Sustainability FAQs
We recognise our accountability to our stakeholders and our obligation to engage effectively and regularly with them regarding the business’ performance. We regularly engage with our stakeholders to keep track of their concerns, which could change from time to time, and are committed to being well prepared to respond to their changing concerns.
Our formal engagement with our stakeholders include:
- Quarterly Results and Analyst and Media Briefings
- Formal meeting with stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, analysts, and fund managers
- Roadshows and conferences
- Community support programmes
- Staff assembly
- Communication tools such as corporate website, Bursa announcement, Integrated Annual Report etc
More information on our Stakeholder Engagement disclosure can be found on pages 18 to 21 of our Integrated Annual Report 2023 and pages 9 to 12 of our Sustainability Report 2023.
In March 2021, Top Glove conducted a formal and comprehensive materiality assessment to identify critical ESG issues which drive our long term value creation and have a significant impact on the Company's business performance. The assessment, led by the Sustainability Steering Group, was undertaken by an independent third party to ensure objectivity and complete confidentiality. A holistic approach was adopted in conducting the assessment, towards ensuring that identified issues were material to the Company’s performance, enabling us to effectively prioritise and allocate resources to address the issues.
In July 2022, Top Glove conducted a high level refreshed materiality assessment after FY2021’s formal and comprehensive assessment in view of the transition phase which the glove industry is facing post pandemic.
At 2023, we took the important step of conducting a materiality validation, which has been thoroughly reviewed and received approval from our Board of Directors. This validation process considered a range of internal and external factors, including:
- External and internal stakeholder expectation
- Peer assessment
- Global mega trends and global risk
- External ESG ratings requirement
Materiality Assessment: https://www.topglove.com/materiality-assessment/
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Yes, the Company addresses and mitigates water risks through a Water Management Plan, which consist of 5 initiatives, namely: a. Water Treatment Plant (Reverse Osmosis, Ultrafiltration, Wastewater Reclamation) b. Rainwater Harvesting c. On Site Detention (OSD) Tanks d. Installation of Filters at Pre Leaching Tank e. In-house Water Recycling Facilities
The Company also sets water consumption intensity targets and monitor water consumption progress across all divisions.
Find out more about our water management strategy and progress on pages 28 to 30 of our Sustainability Report 2023. |
To reduce carbon emissions, we have invested in solar power systems since 2020. Efforts to install solar power panels on our factories’ rooftops are ongoing. As of FY2023, we have 8 factories in Selangor are installed with solar power system, with capacity of 5.34MWp.
We have implemented a Smart Energy Monitoring System (SEMS) to closely monitor our energy usage and identify any wastage. The SEMS enables our engineers to monitor real time data of energy consumption and understand energy trends of our factories through the analysis of data from monthly reports generated by the system. It allows for any abnormalities to be identified and rectified quickly and efficiently. This ultimately enables Top Glove to identify the energy distribution in the factories and create awareness among the workforce in the factories to eliminate unwanted carbon emission due to wastage.
We target to reduce our carbon intensity by 10% by FY2025 against the base year FY2022.
We conduct an internal audit at least once a year, and we ensure that all internal auditors are competent to conduct the audits. External audits are also conducted once a year by independent certification bodies, such as SIRIM, to ensure environmental compliance.
For more information on this, please refer to our Environmental Governance.
While exploring and working towards setting a net zero carbon target, we have set FY2025 medium term targets on eco efficiency and responsible consumption against FY2021 Key Medium Term ESG Targets
These include:
- Carbon emission intensity
- Municipal water consumption intensity
- Electricity consumption intensity
- Natural gas consumption intensity
- Scheduled waste diversion from licensed landfill
- Scheduled waste intensity
- Paper usage
- Virgin plastic stretch film consumption
We are committed to integrating the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) framework into our climate risk management and reporting. This involves incorporating additional climate change-related risks into the Company’s Risk Management Framework, besides risks identified earlier such as flood risk and water risk.
We know environmental transparency is vital for a sustainable future. We disclose our climate change and water security impacts through CDP, a global non-profit that runs the world’s leading environmental disclosure platform.
Our environmental data is also available on our corporate website and sustainability reporting in the Sustainability Report 2023 (page 17 to 38).
We are committed to ensure sustainable supply chain. Currently we are working to improve supply chain traceability and we will be sharing more when we have more progress in this initiative.
