Our Expertise
We offer our knowledge and insights to public-listed companies, multinational corporations, universities
and sustainability consulting firms in Japan and across Asia.
Expert View in Sustainability, ESG and SDGs
Expert Views
Japanese public-listed companies have engaged Dr Wong Lai Yong as a stakeholder under the expert category, tapping into her knowledge and experience as a female foreigner with an understanding of sustainability, Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) and Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs). Her review work focuses on sustainability reports, integrated reports and sustainability-related materials for companies such as Ajinomoto Group, Mitsubishi Electric Group (English & Japanese), TDK etc. Others include internal reports for Japanese major material companies, global apparel brands etc. Refer here for a full list of the published reports that she has given her expert reviews while many remain unpublished by her clients.
Sustainability Materiality Consulting
According to GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) ‘Materiality’ are “those topics that have a direct or indirect impact on an organization’s ability to create, preserve or erode economic, environmental and social value for itself, its stakeholders and society at large”.
In this area, Dr Wong is much sought after for consulting work with Japanese companies of various sizes – major electronics companies, food companies, real estate development companies, tobacco company etc. She works with companies to identify and advise on issues related to materiality in corporate sustainability reporting.
Media Tours & Learning Trips
Planning, coordinating and conducting media trips for foreign media to Malaysia to report and learn about sustainability in practice.
FRaU SDGs Mook OCEAN (magazine) 脱プラスチックを強化、マレーシアが取り組む「ごみ削減」アクション
FRaU SDGs Jan 2020 (magazine) ジェンダー平等を目指したマレーシア・ペナン州のSDGsの取り組み
Holistic Human Development workshops, training & lectures
Workshops, training, webinars and lectures
Dr Wong believes in holistic human development, integrating business strategies and human development goals to create more vibrant opportunities for everyone particularly Gen Z and women through her workshops, training, webinars and lectures. In this, she focuses on experiential learning and is a certified facilitator of “2030 SDGs Game” by Imacocollabo (Japan).
Often, sustainability discussions overlook the most important success factor, people. It is people who adopt and implement sustainability deliverables for their organisations but if they do not believe in the work that they do, sustainability work is mere lip service with short-term results. To succeed at creating a more livable future and one where all stakeholders are happy, people need to understand why they do what they are doing.
At the Center for Sustainability and Innovation of Japan’s Shizenkan University, she and her colleagues develop and conduct purpose-driven sustainability training for boards and senior executives of Japanese corporations. In Malaysia, she serves on the board of Penang Women’s Development Corporation and plays her role in advocating for a more gender-inclusive society.
She believes:
- there is a need to align personal purpose to the world at large and lead by purpose (focusing on the why instead of how and what)
- in tackling root causes rather than symptoms (investigating the operating system instead of “applications or software”)
- in nurturing and expanding consciousness to take action and solve issues because one cannot solve issues based on limited belief systems
Her work includes:
- Talks on the latest sustainability trends in Asian countries for Japanese corporations
- Keynote speeches and training for in-house corporate sustainability forums
- Facilitating workshops / trainings / lectures for senior government officials and rectors of national universities of Myanmar (2018), Japanese corporations and universities
- Conducting SDGs Game for Japanese corporations and higher learning institutions in Japan (Kyushu University, Toyo University), Malaysia and Thailand
- Global talent training/talks – Keynote speech and review of prototypes of product developed by selected global talent of Kao Corporation who attended global intrapreneurship training in Malaysia based on local market and global market (Think Globally, Act Locally) – collaboration with Habataku Inc.
Youth Development & Career Consulting
As principal trainer and consultant, Dr Wong is passionate about equipping Gen Z Malaysians with real-life career advice through her videos, talks and workshops. She conducts these sessions as a way for her to give back to society. Her work, supported by like-minded team members, is widely featured in the Malaysian media. She is also a Japan certified Career Development Advisor.
“I have been an active participant in First Penguin’s various youth programs provided privately or via my secondary high school as well as having the opportunity to be a student ambassador for some of those programs. They have enabled me to articulate my motivation and aspirations clearly over the years. One of the most important skills I have gained through them is giving myself honest self appraisals to determine my strength and weaknesses in whatever projects or studies I undertake. It was greatly beneficial for me to maintain a positive attitude and focus on the goals I have, be it big or small.”
Aldric Goh Ze Kai
University of Cambridge
Department of Engineering Undergraduate (2019 – 23)
United Kingdom
“After completing my secondary school education, I attended Kwong Wah Yit Poh Career and Education Fair. In the education fair, I was so grateful for having the opportunity to participate in the virtual career consultation with Dr Wong of First Penguin. Dr Wong had given me valuable insights and advice as well as instilled my confidence in pursuing my ideal career in the legal field. I would say the entire career consultation process was awesome, as through Dr Wong’s explanation on a handful of real life experiences, I am able to see how the future working world will be like and equip myself with strong determination to attain my dream.”
Por Xiao Juin
University of London
Bachelor of Laws Program Undergraduate (2021 – 2024)
Advance Tertiary College (ATC)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Let’s create a more sustainable future
for all your stakeholders.
“First Penguin and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) have collaborated for a while now in organizing impactful programmes for USM students as well as for our trusted international partners. Dr. Wong Lai Yong is a visionary speaker and trainer who has added value to our programmes on leadership, capacity building and nurturing young talents. We benefited greatly from her expertise in sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through case studies that touched on sustainability issues in Malaysia and around the world.”
Associate Professor Dr. Mohd Hafizal Mohd Isa
School of Housing Building & Planning
Former Deputy Director of International Mobility and Collaboration Centre Universiti Sains Malaysia
Doing Business And Doing Good
ESG approaches centered on purpose and people can make a difference to the environment and society while raising business reputation, increasing brand loyalty and positioning, attracting potential employees, increasing employee engagement and loyalty, lowering costs and increasing investment opportunities. Focusing on purpose and people enables an organization to fully demonstrate its values and principles of doing business while doing good.
Dr Wong Lai Yong
This is no longer a mere ideal but a reality!
Founder, Principal Trainer & Consultant, First Penguin Sdn. Bhd.