Oil Palm Environment

PUBLISHED ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES OF PLANTATION COMPANIES

Asiatic Development Berhad

Asiatic stated that” the Group always strive for sustainable development and environmental conservation in all aspects of its operations. As in past years, it continued to apply environmental friendly replanting techniques such as ‘underplanting’ and ‘zero burning’ in lieu of ‘clear, fell and burn’ method.”

In the Review of Operations in the 1999 Annual Report

Golden Hope Plantations Berhad

“We at Golden Hope recognize our responsibility to safeguard the environment in the course of conducting our business operations. Environment will be our primary consideration in all aspects and at all stages of our business.

To protect the environment, we shall:

• Prevent or minimize any potential adverse environmental impacts arising from our operations, products and services

• Review and improve continuously our protocols, operations, products and services to enhance our environmental performance

• Encourage our employees to conduct their occupational and personal activities in an environmentally-responsible manner

• Promote high environmental performance standards amongst our stakeholders and the industry at large”. (2002 Annual Report)

IJM Corporation Berhad

IJM Corporation Berhad published a “Statement on Environment” under the following headings:

• Policy • Environmental Management • Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Report • Protection of the Environment in Plantations

Under ‘Policy’, IJM stated that “the Group has a social responsibility towards greater environmental well-being and would combine business objectives with long-term sustainable development”. (Annual Report 2001) Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad “We are committed to keep our environment clean, safe and healthy. We will continue to promote greater environmental awareness in our daily activities. Preservation of the environment is the responsibility of everybody in the Company”. (Annual Report 2001)

Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad

Health, Safety & Environment Policy “Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad and all its employees firmly believe that the health and safety of one and all as well as the quality of the environment are fundamental to our business and our sustainable growth.

We are, therefore, committed to implement fully this policy which will contribute positively to our personal growth, welfare and productivity; the interest of the community; the care and enhancement of the environment; our business success; the nation’s socioeconomic development, and to global peace and prosperity. In conducting our business in a highly moral and ethical manner, we shall undertake the following measures:

Health and Safety Provisions
• Ensure a health and safe workplace and clean working environment;
• Prevent any likely accidents and occupational illnesses; and
• Conduct annual review and audit of our operations. Protection and Enhancement of the Environment
• Introduce new processes that are cleaner and more cost effective;
• Improve existing activities for total compliance of all relevant laws, regulations and standards; and
• Conduct regular monitoring and audit of all possible sources of pollution. Care for All
• For one another, the community, the country and the planet Earth.” (Annual Report 2001).

• Note: Published in the Annual Reports of KLSE-listed subsidiary companies, Highlands & Lowlands Berhad and Guthrie Ropel Berhad.

Tradewinds (M) Berhad

“We are committed to making a concerted effort to ensure that our Group’s activities are in harmony with our environment and with the community we serve in. We are committed to the following:
1. We shall establish and maintain an Environmental Management System (EMS) for the Group.
2. We shall comply with the relevant MS ISO 14001 Standards or the Environmental Impact Assessment report.
3. We shall comply with the relevant Environmental Legislation and Regulations, and other requirements to which the Group subscribes.
4. We shall identify environmental aspects and impacts associated with the Group’s activities, products or services in order to provide a framework foe setting of objectives ad targets for environmental management programmes. The objectives and targets shall be reviewed periodically as a means for continuous improvement.
5. We shall implement pollution-control and pollution-prevention measures to preserve the environment through the control of effluent discharges, air emission, scheduled waste disposal and noise exposure.
6. We shall educate and communicate to our employees and our contractors on environmental requirements.
7. We shall continue to improve on resource maximization and conservation.” (2001 Annual Report)

United Plantations Berhad

Environment Policy

“To conduct our agricultural business in the best principles of agriculture and in total harmony with the natural environment.

Objectives

• To produce quality palm oil, palm kernels, coconuts and their derived products to the total satisfaction of our worldwide valued customers.
• To produce elite oil palm, coconut and banana planting materials with proven yield potential.
• To value our human resources and to continuously strive to provide a conducive and safe environment at the work place. • To adopt proven and sustainable agricultural practices that are environmentally compatible.
• To promote the conservation and development of biodiversity within our group of plantations.
• To continuously work towards a dynamic and innovative waste management and utilization system aimed towards achieving zero waste.” (Annual Report 2001)

Deforestation in Lower Kinabatangan River for palm oil plantation

Oil Palm Environment

Palm oil plantation has been heavily criticized for being main cause of high rate of deforestation in South Asia.

Increasingly, there is recognition worldwide of the necessity to reconcile agriculture practices with the need for environmental conservation. Ensuring that agricultural operations do not damage the environment also, in the long-term, contributes to the sustainability of cropping systems.

In several areas, environmental considerations are already well catered for. These include the minimum use of chemicals, the adoption of integrated pest management, judicious use of inorganic fertilizer, recycling of palm biomass within the plantation and between mill and plantation, zero-burning practice on clearance, and soil conservation measures. Examples of the latter including terracing of hilly areas, construction of drains and preservation of natural watercourses, use of silt pits and of cut fronds across slopes to minimize erosion and runoff.

The use of beneficial plants, such as Cassia cobanensis and Euphorbia heterophylla, as sources of nectar for parasitoids, is being widely adopted by plantations to keep populations of oil palm insect pests in balance with nature (Basri and Norman, 2000). This has led to a reduction in the use of insecticides for bagworm and nettle caterpillar control.

Several features of an oil palm plantation resemble those of the natural forest cover that it often replaces. As a perennial tree crop oil palm, at least from the seventh or eighth year onward, provides a continuous and dense canopy cover and also recycles nutrients and organic matter within the ecosystem. Unlike most other oil crops, little or no tillage is involved in its cultivation which minimizes the oxidation and loss of organic matter which may otherwise occur. The canopy not only provides protection to the soil from the worst impacts of heavy rainfall, it also increases humidity while reducing air and soil surface temperatures, all factors which go towards providing a favorable microclimate for many co-existing species.

Environmental considerations are equally important in the processing sector of the industry. Legislation imposes limits to the nature and amounts of discharges to the atmosphere and waterways by mills and refineries. However, mill ‘waste’ products, which were once viewed as embarrassing liabilities are now viewed as co-products of increasing potential value. In addition to EFB and palm oil mill effluent (POME) as nutrient sources in the plantation, the use of excess fibers in manufacturing, the recovery of POME solid for animal protein, the generation of biogas from the effluent ponds and use of surplus boiler energy to generate electricity, are further examples, all of which serve to promote a ‘zero-waste’ concept. Current effort on R&D at MPOB is to minimize the production of greenhouse gasses (GHG) and all existing practices in the field, mill and refinery are being examined. Reduction of GHG will assist in slowing down of climate change.

STOP Deforestation!

Oil Palm Environment