Our existing initiatives in ensuring a sustainable supply chain include:
- Development of the Sustainable Sourcing & Responsible Procurement Policy
- Supplier audits, which incorporate ESG audit criteria
- Town halls and webinar sessions with suppliers
- Encourage our suppliers to obtain Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for a more sustainable solutions. One of our latex concentration plants in Thailand, two glove factories and one packaging material factory in Malaysia are FSC certified.
Yes, guided by Top Glove’s Environmental Policy, we are committed to reducing adverse impact to the environment and the community by reducing the environmental footprint in our operations including distribution and logistics, business facilities, and the supply chain.
- US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a detention order on disposable gloves made by some of Top Glove’s entities (Top Glove Sdn Bhd, TG Medical Sdn Bhd & GMP Medicare Sdn Bhd) in July 2020.
- We are cognizant there is room for improvement and engaged Impactt, an independent international consultant in July 2020 to assess the Group's social compliance based on the International Labour Organization's (ILO) 11 Forced Labor Indicators, as well as to recommend and monitor our corrective action plans.
- Following the analysis, we have made a total of over RM150 million in remediation payments from August 2020 to April 2021, ahead of our planned timeline by July 2021. This covers more than 11,000 foreign workers.
- Other initiatives implemented include:
- establishment of independent grievance helplines in various workers’ native languages, which are managed by Impactt,
- implementation of the Prevention of Sexual Harrassment Policy and Prevention of Workplace Bullying Policy,
- improved the recruitment process agreement with the agents by adapting to transparent agent recruitment in conjunction with the Zero Cost Recruitment Policy,
- human rights trainings and tests as well as strengthened the advertising policy in relation to recruitment agencies to prevent incidences of deception.
- We continue to engage with an independent third party auditor to conduct quarterly assessments across our facilities to ensure ethical labour practices continue to be upheld.
- On 22 April 2021, Impactt verified Top Glove had eliminated all 11 ILO Indicators, whereby Top Glove has achieved “all Green” in terms of resolving the International Labour Organization (ILO) 11 Forced Labour Indicators.
- On 10 September 2021, U.S. CBP modifies or uplift Forced Labour Finding on Top Glove and we are allowed to resume exporting our products to U.S.
https://impacttlimited.com/updated-impactt-statement-on-top-glove-status/
Top Glove has strengthened its processes to meet international best labour practices (guided by Business Social Compliance Initiative, BSCI, Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit, SMETA & International Labour Organization ILO indicators).
- Engagement of an independent third party international consultant, Impactt, in July 2020 to assess the Group's social compliance quarterly against ILO Forced Labour Indicators. https://impacttlimited.com/updated-impactt-statement-on-top-glove-status/
- Establishment of independent grievance helplines in various workers’ native languages, which are managed by Impactt https://www.topglove.com/storage/sustainability-achievements/January2022/FY2023%20Grievance%20Mechanism.pptx
- Enhancement of policies (Prevention of Bullying Policy, Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy, Foreign Workers Recruitment Policy) https://www.topglove.com/policies/
- Establishment of Hostel Management Committee in Dec 2020 to manage workers’ accommodation issues. https://www.topglove.com/social-compliance/
- Monthly meeting between HR management representative with worker representatives from each factory for workers to raise workplace & accommodation issues. https://www.topglove.com/continuous-improvement-report/
- Awareness to all employees on sexual harassment, workplace bullying and town hall session with workers on available grievance channels.
- Labour management performance as Group KPI and is linked to Executive Compensation. https://www.topglove.com/governance/
- Top Glove has allocated USD 52 mil (MYR232 mil) CAPEX on new accommodations for capacity of 11,400 workers, which the accommodation will be ready in stages.
- We have made an investment of RM20 mil on purchasing 102 units of apartments for our employees and renting additional houses and apartments.
- As for the mid-term plan, approximately RM137 mil to be spend for new workers hostels, which includes building mega hostels in Klang and Banting in Selangor, with a combined capacity of 9,110 pax. We purchased a Kenangan Meru apartment block in Klang, Selangor for RM95 mil with a capacity to house 2,232 workers which is expected to be completed by end of 2022. The Group is also building and acquiring additional houses, apartments, and hostels in other states, amounting to approximately RM30 mil.
- We have also made USD 35 mil (MYR 150 mil) of remediation payment to 11,000 of our foreign workers, including former workers.
