This study looks at how Malaysian manufacturing small and medium-sized businesses' (SMEs) non-financial performance is affected by Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. Although ESG adoption has gained increasing strategic importance, empirical evidence on how individual ESG pillars affect non-financial performance within resource-constrained SMEs remains limited, particularly in emerging markets. Grounded in Stakeholder Theory, this research evaluates how the ESG pillars individually contribute to non-financial performance indicators. Data were obtained from 336 SME managers across major manufacturing regions through a structured online survey. Multiple regression analysis using SPSS was employed to test the direct effects of each ESG pillar on organizational performance. The results shows that ESG practices are related to improvements in the non-financial performance of SMEs. ESG performance outcomes of manufacturing SMEs are statistically positively related. The data further suggest that the environmental and governance aspects are significantly more predictive of performance than the social aspect, and the social aspect has a smaller predictive power even though it is positively related to performance. Therefore, sustainability-focused practices in SMEs have a large impact on both internal and external performance. Theoretically, this study extends Stakeholder Theory by demonstrating how ESG initiatives function as strategic tools for stakeholder alignment within resource-constrained SME environments. Practically, the findings offer actionable insights for SME leaders, policymakers, and industry support agencies seeking to strengthen sustainability integration in the manufacturing sector. Overall, the study contributes to the growing discourse on ESG adoption in emerging markets by presenting evidence-based recommendations for enhancing SME resilience and competitiveness through sustainability-driven practices.