Golden Hope Plantations Again Awarded For Best Environmental Reporting

The winners of ACCA MERA 2003 with DOE Director-General, Ms Rosnani lbarahim (centre). The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) announced the winners of the second ACCA Malaysia Environmental Reporting Awards (ACCA MERA) 2003 on 16 March 2004.The ACCA MERA was launched on 16 July 2002 by Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Dato' Seri Law Hieng Ding. Aiming to encourage voluntary environmental reporting practices among organisations in Malaysia, the awards are endorsed by the Ministry's Department of Environment (DOE). The objectives of these awards are to reward organizations which report and disclose environmental information, raise awareness in corporate transparency issues and to encourage better environmental reporting.

17 entries were received by ACCA for the awards last year. Out of this, ten were public-listed entities and the remaining seven were subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs) in Malaysia. Having met the judges' criteria of completeness, credibility and communication, three companies, namely Hartmann Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Shell Malaysia and Sony Technology Malaysia Sdn Bhd jointly won the Best Environmental Reporting category. 1^st Silicon (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Hunstman Tioxide (M) Sdn Bhd were awarded commendations for environmental reporting, while the award for Best Environmental Reporting in An Annual Report was won by Golden Hope Plantations Bhd. Golden Hope won in the same category in 2002. It was the first plantation company in Malaysia to be awarded the Global 500 Roll of Honour by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for its "Zero Burning" practice.

Speaking at the award presentation ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, DOE Director-General, Ms Rosnani Ibarahim said getting business to buy into eco-friendliness is difficult. "Green issues always take a back seat in most corporations because companies are for-profit organisations and their bottom line is their priority. A loss-making company - no matter how green its practices - is persona non grata with investors." Notwithstanding such difficulties, one point stressed by the award is that companies that adopt eco-friendly measures do improve their efficiency and bottom line in the long run.

At Hartmann Malaysia, wood pallets are collected from customers after products are delivered. Instead of disposing damaged pallets, the items are repaired and reused. It has been estimated that some RM48.000 can be saved annually if usage of wood pallets are minimised and recycling activities are actively conducted. "Practically any business and operations can benefit from an honest analysis of its environmental impact. The fact is, every organisation leaves an environmental footprint, whether they operate in manufacturing or services. Thus it is important that organisations report on the impact of their operations to the environment through environmental reporting" said Ms Rosnani. Over the longer term, such initiatives have a positive impact on operational efficiency, productivity, costs, resources and bottom lines and would boost the organisation's reputation among the investors, authorities, employees, NGOs and the public. Hartmann Malaysia Sdn Bhd reported that modifying its piping system to reuse wastewater for production will create an estimated annual cost savings of RM42,000, while minimising the use of wooden pallets and emphasising pallet recycling can save RM48,000 annually. Golden Hope Plantations Bhd could reap potential cost savings of RM14 million per annum by replacing fuel oil with natural gas.

According to ACCA Head of Social and Environmental Issues, Ms Rachel Jackson, the global trends over the last five years indicate that companies are issuing a growing number of sustainability reports that address their social and environmental impacts. 81% of companies on the FTSE 100 index, 44% of American firms in S&P's US Top 50, 74% of Top 50 European companies and 45% of the Global Fortune 250 issue environmental reports. In the Asia-Pacific, the mature economies of Japan and Australia are forerunners in Corporate Environmental Reports (CER). However, only 8% of Malaysian companies listed on the Main Board of Malaysia Security Exchange Bhd currently issue reports.

Nevertheless, said Ms Jackson, the trend of environmental reporting in Malaysia is still at its early stage and is improving. On this, however, the DOE Director-General added that non-reporting does not necessarily mean inaction on the environment. "It is important to note that while the percentage of reports may be rather low, a large number of companies are already taking care of the environment and many are in compliance with the Environmental Quality Act of 1975," she said.

ACCA has been actively involved with the unfolding debate on corporate social and environmental responsibility since 1990, promoting greater transparency in the reporting of organisations' social and environmental impacts. It has been involved in reporting awards in more than 20 countries including Europe, Africa and the Asia Pacific regions. ACCA and DOE are planning to introduce sustainability reporting in Malaysia. Sustainability reporting offers companies a means to communicate to the public across the triple bottom line of environmental, social and economic performance. With a better understanding of sustainability reporting and the Global Reporting Initiative or GRI, companies will be able to provide better response to questions from investors, advocacy, community groups and regulators on how they manage across the triple bottom line.