Continuous Improvement in Workers’ Accommodation: https://www.topglove.com/App_ClientFile/7ff8cb3f-fbf6-42e7-81da-6db6a0ab2ef4/Assets/sustainability/Continuous%20Improvement_v2.pdf
ESG issues, including labour rights, health and safety are oversight by the Board Risk Committee and Board Sustainability Committee, which are chaired by Independent Directors, and where Independent Directors consist a majority of committee members.
Focusing on the welfare and wellbeing of workers, Top Glove’s Independent Directors engage with workers quarterly back then and half yearly now to listen to the feedback and issues of workers so that they could offer assistance as and where needed.
The 1st Engagement Session between Top Glove’s Independent Directors and Foreign Workers’ Representatives, with the presence of the management, took place on 9 March 2021, with six worker representatives of two different nationalities, Nepalese and Bangladeshi.
Various worker related issues are discussed during these quarterly engagement sessions, which include accommodation; grievance procedures and complaints processes; awareness of workplace bullying and sexual harassment; as well as COVID19 vaccination, and the Company’s efforts towards vaccinating the entire workforce.
To read more about the role Independent Directors play in addressing labour issues, please click here.
We request our suppliers to adhere to the Business Partners’ Code of Conduct, which articulate our expectation of our suppliers in terms of ESG practices. Critical suppliers are required to be assessed on social and environmental criteria during suppliers audit.
We conduct Supplier Performance Assessment every 6 months to monitor suppliers' performance in terms of Quality. We also evaluate raw materials to ensure it meets our requirement & specification. All deliveries by suppliers will come with COA and SDS (Safety Data Sheet) attached together with the raw material/product supplied.
From FY2019 to FY2023, there were no incidents of non-compliance with regulations concerning product safety & quality (Disclosed in the Sustainability Report 2023, Page 82).
As a health care product manufacturer, we are committed to produce high quality gloves and non-glove products that protect the lives we touch. In FY2023, we retained our certification for ISO 9001 Quality Management System for all existing-glove and non glove. Sustainability Report 2023.
We conduct town hall session with our suppliers to emphasise our stand on our robust labour practices. Supplier audits are being conducted after the town hall sessions to assess and monitor human rights risks and there were no potential negative social impacts identified. Sustainability Report 2023(Disclosed in the Sustainability Report 2023, Page 84)
Top Glove enhanced its Product Streamlining to ensure proper management of products in categories such as industries, colors, weight etc.
Top Glove has diversified into different product range ie, Face mask, Hand Sanitiser, Household products. To add on we ventured into Rubber Reclaimed Products to increase our export.
With the engagement of independent consultant Impactt Limited to assess the Group’s social compliance practices, we have improved our labour practices. Impactt verified that we have eliminated all indicators of systemic forced labour in our direct operations in April 2021, a reflection of the effective engagement between the independent consultant and Top Glove.
Yes. The Freedom of Association Statement is articulated in our Human Rights & Ethical Conduct, under Section 4.4.
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Since 2019, Group HR has established the HRM: Flexible Working Hours Guideline which allows employees to manage their daily hours of work in line with business and individual needs. The policy aims to improve productivity as well as to support employees in achieving work life integration. The policy outlines the eligibility, application procedures and the general guidelines on the flexible working hours schedule offered by the Company which is periodically reviewed by the Company.
Other than that, employees including working parents with children under the age of 12, pregnant mothers or staff who are required to care for immediate family members are also allowed to apply for working from home arrangements as stipulated in the Company’s HRM: Family Friendly Policy. These employees are guided by the HRM: Work From Home (WFH) Policy which was developed to provide a clear guideline on the expectations and responsibilities for staff who work from home.
Top Glove’s community outreach programme is implemented through its philanthropic arm, Top Glove Foundation. It undertakes outreach activities through 3 key philanthropic pillars: Community, Education and Environment. As at FY2023, the Foundation has contributed more than RM32 million for initiatives under these pillars.
Under Community pillar, the Foundation has donated to several redevelopment and facility improvement projects. These include:
For more information, please visit our Sustainability Report 2023 Page 63 to 67.
Under Education pillar, Top Glove Foundation offers scholarships to deserving students to pursue various degree courses in local public universities. Since its establishment, it has provided over 100 Malaysians with over RM4 million in scholarships to pursue their higher education. Launched in April 2021, the EduShare programme aims to connect communities to the digital age. This ongoing programme sees Top Glove IT personnel repairing, upgrading and reformatting older but serviceable company laptops and desktops, which are then donated to underserved students and communities; providing them a platform to improve their computer literacy, broadening their skillsets and prospects. Aside from benefiting communities, the programme also helps to reduce the amount of electronic waste going to landfills. To date, we have helped community centres; tuition centres that provide free learning to needy students; orphanages; and selected students in the B40 category. On 9 February 2023, TGF donated RM30,000 supporting 60 pax impoverished primary students from 3 schools in Perak, namely SJK(C) Lahat, SJK(C) Simpang Jalong and SJK(C) Lasah.
