
