csr tribune - june 2011

8/6/2019 CSR Tribune - June 2011

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Inside thisissue:Wilmar SignsLandmark Tri-partite MoU onOrangutanConservation

1

RSPO Certifica-

tion Update

2

Wilmar to Offer

Segregated

Products

3

Wilmar is ISCC-

certified

3

Towards aGreen SupplyChain - Engag-ing Suppliers in

Sustainability

4

The Challenges,Costs and Ben-efits of Main-taining HighConservationValues

5

Wilmar Employ-

ees Take Kids

from the Singa-

pore Childrens

Society Out for

Some Fun

6

Empowering

our sales force

to promote

sustainable

products

7

Close-up: CEO

of Kerry Group

Kuok Founda-

tion

8

Extending a

Helping Hand

Sapi PlantationEmployees

Raise Funds for

Colleagues

Sick Child

10

June 2011 | Issue 5

Wilmar Signs Landmark Tripartite MoU with BOSFoundation and Indonesian Government on OrangutanConservationilmar International Limited (Wilmar)

reaffirmed its commitment towards the long-term

protection and conservation of orangutans and

their habitat when they entered into a tri -party

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the

Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF)

and the government of Central Kalimantan, Indo-

nesia.

This landmark MoU formalises and consolidates

the partnership between BOSF, the government of

Central Kalimantan and Wilmar who will work to-

gether on a common agenda:

1. Commitment to the long-term conservation of

orangutans and their habitat;

2. Dedication to developing a pilot project of Best

Management Practices (BMP) for orangutans in oil

palm plantations and to eventually communicate to

other oil palm companies as a working example of

how to achieve orangutan conservation on planta-

tions, with the hope that this could ultimately

become an industry-wide programme in Central

Kalimantan.

Specifically, the project activities include:

1) Developing and trial-running orangutan BMP in

oil palm plantations, including protection; habitat

establishment and enrichment; translocation of

isolated orangutans; buffer zone management;

research; training and education; and human-

orangutan conflict mitigation (within the plantation

landscape) programme implementation.

Successful results and framework will be promoted

W

Wilmar employees get abig Thank You card fromthe children of the Singa-pore Childrens Society.

Find out more on page 6.


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Page 2CSR Tribune | June 2011

Neuchlos delivers the recyclable items to the Recy-

cling Centre every weekend.

Another mill unit and its supply base in Central Kalimantan, Indo-

nesia is awarded RSPO certification. Assessed by TUV Rhein-

land, PT Kerry Sawit Indonesia produces about 54,000 tonnes of

CSPO.

ll our mills and estates in Malaysia are fully RSPO-certified

with the certification achievement of our last mill unit in East Ma-

laysia. Assessed by SIRIM QAS, Sri Kamusan will contribute

about 26,500 tonnes of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) to

the Groups annual RSPO production.

A

Central Kalimantan The Clean and Green

Province, all aspects of development that

we undertake in this province must be truly

in keeping with protection of the

environment.

I also see that there is a potential for

measurable reduction on emissions from

the forest conservation sector and

biodiversity in the activities of initiating Best

Management Practices for oil palm

plantations. To that end I hope that we can

together search for a way in which we can

contribute to the committment of our

country to reduce emissions by 26%, as

declared by President Susilo Bambang

Yudhoyono in Copenhagen in 2009.Jeremy Goon, Wilmars Group Head for CSR, said: We are very

excited to be part of this meaningful endeavour. We have been in

discussion with BOSF for some time on how to address the plight

of orangutans in areas susceptible to land development. We

recognise that this issue is more than just an environmental

challenge, so the involvement of the local government will help

escalate our efforts for orangutan conservation.

With this project, we hope to demonstrate that large scale planta-

tion companies can be compatible with sustainable development.

We are hopeful that an equitable balance between economic,

social and environmental values can still be achieved while natu-

ral resources continue to be harnessed for consumption needs if

all sectors of the society are truly committed to finding solutions to

the sustainability cause.

and shared with other plantation operators

to achieve orangutan conservation across a

wider landscape.

2) Involving local communities in the

orangutan conservation and managementprocess, with efforts towards community

development;

3) Identifying opportunities to implement

BMP as formal policy in Central Kaliman-

tan.

Dr. Togu Manurung, CEO and Chairman of

the BOS Foundation, said: We welcome

this initiative as a means of ensuring thatthe habitat of the Bornean orangutans is

preserved in a sustainable fashion, thus assisting the BOS

Foundation in its mission of making certain that the specie

survives. This tripartite MoU is a perfect example of how major

stakeholders can work together toward environmental goals.Only through the cooperation of NGOs, such as BOS Foundation,

government and business can sustainable solutions be found.