For more information, please visit our Sustainability Report 2023 Page 68.
Under Environment pillar, the Foundation has undertaken several initiatives over the years, including ‘Save the Forest Project’ and ‘Save Us (Peak Garden)’ at Setia Alam Community Forest (SACF), with the aim of upkeeping and preserving the cleanliness and wellbeing of the forest. Launched in March 2021, the Mangrove Nursery and Plantation programme at Sijangkang Mangrove Recreational Park (SMRP) is a collaborative effort by TG Foundation, the SMRP committee and Universiti Putra Malaysia's Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (UPM INTROP), aimed at supporting the conservation and protection of mangrove trees at SMRP. Numerous efforts persist in raising awareness and promoting a healthier environment, exemplified by events such as the "Fruit Tree Planting Event at Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam," the Fabric Recycling Project, participation in Upcycling, Downcycling, and Recycling (UDR) Program, as well as engaging in weekly Gotong-Royong Activities with local communities.
For more information, please visit our Sustainability Report 2023 Page 69 and 70.
As a health centric Company, we invest in managing and improving employees’ health. Top Glove has established an inhouse healthcare team comprising 29 wellness team members, including medical doctors, dentists, nutritionists and other healthcare experts.
Some of the Company’s key initiatives:
Yes. Top Glove has an Occupational Safety and Health Policy, which the Company adheres to.
To ensure that all employees work in a safe environment, several safety initiatives have been implemented, led by Safety Department and Committee:
We aim to certify 100% of our factories with ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System by FY2025
In FY2023, Top Glove has a total of 127 Auxiliary Polices and 83 of in-house security have been assigned to guard Top Glove Tower (headquarters), hostels, all factories in Malaysia for safeguard safety of workers, staff and residents.
To know more about our initiatives to provide a safe workplace for employees, please click here.
Yes. Top Glove has a Remuneration Policy and Procedures for Directors and Senior Management, to attract, motivate, reward and retain the right talent in pursuing and drive the Company’s long term goals and ensuring business sustainability and growth.
We recognise women’s contributions in the workplace and are committed to achieving a gender balanced workforce.
In FY2023, we have a total of 52% female participation in managerial position. We have also set target to ensure balanced ratio in terms of female participation in managerial position. The Company is also being recognised with the inclusion in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index for the first year in 2021, for having demonstrated outstanding performance in the area of gender reporting and measures to advance gender equality in the workplace.
Top Glove also has in place a Board Diversity Policy, in line with our belief that a diverse Board composition is an essential measure of good governance and a driver of its effectiveness. Female directors represent 42% of total Board of Directors of the Company.
To know more of our efforts in this, please refer to Pages 56 and 57 of our Sustainability Report 2023.
In support of creating a respectful workplace, we have improved our Prevention of Bullying Policy and Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy to ensure adequate procedures are in place.
Top Glove has several social compliance policies it adheres to. These include:
Please view our list of policies here.
The Company has in place a Succession Planning Policy to ensure the stability and accountability of the organization by preparing for an eventual permanent change in leadership, either planned or unplanned, so as to ensure continuity support in operation and service when the Executive Chairman, Senior Management or key business leader leave their positions.
We provide training to employees to improve their knowledge and skills. In FY2023, we have invested RM2,666,570 in training and training hours is one of the Key Performance Indicators which every employee must carry.
Through investment in digitalisation, we launched the Top Glove Workers’ Learning App for our workers in Malaysia to enable our workers to perform mobile-based learning. This mobile app caters a wide range of multilingual videos, articles and assessments.
We request our suppliers to adhere to the Business Partners’ Code of Conduct, which articulates the Company’s expectations of our suppliers in terms of ESG practices. Critical suppliers are required to be assessed on ESG criteria during regular audits.
Top Glove has an enhanced Grievance Procedure Policy and developed multiple grievance mechanisms for our employees, especially for our foreign workers. These include independent multilingual grievance helplines which are available in 9 workers’ native languages and managed by third party consultant, Impactt Limited UK.
