7 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2018/2019 STATEMENT FROM THE GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Thus, in 2019, we adopted the Guidelines and Procedures for the Responsible Recruitment of Foreign Workers to ensure that the recruitment of migrant workers was responsibly and ethically managed. We established One-Stop Centres in Bukit Rokan, Malaysia; Lombok, Indonesia; as well as in Chennai and Kolkata in India to facilitate a strengthened pre-departure and post-arrival orientation programme for our migrant workers. We have also installed safety boxes as an option for our migrant workers to keep their passports. To bolster our efforts, we are collaboratingwith various external parties, including Tenaganita, to develop human rights training modules for our workers as well as with the UN IOM and the EF in a labour supply mapping project. Similarly, we are engaged with two distinct groups of smallholders who work their farms across the country, either as schemed FELDA settlers or as independent smallholders. These farmers produce about one-third of the crops we process, from smallholdings that range in size from 2 Ha to 40.46 Ha. Their challenges are ours and, as part of our supply chain, we are socialising our new policies and procedures to ensure that they too are aware of the rights of migrant workers. As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, in May 2019, we reviewed and revised our Group Sustainability Policy 3.0 (GSP), tightening gaps and including value chain partners and business partners in our sustainability journey. The strengthened policy was formulated through a consultative process involving key stakeholders such as SUHAKAM, IOM, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and Tenaganita. We have a much more robust section on respecting human rights, which is aligned with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). GSP 3.0 focuses on three key areas, namely Respecting Human Rights, Protecting the Environment and Promoting Sustainability. To ensure that the policy is well-understood and put into practice by all employees across the Group, as well as by our contractors and suppliers, we have been running a socialisation exercise that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will be completed by the end of June 2020. Once the socialisation exercise is completed, we will be better-equipped to identify both sustainability risks and opportunities. Strong awareness and the comprehensive adoption of the policy are critical to ensure long-term business growth. Additionally, as a firm believer in the strength of partnerships, in October 2019, FGV, with the support of the Procter & Gamble Company, became a Participating Company of the FLA. Through our affiliation with the FLA, we have embarked on a five-year programme that involves a holistic approach to strengthening our internal systems and mechanisms to ensure that the rights of our workers are respected and protected. Further underscoring our commitment to sustainability, we have expanded our Group Sustainability Division’s (GSD) mandate beyond the plantation sector to cover the entire Group operations. We have also intensified our focus on human rights, to review and where necessary, correct FGV’s previous approach. Thus, in March 2019, we appointed new leadership for GSD with experience in the human rights field. ROUNDTABLE ON SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL (RSPO) In February 2020, FGV achieved 100% Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification, capping a 54-month concerted Group-wide effort to complete the exercise. With this, we are now again concentrating on our RSPO certification. FGV has 33 RSPO-certified mills, out of a total of 68. Additionally, FGV has 25 mills that have already been audited but are still awaiting the RSPO’s decision on progressing their certification (when the Serting Mill Complex was resuspended in January 2020, the RSPO’s Complaints Panel also decided to suspend the certification processes of all FGV mills that had successfully passed their audits). Nevertheless, with all the ongoing efforts to correct the single remaining major non-compliance, I am confident that our aspiration to achieve full RSPO certification by mid-2021 is still achievable. For the record, FGV had on 3 April 2020, submitted an appeal against the decision of the Complaints Panel, as we hold the view that the actions taken against FGV were harsh and did not take into consideration independent auditors’ assessments that we had, in large part, already corrected most of the issues identified in November 2018. The one major non-compliance identified was in fact progressing on a scheduled plan of correction that the RSPO had been apprised of. Irrespective of the outcome of the appeal, FGV will continue to implement its action plan to address any gaps and enhance our labour practices. THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC The COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s Movement Control Order (MCO) have affected FGV’s operations and disrupted some of our initiatives to fulfil the Complaints Panel’s directives. Due to this, we have requested an extension of time for the completion of all the initiatives. This includes the major non-compliance, which is the regularisation exercise of undocumented workers in Sabah. Also, the building of new worker accommodation has been delayed as the MCO has prevented the free movement of workers and materials to complete the exercise on time. Despite the delay, FGV remains committed to fulfilling all our obligations as expeditiously as possible. In fact, our commitment and resolve to meet and uphold labour standards go beyond certification. TRUST AND TRACEABILITY To promote greater traceability, we have developed a computerised traceability system called Traceability of Product or FGV-ToP. This is part of our overall Sustainable Palm Oil Management System (SPOMS) that also includes an Audit Integrated Management System (FGV-AIMS). With the introduction of FGV-ToP, customers are now able to obtain details such as the certification, geolocation and production per month of a mill from the system. OUR ESTATE AND MILL WORKERS ARE VITAL TO OUR SUCCESS AND CONTINUED SUSTAINABILITY.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDgzMzc=