IHH Healthcare and KPJ Healthcare showed improvements in green house gas (GHG) emissions intensity post-offsets from renewable energy contributions, with notable room for improvements in women directors’ composition.
“Note that both IHH and KPJ recorded above-average ESG scores (based on our proprietary ESG scoring,” said Maybank Investment Bank (MIB).
IHH saw improvements in its ‘Qualitative’ parameters on account of efforts to adopt IFRS S1 and S2 reporting standards, and tangible progress across its ‘Targets’ parameters, where 3 targets have already been achieved against its 2022 baseline. These are:
(i) Achieved more than 90% reduction in virgin single use plastic across core markets.
(ii) Year-on-year (YoY) reduction recorded in GHG emissions intensity.
(iii) Increased 14% of the global nursing pool above the baseline.
KPJ’s carbon-related initiatives:
(i) Solar PV installations.
(ii) Expansion of 25 accounts into TNB’s GET programme boosted its renewable energy contribution to 28%, pushing to a higher ‘Quantitative’ score of 47/100.
However, these are offset by a lower ‘Target’ score of 60/100 (previously 100/100) due to lack of disclosures for its people-related initiatives.
“Given the business nature of hospital operators, we do not view any specific ESG risk to be material to its operational efficiency, save for minimal cost-savings from reduced electricity costs,” said MIB.
MIB commends both names for their ongoing community efforts in free cancer treatments (IHH) and community outreach programmes via mobile/physical clinics and dialysis centres (KPJ).
That said, there is room for improvement for the women composition in their Board of Directors, as IHH/KPJ’s women directors’ representation of 27%/20% are short of the MCCG’s recommended minimum of 30%. —Feb 20, 2025
Main image: iMoney