Every factory has a worker representative from each nationality and gender, to carry out monthly dialogues with Human Resources (HR) representatives to raise any concerns.
Top Glove’s Independent Directors engage with the workers representatives half yearly, to discuss workplace and wellbeing related issues.
Top Glove’s whistleblowing channels are managed by independent third party and oversight by the Whistleblowing Committee.
Click here to know more about Top Glove’s Grievance Procedure, and here for more information on Top Glove’s Grievance Mechanism
Top Glove is adopting global standards such as Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA), International Labour Organisation (ILO) 11 forced labour indicators as well as United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGP) on Business and Human Rights.
We have strengthened our business practices in order to meet international best labour practices (guided by BSCI, SMETA & UNGC standards as well as ILO indicators).
We adopt the Human Rights and Ethical Conduct, referring to the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) Code of Conduct.
Our appointed independent third party consultant, Impactt Limited, has verified that Top Glove has eliminated all 11 ILO forced labour indicators in its direct operations, as of April 2021.
On 10 September 2021, U.S. CBP modified the Finding (lifted the ban) on Top Glove and we are allowed to resume exporting our products to U.S.
Effective 10 September 2021, Top Glove Malaysia is cleared to resume exporting and selling gloves to USA following modification of finding by US CBP.
We have reimbursed a total of over RM150 million to our workers in relation to recruitment agency fees from August 2020 to April 2021, ahead of our planned timeline by July 2021.
Key corrective actions include:
We established a Hostel Management Committee in December 2020 to ensure accommodation compliance and manage workers’ accommodation issues.
Top Glove has also spent RM232 million on new accommodations for 11,404 employees, complying with Act 446.
To view improvements in our workers' accommodation, please click here.
We improved our Prevention of Bullying Policy, Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy & Grievance Procedures to ensure adequate procedures are in place. We have also included Job Advertising Policy in the ‘Recruitment Agreement’ to prevent workers being deceived by recruitment agents.
We enhanced the recruitment process through the enhancement and revision of the Recruitment Agreement, which includes a more robust and transparent job advertising policy. Due diligence on recruitment agents is part of the process to ensure no recruitment fee being collected from workers.
We practise a transparent, open and fair tender process as part of our process of appointing recruitment agencies.
To enhance employee engagement, we have developed multiple grievance mechanisms and independently managed whistleblowing channels for our employees, especially for our workers. Every factory has a worker representative from each nationality and gender, to carry out regular dialogues with Human Resources (HR) representatives to raise any concerns.
We also conduct half yearly meetings between worker representatives and Top Glove’s Independent Directors to discuss workplace and wellbeing related issues.
To know more about these engagement activities, please click here.
We raise awareness of labour rights through various means.
We have included labour management performance with external social compliance audit rating as a Group Key Performance Indicator (KPI); this is also linked to management incentives. The Human Resources (HR) Compliance Team conducts monthly internal social compliance audits. The management of the Company is subject to merits and demerits for compliance and non compliance respectively. Management staff will also be subject to severe disciplinary action, such as termination of employment, for critical non-compliance.
We also conduct monthly meetings between HR management representatives and worker representatives from each factory, enabling workers to raise workplace and accommodation issues. The Company also conducts town hall sessions with workers on the available grievance channels.
In FY2023, a total of 7,188 training hours on human rights policies or procedures concerning aspects of human rights that are relevant to operations were conducted. HR personnel educated over 5,000 workers on the ILO/ BSCI social compliance principles with modules including management systems, forced & bonded labour, discrimination, harassment & abuse, safety & health, wages, working hours, freedom of association and grievance through physical, virtual and eLearning platforms.
The management of the Company is subject to merits and demerits for compliance and non compliance respectively. Management staff will also be subject to severe disciplinary action, such as termination of employment, for critical non-compliance.
Labour management performance targets are set as a Group Key Performance Indicator (KPI); this is also linked to management incentives. These KPIs measurements are based on international standards, such as Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) & Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) standards, and social compliance audit scoring.
From our due diligence process, we have terminated 2 recruitment agents in FY2020 for not meeting the Company’s social compliance standards.
Yes. The Freedom of Association Statement is articulated in our Human Rights & Ethical Conduct, under Section 4.4.
With the engagement of independent consultant Impactt Limited to assess the Group’s social compliance practices, we have improved our labour practices. Impactt verified that we have eliminated all indicators of systemic forced labour in our direct operations in April 2021, a reflection of the effective engagement between the independent consultant and Top Glove.