We are pleased to be able to help advise Wilmar, one of the

largest stakeholders in Central Kalimantan, on Best Management

Practices for oil palm companies in orangutan areas. We are also

pleased to be able to assist the government of Central Kalimantan

in its effort to balance economic development with conservation in

a collaborative manner.

Augustin Teras Narang, Governor of the Central Kalimantan

Province, said: I am pleased to support this tripartite cooperation.

This is in line with the vision and mission of the province of

RSPO Certification Update

We welcome this initiative

as a means of ensuring that

the habitat of the Borneanorangutan is preserved in a

sustainable fashion, thus

assisting the BOS

Foundation in its mission of

making certain that the

specie survives.


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Wilmar to Offer Segregated Palm Productscertified sustainable palm oil that cater for the needs of

the European food industry. Together we are now able

to offer these products sustainably and affordably. The

supply of segregated certified sustainable palm oil is soimportant that we felt we had to make it available sooner

rather than later. We have heard for a long time from

food manufacturers that it has been difficult to source

many of the palm oil products needed in a sustainable

format and therefore they have set their targets for using

only sustainable palm oil quite far off in the future.

Up to now, traceable palm oil is primarily only available

to the Europe market, due to the lack of a robust infra-

structure worldwide. Wilmar is committed to supporting

the development of a truly sustainable palm oil industry,

and will continue to support the development of the

physical CSPO supply chain mechanisms, until tracea-

ble CSPO becomes more available, mainstream and

commercially viable in the market.

ilmar will soon be able to offer a full range of certi-

fied sustainable palm oil (CSPO) products in all supply

chain systems segregation, mass balance and

book & claim to meet customers different needs.

Especially for the Continental European market, Wilmar

will be able to supply fully segregated palm oil from its

refinery in Brake, Germany from mid 2012. Until that

time, CSPO products are available in mass balance

form and fully segregated for some of the quantity. The

refinery in Brake has a full capacity of approximately

700,000 tonnes per annum, of which 300,000 will be

dedicated to producing segregated certified products.

Martua Sitorius, Director of Wilmar International

Limited, commented:

Wilmar is very pleased that our Brake refinery is now

able to produce a whole host of products and blends of

W

social sustainability.It was introduced into the German law in November

2010, and is required for companies wanting to supply

biofuels in Germany, which provides subsidies, tax ex-

emptions and other privileges / concessions to biofuel

users.

The achievement of ISCC certification signifies Wilmars

compliance with the ISCC standards and that the

Groups products meet the strict sustainability criteria

set by the European Unions Renewable Energy Di-

rective (RED).

n addition to the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil

(RSPO) certification, Wilmar is also diligently pursuing

another sustainability certification programme - the Inter-

national Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC),

with some of its refineries, mills and plantations now

certified against the ISCC standards.

The ISCC scheme was developed for the certification of

biomass and bioenergy with specific sustainability com-

ponents across the entire biofuel supply chain:

reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;

sustainable use of land;

protection of natural biospheres; and

Wilmar is ISCC-CertifiedI


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Towards a Green Supply Chain- Engaging Suppliers in Sustainability (RSPO)

But getting suppliers on board - specifically the RSPO certification - is easier

said than done unless the companies have the financial wherewithal and a

certain clout with their suppliers. Of those present in the workshop, only five

supplier companies are members of the RSPO. Overall, the seminar was well-

received by suppliers who fielded questions on the advantages and difficulties of

RSPO certification, with many expressing that they will give the certification

some serious consideration.

ne of the key sustainability issues concern-

ing the palm oil industry is getting to the rootsof the supply chain.

Beyond our own plantations and mills, we are

equally concerned about getting our third-party

suppliers to join us on the sustainability band-

wagon so we can eventually secure a continu-

ous supply of sustainable products. This is also

in line with the RSPO code of conduct that

requires members to promote and communi-

cate this commitment throughout its own

organisation and to its customers, suppliers,

sub-contractors and wider value chain where

necessary.

To this end, we hosted a training workshop on

RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil)

and responsible sourcing for our suppliers in

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. About 25

palm oil supplier companies attended the ses-

sion.

Simon Siburat, Wilmars Group Sustainability

Controller said: Consumers are increasingly

demanding traceability and transparency in

palm oil supply chain, and moving towards

sustainable sourcing. Since third-party

suppliers are an important component of our

supply chain, we see the importance of

influencing the sustainability of this crucial linkin our supply chain by building capacity among

our direct suppliers.

