FGV Annual Report 2018

37 REMAINED FOCUSED ON VALUE CREATION 01 02 05 03 07 06 04 08 09 ANNUAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2018 MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS plantation company. Further to this, we aim to categorise our plantations as ‘ Wildlife Managed Areas ’ due to their close proximity to natural forests. Additionally, we have launched a book on sustainability entitled “ Kelestarian Alam Sekitar ” , a collaborative effort between FGV and UKM, which includes a chapter on Sun Bear Conservation Programme. We also collaborate with Forest Research Insitute Malaysia (FRIM) on the development of the Rafflesia Conservation and Interpretive Centre (RCIC). This activity involves mapping the distribution of Rafflesia colonies and its host plants around FGV’s plantations in Gerik, Perak and establishing an area for in-situ and ex-situ conservation of Rafflesia species found in Malaysia. Our environmental activities also include a five-year commitment with Borneo Conservation Trust, and Sabah Wildlife Department through which we participated in the Mega Biodiversity Corridor Conservation Project in the lower Kinabatangan Basin. The aim of this project is to re-establish a network of forest corridors that will enable the safe migration of wildlife between key forest habitats, avoid human-wildlife conflict and protect wildlife habitat, especially for Bornean elephants and orangutans. To further contribute to the preservation of nature, during the year, we worked with the Sabah Forestry Department and planted 10,158 trees under our Tree Planting Programme to minimise the impact and conflicts adjacent to forest boundaries where high wildlife values are present, as well as to create awareness on the importance of wildlife conservation, particularly in riparian buffer zones. We also witnessed the encroachment of local communities in our identified conservation areas consisting of our riparian reserve and buffer zone. In an effort to mitigate this proactively, we engaged with relevant Stakeholders on our measures to address the issues and achieve sustainable development. ‘ No Hunting ’ warning signboards were put up at identified locations to deter illegal poachers and hunters within and around our plantation areas. Throughout the year, continuous environment management trainings were conducted for our staff and local communities in areas located in Pahang, Terengganu, Johor, Perak and Sabah. The training is aimed at enabling these groups to champion environmental management and to serve as ambassadors in their region. In November 2018, we held a 3R Campaign in Wisma FGV to inculcate recycling habits among our staff and promote environmental awareness. The event succeeded in collecting 1.10 MT of recyclable items from our employees. WASTE AND WATER MANAGEMENT We strive to reduce the environmental impact from our operations as much as possible, including by maintaining the biodiversity of our oil palm plantations to ensure its ecosystem services do not interrupt FFB production. We have also taken steps to maintain the water quality to avoid any adverse impact on FFB production and on the communities dependent on the rivers located near our plantations. These efforts are in line with SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation and SDG 14: Life Below Water as FGV sees great importance in ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation in the community around us. On average, palm oil mills generate about 2.50 MT of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) for every MT of CPO. Organic raw POME is highly acidic non-toxic wastewater and has high Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) due to its rich nutrient content. In line with this, we conduct stringent monitoring and treatment of the water discharged from our mills before it is released to the environment. We have implemented treatment processes to ensure that the BOD concentration is below the permissible level set by the Department of Environment (DOE) and have progressively installed bio-polishing plants. To date, we have invested RM70 million for 35 bio-polishing plants. A bio-dewatering plant removes solids in effluent discharged from a palm oil mill whilst a bio-polishing plant further filters the remaining effluent in the water. Filtered water from the bio-polishing plants is channelled through the irrigation system to the plantation, providing vital resources especially during the dry season. We also use the removed solids at the dewatering plants as organic fertiliser. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS As a resource-reliant organisation, we are committed to reducingGreenhouseGas (GHG) emissions through operational approaches such as methane capture, bio-composting and the cogeneration of electricity from methane (CH 4 ) released by POME. We convert waste from our plantations and mills into biogas while producing Palm Oil-based Methyl Ester (PME) for use in biodiesel. With this, we are aligned to SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy by ensuring efficient use of energy in our operations. For further details on our efforts to promote biodiesel, please refer to the Manufactured Capital in this MD&A. NATURAL CAPITAL