TAZKIA NEWS – Tazkia Institute successfully held the 7th Monday Forum event on Monday, February 20, 2023, which was hosted by Ulviya Tafitri, a Management and Sharia Business student from the 20th batch of Tazkia Institute. The event was attended by students and some lecturers and took place on the 3rd floor of the international program room.
In his opening remark, the Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Economics and Business, Wiku Suryomurti,, M.Sc, explained that The Monday Forum is one of the flagship programs at Tazkia Institute, which aims to promote knowledge and understanding of Islamic economics and business while incorporating the principles of sustainability. Through events like this, Tazkia Institute hopes to foster a culture of critical thinking, openness, and engagement among its students and faculty members.
Moderated by Nurizal Ismail, a faculty member at Tazkia Institute, the event featured three distinguished speakers: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dzuljastri, Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, Lc., MA., Ph.D, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murniati Mukhlisin M.Acc.
The first speaker, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dzuljastri, explained the concept of the circular economy, which is a departure from the linear economy that is conventionally practiced. In the circular economy, production flows in a circular manner with the principle of “reduce-reuse-recycle,” reducing the negative impact on the environment.
The circular economy concept is in line with the concept of sustainability, which emphasizes that the world’s natural resources are limited and therefore require wise management. The concept of sustainability is also in line with the 12th value of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which emphasizes the importance of building inclusive and sustainable communities. In the context of the values of maqashid syariah, many concepts in the SDGs can be linked to these values.
The second speaker, Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, Lc., MA., Ph.D, spoke about the importance of sustainable finance and the role of Muslims in paying attention to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance), particularly in Sharia-compliant companies.
Abdul added that the value of ESG-based investments has increased exponentially over the past five years, reaching around USD 40 trillion by December 2021, and is forecasted to reach approximately USD 53 trillion by 2025. The proportion of ESG-based assets to the overall value of AUM has continued to climb from year to year, reaching more than 35%, with institutional investors continuing to dominate.
Having said that, Abdul highlighted that, the Islamic banking industry is facing lack of ESG rating performance as captured by Sustainalytics and that particularly due to shortage of expertise, regulatory and legal constraints, lack of investment opportunities, and so on.
Meanwhile, the third speaker, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murniati Mukhlisin M.Acc, discussed the relationship between accountability and business sustainability, including the importance of transparency in aligning accounting, Sharia, and SDG values.
The Monday Forum event concluded with a prayer and photo session. The event was also live-streamed on Tazkia TV’s YouTube channel.
(Humas Tazkia)