Through such workshops, Wilmar is not only

building capacity among its suppliers to

implement responsible procurement but is also

helping them to address challenges by sharing

with them Wimars own experience in the face

of growing demand for sustainable products as

well as RSPO implementation.

O

The Impact

The workshop yielded some positive results with two

supplier companies committing to visiting our RSPO

certified plantations and mills in July. The visiting

teams will comprise senior and middle management

teams who would like to have some first-hand

experience to understand how RSPO certification

programme is implemented on the ground.

Above: Speakers, top (from right) Jeremy Goon, Group Head for CSR and

Simon Siburat, Group Sustainability Controller.


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n the back of growing population and

rising demand for food, a multi-stakeholder

forum was hosted jointly by Zoological Socie-

ty of London (ZSL), Wildlife Conservation

Society and Proforest to discuss if and how

palm oil and environmental biodiversity can

co-exist, while still enabling consumption

needs to be met.

The 2-day symposium in London from 5-6

May 2011 was well attended by a spectrum

of sector representatives producers, pro-

cessors, retailers, research institutions, non-

government organisations and governments. The symposium

gave insight into the challenges confronting the palm oil industry,

and presented solutions and opportunities of balancingprofit,

planet and people.

In this context, Simon Siburat, Wilmars Group Sustainability Con-

troller shared about the Groups experience in managing High

Conservation Value (HCV) areas within its plantation landscape

specifically in HCV identification, management and protection in

Indonesia.

Limitations of the laws

The basic agrarian law that governs land use for oil palm cultiva-

tion has yet to recognise conservation areas set aside in line with

HCV concepts which are for more than just providing environmen-

tal infrastructure. Land set aside as corridors

for connectivity are often interpreted as idleland; and before the land title is issued out to

secure these areas, it can be repossessed

by the local government and passed to an-

other grower, who may be a non-RSPO

member, for development. Even when the

land title has been issued, there are regula-

tions that allow government to take the land

back if the area is deemed to be not actively

managed in accordance with the Land-use

provision of the land title which is meant for

cultivation, livestock or aquaculture.

Another challenge facing the growers in Indonesia is on the gov-

ernment regulation that makes it mandatory for companies to

provide smallholdings to local communities based on 20% of the

total land holdings under its control. In most cases, the communi-

ty uses the HCV as a bargaining tool to include these HCVs areas

as part of the 20% computation of the smallholding areas. There-

fore companies often find it difficult to comply with developing

smallholdings even on areas alienated for conservation. This is

further complicated by the current HCV toolkit in Indonesia which

is a general toolkit well suited for identification of HCV under a

forest concession that generally has better quality forest, and

better chances of allowing individuals to become progenitors of

new populations. Generally speaking, land offered for oil palm

cultivation usually has a relatively more degraded landscape.

Cost of doing

business

The precautionary

approach adopted

and the varying

standards of

interpretation by HCV

assessors have led to

a significant portion of

land being not

recommended for


The Challenges, Costs and Benefits of Maintaining High ConservationValuesO

The basic agrarian law

that governs land use for

oil palm cultivation has yet

to recognise conservation

set aside in line with HCV

concepts which are for

more than just providing

environmental

infrastructure.

Below: Presenting to the audience in London


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Wilmar Employees Take Kids from the Singapore Childrens SocietyOut for Some Fun


obody can do everything, but everyone can do some-

thing. - Author Unknown

Get involved! Thats the call from Wilmar CSR Department

when it organised an activity to get employees interested in em-

ployee volunteerism. Wilmar planned an outing for some chil-

dren from Singapore Childrens Society (SCS) to Universal Stu-

dios Singapore (USS).

Over 30 employees responded to our call; and on Saturday, 26

February, the Wilmar volunteers accompanied a group of 60

children from SCS for a fun-filled day at the USS. This excursion

was a first for all of the kids and many of our colleagues, and

gave us the opportunity to foster a sense of volunteerism in our

Singapore office while at the same time enjoy a shared experi-

ence with the children.

N

About the Singapore Childrens Society

The Singapore Children's Society (SCS)

protects and nurtures children and youth of

all races and religions. Each year the SCS

reaches out to about 57,000 children, youth

and families in need. Established in 1952, its

services have evolved to meet the changing

needs of children. Today, the SCS operates

nine centres islandwide, offering services in

the six categories of: Caregiving, Preventive,

Developmental, Remedial, Community and

Public Education.

development even when it has already been alienated for agricul-

tural purposes by the governmental authorities. The cost of set-

ting aside HCV areas can be broken down to 1) land acquisition

costs such as land compensation, survey, legal procedures and

land title application; 2) operational costs including assessments

and management of those areas.

