IOI Corp Bhd (KL:IOICORP), which emerged as the gold winner in the plantation sector of The Edge Malaysia ESG Awards 2024, has achieved the short-term goal of its climate change action initiative one year ahead of the target year of 2025.
Group managing director and chief executive Datuk Lee Yeow Chor attributes the group’s success in reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 40% compared with the 2015 baseline to the systematic implementation of the decarbonisation and circularity strategies.
These include efforts in methane capture and power generation through biogas power plants in its mills, and rehabilitation and reforestation activities at riparian buffer zones and conservation areas in and around the group’s plantations.
“Our laran tree planting project, for example, has played a crucial role in enhancing our carbon sequestration capacity, while contributing to the restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem enhancement. Our circularity initiatives in recycling organic waste and repurposing felled oil palm trunks have also helped us optimise the management of waste and natural resources, further strengthening our sustainability practices at every stage of our operations,” he says.
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The group, he adds, takes pride in its methodical and holistic approach to sustainability. “Our structured approach has ensured that we achieve each sustainability milestone successfully before advancing to the next, allowing us to build on our successes and continuously improve our practices over time,” he says, adding that what sets the group apart from others in the sector is its first-mover advantage.
Still, the ESG journey has not been without challenges. “To meet the requirements of the latest ESG frameworks and various rating standards, we have been disclosing a lot of information about our ESG performance and progress. However, managing a large wealth of ESG data across our many operating units presents its own set of challenges, particularly in ensuring the transparency of collection, compilation and consolidation of information,” he says.
“To address this, we have introduced the IOI ESG Digitalisation Platform, a centralised system to help us efficiently monitor and analyse these data to ensure credible reporting and auditability on critical areas, such as carbon footprint, resource management and labour practices, [and] ensure that all data are traceable, verifiable and compliant with international reporting standards.”
Lee hopes for closer engagement between government agencies and businesses to develop ESG frameworks that are practical and achievable not only for large corporations but also for small players.
“We advocate for greater consumer awareness through education, socialisation and capacity-building initiatives so that the public can make informed and realistic demands regarding sustainability practices. For investors, we hope to see them broaden their perspectives beyond the financial metrics of ESG performance and consider the broader impacts of social equity, environmental resilience and long-term value creation,” he says.