KUALA LUMPUR: The Prime Minister’s Hibiscus Award (PMHA) 2024/2025 recorded its highest participation on record, with 81 companies taking part, driven by increased involvement from small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The awards ceremony, held last night and officiated by Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup, recognised organisations demonstrating excellence in environmental management and a strong commitment to sustainability.
Introduced in 1996, PMHA serves as a national benchmark for organisations seeking to assess, strengthen and showcase their environmental performance.
This cycle saw submissions from a broad range of sectors, including manufacturing, energy, construction, hospitality, oil palm plantations and oil and gas, underscoring the need for an economy-wide approach to environmental management.
PMHA organising committee chair Christina Tee, president of the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MICCI), said the strong response reflects growing maturity among Malaysian companies and reaffirms PMHA’s relevance in driving environmental excellence.
“We are proud to see the highest participation recorded in the history of the Prime Minister’s Hibiscus Award, including increased involvement from SMEs. These developments point to a growing level of maturity across participating organisations.
“Looking ahead, we are targeting 150 participating companies in the next cycle and encourage more organisations to step forward to benchmark their practices and demonstrate leadership in environmental management,” she said in a statement.
She added that SMEs were motivated by the opportunity for recognition and to gain greater visibility for their environmental efforts, particularly as ESG expectations, supply chain requirements and green financing incentives increasingly influence business opportunities.
Assessments showed improvements across the board, with more SMEs establishing formal environmental management systems, while larger organisations advanced clearer carbon reduction targets and stronger ESG integration.
The award is jointly organised by MICCI, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers and the Environmental Management & Research Association of Malaysia, with support from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability and the Department of Environment.