Benefits

In spite of the challenges and costs, conserving HCV areas does

bring about tangible and intangible benefits, amongst which are -

but not limited to addressing stakeholder concerns, compliance

with sustainability standards (Branding), reputational enhance-

ment, provision and protection of environmental services, protec-

tion of endangered species and eco-systems, and social licence.

The HCV assessment process helps in the preservation of cultur-

al identity and through the numerous processes of consultations,

it ensures that the communitys rights are recognised, and galva-

nizes trust between the company and the community, therebygiving plantation companies the social license to operate.

Staff Chris Lim and Patricia Mui having a fun dayat the Universal Studios, Singapore

Thank you card from

the children at Singa-

pore Childrens Soci-

ety


7/10

Empowering our Sales Force to Promote Sustainable ProductsPage 7CSR Tribune | June 2011

ne way of advancing our sustaina-

bility efforts and encouraging the up-

take of certified sustainable palm oil

(CSPO) is to empower our Sales team

on sustainable product knowledge to

enable them to promote these

products to customers.

With many global multi-national

corporations (MNCs) with

manufacturing base in China

increasingly starting to make enquiries

about CSPO, we held a training work-

shop on 13 April 2011 in our Shanghai

office to educate our sales team about

RSPO certification, including traceable

supply chain systems and product

communication and claims. The work-

shop was conducted with two objec-

tives in mind:

1) to empower our sales force to address customers queries

on these products; and

2) to enable our sales force to also start promoting these

products to customers who are not yet aware of or have yet to

show interest in these products.More than 40 sales and marketing colleagues from our Shang-

hai, Shengzhen and Guangzhou offices attended the briefing

at the Shanghai office, and enthusiastically fielded our CSR

Manager, Sharon Chong, with many questions such as:

1) how the various system supply chain works;

2) what are the type of operational preparations and set-ups

required at our own manufacturing plants as well as at our cli-

ents;

3) how long it will take to set up those systems; and

4) what the cost vis-a-vis benefits to customers and ourselves

are.

O

Bottom right: Sharon Chong, CSR Manager

giving a presentation to colleagues in Shanghai.

CSPO product communications and claims.


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Close up: CEO of Kerry Group Kuok FoundationName: Dr David Pang

Appointment: Chief Executive Officer, Kerry Group Kuok Foundation

Through what methods do you achieve the foundationsgoals?

If we are to change people, we need to take a holistic approach.

Under this approach we have identified four key areas: health,

education, enterprise and water resources. Everything we do

leads to our goal through one of these strategies. We may be

able to help 70% of the peoples needs; but the people must

have the capability to take care of the remaining 30%.

Sometimes we may begin by bringing some hardware to peo-

ple, but with an ultimate goal to change the software, i.e. peo-

ples mindset. For example, while we help villagers build a road

to make access easier, our goal is to bring the villagers

together, so that when they are building their own road, they are

also building their caring hearts

t Wilmar, we believe that employee volunteerism should be

one of the key components of our corporate citizenship strategy.

Immediately following the excursion in which Wilmar employees

spent a day with children from the Singapore Childrens Society at

Universal Studios Singapore, on March 24, Wilmar invited Dr.

David Pang, Chief Executive Officer of the Kerry Group Kuok

Foundation, to speak to Wilmar colleagues about the importance

of a caring heart and the spirit of philanthropy, in a bid to further

inspire, encourage and foster volunteerism within the Group.

Since 2007 the Kerry Group Kuok Foundation has been commit-

ted to building a model to address the social issue of uneven dis-

tribution opportunities which the foundation believes is the root

cause of disharmony in the world. Through investment in health,

education, enterprise and water resources the foundation strives

to fulfill its aim to equip villagers with appropriate capabilities so

that they have the opportunity to change their own destiny, and

eventually that of others. In an interview with Dr Pang, he gave

insights into the works of the Foundation, including how it fosters

employee volunteerism within the Kerry Group.

Can you please tell us more about the aim(s) of the Kerry

Kuok Foundation?

Our aim is to address the uneven distribution of opportunities in

society, which we believe is where poverty comes from, and is

the root cause of the disharmony in the world. We do this by

helping the poor establish their capability, so

that they can create opportunities

for themselves, and eventually

they can help others too.

A

Dr Pang with a Szechuanvillage boy


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to become an area of development under coordinated planning

and execution of the villages and central towns.

Can you please share with us some of your most moving

experiences?

After the magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Sichuan on 12 May 2008,

we went there to set up our base. As always, we began our work

by talking to the people there. A farmer told us that his life had

always been tough, and for farmers like him, they worked hard

all their life for two , which were (house) and

(children). When the earthquake struck,

both houses and children were snatched

away from them within seconds. The farmer

was in tears as he spoke we couldnt hold

back our tears either.

