Planetary Health Key To Building Resilient Manufacturing Industry

PETALING JAYA, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s manufacturing industry is encouraged to integrate planetary health into its business strategies to strengthen industrial resilience, protect natural resources, and ensure long-term economic prosperity, said an Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) expert.

Academician Professor Emerita Datuk Dr Asma Ismail, who chairs the ASM-led National Planetary Health Action Plan (NPHAP) study and is ASM’s immediate past president, said the health of people, the economy and the environment are closely interconnected, making environmental protection a shared responsibility across industries.

“Manufacturing has to produce in ways that protect natural systems that form the foundation of its production,” she said in her keynote address at the FMM Sustainability Conference 2026 here yesterday.

She said environmental degradation, climate change and declining ecosystems could disrupt manufacturing operations, affect supply chain stability, and increase production costs due to the growing scarcity of natural resources.

She said that poor air quality, rising temperatures, and disease outbreaks could also affect workers’ health, productivity and workplace safety, ultimately disrupting industrial operations.

The growing emphasis on planetary health within the manufacturing sector was also reflected at the conference on Tuesday, where the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM) became the first trade organisation in Malaysia to take the Planetary Health Pledge.

The pledge marked a significant step towards encouraging integration of planetary health principles into industrial practices, in line with broader efforts to strengthen environmental sustainability and long-term economic resilience.

Asma said planetary health should not be regarded as an additional burden on manufacturers already implementing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiatives, but as an integrated approach to sustainable development.

She said that Malaysia’s NPHAP provided a framework for coordinated action through a whole-of- nation approach, guided by four key principles namely humanity-centric, science, technology and innovation-enabled, nature-based and values-internalised approaches.

ASM  developed the NPHAP following a mandate from the National Science Council in 2022, with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) entrusting ASM to lead its development.

The plan also outlined five systemic shifts, including strengthening the governance and management of the nation’s natural khazanah, nurturing people to lead a healthy, prosperous and values-driven society, planet-friendly businesses, effective communication, behavioural and values mindset, and sustainable financing and resourcing planetary health development initiatives.

She said businesses should also move beyond the conventional Return on Investment (ROI) approach towards Return on Values (ROV), which takes into account the broader benefits of business decisions for people, nature, society and the economy.

“Basically, from ROI to ROV, let’s start the business decision with ROV, and you will get the ROI,” she said.

Citing a 2024 study by FMM Business Conditions Survey, involving Malaysian businesses, she said only six per cent of companies had fully integrated environmental sustainability into their business strategies, while 68 per cent had partially integrated it and 26 per cent had yet to consider doing so.

She said the findings highlighted the gap between awareness and implementation, with businesses facing challenges including affordability, limited expertise, and insufficient awareness of available support.

Asma said collaboration involving industries, financial institutions, universities, research institutions and policymakers was crucial to translating sustainability commitments into practical action, particularly among small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

She also stressed the importance of education in driving long-term behavioural change, noting that planetary health and sustainability had been included as one of the thrusts under the Higher Education Blueprint 2026-2035.

She added that achieving a resilient manufacturing future requires a collective commitment to protecting the planet while strengthening people’s well-being and ensuring economic prosperity.

The two-day FMM Sustainability Conference 2026, themed “Building Industrial Resilience Through Sustainability in an Era of Global Uncertainty”, concludes today at M World Hotel here.

--BERNAMA