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Fima CORPORATION Berhad
(197401004110) (21185-P) •
Annual Report 2020
51
Environment
We acknowledge that managing the Group’s environmental
impacts through sustainable practices is a moral and social
imperative as well as an economic necessity. Efficient management
of resources will not only limit our carbon footprint, but it can also
lead to significant operational and financial benefits to the Group
as a whole. The Group’s Environmental Policy which prescribes
our approach and commitment to managing our environmental
footprint across our business includes the following objectives:
•
to comply with all relevant environmental regulations, legal
criteria, guidelines and codes of conduct specific to our
operations;
•
create environmental knowledge around the Group by
successful collaboration, training and sharing of practices;
•
continuously evaluate and track the environmental
implications of all of our corporate practices and enforce
effective environmental protection strategies;
•
enable the protection of biodiversity and natural areas
situated around or within our operating locations;
•
encourage the efficient use of natural resources, particularly
energy and water, to reduce the emission intensity of our
operations and supply chains;
•
minimises the production of raw material waste and
eliminates, reuse or recycling of industrial waste where
possible;
•
participate with local communities and other stakeholders to
resolve any environmental issues;
•
ensure that our suppliers or vendors recognise our
commitment to environmental protection and, where
necessary and realistic, allow them to include the required
performance reports as requested; and
•
continuously encourage and actively support zero burning
programs in our plantation operation.
Our key priorities to live up to this include:
Sustainable Agricultural Practices
Conservation areas
Within our estates, areas alongside river banks (riparian reserves)
are set aside as conservation areas wildlife corridors which include,
among others, sanctuaries for migratory birds and habitat for
jungle flora and fauna.
Soil Management
We adopt best agricultural practices, planting cover crops
such as Mucuna Bracteata, Calopogonium Mucunoides and
Calopogonium Coeruleum, alone or in combination, to boost
surface properties and minimise carbon dioxide emissions. Vetiver
grass is a deep-rooted grass noted for its strong resistance of heavy
metals, phosphates, nitrates and agricultural chemicals. It has
been cultivated in wetlands, bundles and field drain to reduce
deforestation and avoid landslides. Also, no planting is carried out
in steep regions, i.e. those with a slope of more than 20 degrees.
Another method in soil and slope management is the planting
of Mucuna Bracteata, which is an Indian leguminous plant. We
are highly successful in reducing soil erosion and improving soil
quality by natural soil fertilisation and aeration process. The
nitrogen-regulating properties help maintain soil temperatures
down during hot seasons. We value its fast-growing characteristics
that allow rapid ground cover and help suppress weed growth.
Lastly, our estate has carried into practice sustainable land
applications that are aligned with our zero-waste approach. The
FFB which has been harvested and sent to the mill for processing
will end up as Empty Fruit Bunch (“EFB”) that is used by applying
directly to the field. In addition, compost can be produced from a
mixture of shredded EFB and Palm Oil Mill Effluent (“POME”) which
is subsequently added to the plot.