Three years on, I have seen tremendous

changes among the people there. They have

pulled themselves together and made use of

the opportunities available to them to regain

hope and confidence for their future, and they

also create opportunities for themselves.

Teary faces had turned into smiling faces.

That was one of the most moving experienc-

es Ive had.

How do you promote employee volunteerism in the Kuok

Group of companies? What are some of the activities

they participate in? How do we get our colleagues to be

interested in volunteering, and what do you think is the

best way for our colleagues to get involved?

We have been speaking to groups of employees from the Kuok

Group of companies about

our work, and how they

can contribute. We are

glad to see a caring heart

in many of our colleagues

I always say that in order

to help people, money is

not enough. You need to

have a heart and you must

be willing to devote your

time.

not only for themselves but also for others in the village, as well

as the sustainability of the village for generations to come.

Can you tell me more about the foundations guiding

principles?

We are guided by the principles that all we do must:

Be sustainable in transforming economic values into social

values.

Be people-focused, not material-focused. We help build infra-

structure, but our aim is to change people

through the infrastructure and the process of

building it.

Cure the root cause, which takes time but the

effect is sustainable. Meanwhile care for the

immediate needs.

Be replicable to other areas in order to max-

imise the impact of our model. We have pro-

jects in 11 provinces in China, but our aim is

for our model to be replicated and spread to

even more people in need.

Integrate resources available in society andapply them at the right place for the maximum

value.

Cultivate capabilities among the poor so that they can create

their own opportunities and change their destiny.

Unite villages and towns by starting with a village, then expand-

ing to a network of

villages

Whatever you do, if it s

not people-related,

normally it is not very

meaningful. If you want

to make an impact on

people, you need to

change their mindset and

inspire them. Money

cannot change people

only people can change

people.

Sichuan earthquake 12 May 2008:From ruins.

To laughter...


10/10


required her to undergo a surgery at the hospital in the capital

city, Kuala Lumpur.

Hailed from a small village Kampung Penangah Tongod in Sa-

bah, they do not have any relatives or friends in the capital for

support. The Sapi estate management made an appeal to em-

ployees to raise money to fund their expenses in Kuala Lumpur

during the course of the three-week treatment, including flight and

sundry expenses.

taff at Sapi Plantation estate, one of

Wilmars plantation units in Sabah,

Malaysia joined hands to raise funds to

support the recovery of the sick child of

colleague, Christenos Kulau, a security

personnel at Sapi estate. Normelina

Christenos is a vivacious one-year old

girl, despite being diagnosed with

congenital heart problem which

S

Extending a Helping Hand Sapi Employees Raise Funds forColleagues Sick Child

For example, volunteers from the Kuok Group of companies have

become mentors to some farmers children in our Buddy Pro-

gramme, and some others have become pen-pals to children who

have undergone surgery for congenital heart disease.

Our aim of getting them involved is not only to have some extra

hands, but also to spread our message of helping the poor to

create opportunities for themselves. I think what is attractive

about volunteering is the prospect of bringing change in others

lives through the work with other like-minded people.

There are many different ways to help people, and of course

volunteering is one way. And if any company would like to set up

their own foundation, we are more than happy to share with them

our experience and do as much as we can to help.

What inspired you to move from profit organizations to

the non-profit sector?

It is the meaning of life that Im after. Whatever you do, if i t is not

people-related, normally it is not very meaningful. If you want to

make an impact on people, you need to change their mindset and

inspire them. Money cannot change people, only people can

change people.

Wilmar International Limited, founded in 1991, is today Asias leading agribusi-ness group. Wilmar is ranked amongst the largest l isted companies by market

capitalisation on the Singapore Exchange.

Our business activities include oil palm cultivation, oilseeds crushing, edible oilsrefining, sugar, specialty fats, oleochemicals and biodiesel manufacturing andgrains processing. Headquartered in Singapore, Wilmar has over 300 manufac-turing plants and an extensive distribution network covering China, India, Indo-nesia and some 50 other countries to support a well established processing andmerchandising business. Wilmar also manufactures and distributes fertilisersand owns a fleet of vessels. The Group is backed by a multi-national staff forceof about 88,000 people.

For more information, please log on to www.wilmar-international.com

For feedback or query, please email [email protected]

Editorial Team

Produced by:

Wilmar CSR Dept

Editorial Members:

Jeremy Goon

Sharon Chong

Contributors:

Simon Siburat

Jocelyn Ang

Tee Seng Heng

Nomelina Christenos being held by her mum.

csr tribune - june 2011

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