Industrial waste is commonly handled in most sectors as a disposal problem, however agribusinesses have lengthy leveraged on the natural by-products of their crops as worthwhile sources. Malaysia’s palm oil corporations are not any exception, utilizing regenerative agricultural methods comparable to mulching and natural composting to complement the soil and enhance yields.
Past its financial and environmental advantages, improved waste administration can also be essential in the direction of reaching circularity, which in flip performs a component in supporting local weather motion. At IOI Company Berhad, circularity and waste administration are a part of a holistic response to local weather change, which culminates in its broader aim of reaching net-zero carbon depth by 2040, stated the ntegrated palm oil participant.
Embedding circularity inside IOI’s operations follows from its overarching methods to fight local weather change. This entails lowering its local weather affect to attain its net-zero objectives and selling local weather motion through innovation, improved efficiencies and supporting motion all through its upstream and downstream operations.
Figuring out circularity as a fabric matter
In 2023, IOI recognized waste administration and the round economic system as considered one of 4 new “sustainability materials issues”, that are points which will considerably affect the group’s stakeholders and its enterprise. IOI’s high 10 sustainability materials issues had been chosen following a stringent inside course of – from deciding on sustainability considerations confronted in IOI’s operations, figuring out their affect on inside and exterior stakeholders, and making certain the ultimate choice was validated by inside governance events, it stated. [See graph]
To IOI, circularity and waste administration matter as a result of irresponsible manufacturing and consumption can overexploit pure sources, putting biodiversity and future generations in danger. The corporate adopts the 7Rs of circularity – Rethink, Repurpose, Cut back, Reuse, Recycle, Restore and Get better – to cut back its greenhouse fuel emissions and different environmental impacts. It additionally disposes of all hazardous wastes following native legal guidelines and rules, it shared.
The corporate stated practising the 7Rs has helped it create closed-loop methods by enhancing waste administration and useful resource effectivity and are enablers for IOI to align intently to the United Nations’ Sustainable Improvement Objective 12 of Accountable Consumption and Manufacturing.
Circularity in motion
Growing and executing the 7Rs at IOI begins with making certain that stakeholders perceive the rules of circularity. The agency practices ‘rethinking’ by instilling consciousness amongst workers by way of talks and trainings comparable to zero waste, biodiversity by way of city farming, and changing waste to treasure, it informed Bursa Maintain.
Rethinking the alternatives related to oil palm-related waste has led to adoption of the next ‘R’s. For instance, IOI reimagined the methods wherein felled oil palm trunks (OPT) might be repurposed to turn into a brand new materials.
From outdated trunks to new wooden merchandise
Oil palm bushes are sometimes felled for replanting once they have grown too tall to reap or now not bear viable fruits. Whereas felled palms are sometimes allowed to decay naturally and in some circumstances are eaten by pygmy elephants, decaying oil palm trunks (OPT) launch greenhouse gases and may doubtlessly entice pests and illnesses as a result of their sluggish decomposition.Provided that OPT is essentially the most ample biomass supply at IOI, the group stated it seized the chance to repurpose the felled OPT on its plantations into commercially sustainable, eco-friendly wooden panels for the furnishings and constructing industries.
IOI Palm Wooden Sdn Bhd was due to this fact established to commercially produce engineered wooden panels sustainably from OPT waste. Repurposing OPT waste into lumber is supposed to lock within the carbon emissions, which might in any other case be launched into the environment. Moreover, palm wooden can function an alternative choice to conventional timber, easing the stress on felling pure forests and preserving habitats and ecosystems.
The IOI Palmwood manufacturing facility is the primary in Malaysia, utilizing customised European know-how to repurpose the OPT. It has the capability to supply as much as 80,000 cubic metres of palm-based wooden merchandise every year, and its premium merchandise are offered underneath the business model OnCore. These merchandise embody premium grade kiln dried palm lumber, blockboards and palm wooden panels, all of which adhere to worldwide high quality and security requirements.
All OnCore merchandise are handled to final for greater than a decade which extends their function in emissions storage. The top-of-life OnCore merchandise may also be upcycled or used as bioenergy. This not solely expands the circularity potential of this product, but in addition additional enhances the business potential of the enterprise, IOI stated.
To cut back and reuse wastage on its plantations, IOI employs a mix of regenerative and precision agriculture. Regenerative agriculture entails using natural compost – biking natural waste again as mulch onto the land and weeding manually to restrict soil disturbance. Precision agriculture employs a mix of applied sciences and improvements to optimise yields, together with using machines on plantations to move and evacuate contemporary fruit bunches.
General, each regenerative and precision methods have resulted in a 30 per cent improve in IOI’s worker-to-hectare ratio by rising productiveness, IOI shared. These methods have additionally immediately lowered IOI’s greenhouse fuel emissions, with regenerative agriculture particularly leading to decrease and extra exact use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
One other important supply of greenhouse fuel emissions for IOI is the methane launched by the waste palm oil mill effluent (POME) from the corporate’s mills. This methane has been captured and repurposed as a renewable power supply since 2013. IOI presently runs 10 methane seize vegetation throughout its mills that produce about 45 million cubic metres of biogas, which is used to gas boilers and electrical energy technology. Utilizing captured methane as gas additionally signifies that biomass which was beforehand burned within the boilers can be utilized for different functions comparable to mulching, fertiliser and activated carbon.
IOI’s apply of its 7Rs additionally lengthen to its remedy of wastewater, notably through the recycling and reusing of wastewater all through its operations. Effluent water from the corporate’s refineries is handled in accordance with native rules earlier than being recycled and reused. The group’s oleochemical amenities observe the same course of, handled effluents are cycled again into its cooling towers.
The group practices the ultimate two ‘R’s, ‘restore’ and ‘recuperate’, by repairing the machineries in its mills and factories, in addition to recovering the components for different makes use of. On the social entrance, IOI recovers and donates its older workplace computer systems to communities in want, comparable to faculties and welfare properties.
Improved recycling charges
On account of IOI’s implementation of the 7Rs, it achieved a 95 per cent recycling price of non-hazardous waste in its 2023 monetary yr, a 13 per cent improve in comparison with the yr earlier than. The majority of this was attributed to its plantation arm, which recycled and reused 97 per cent of non-hazardous waste, principally comprised of biomass within the type of empty fruit bunches and POME.
In the meantime, the corporate’s refinery enterprise additionally recycled over 97 per cent of its non-hazardous waste, primarily by repurposing biomass from handled palm oil refinery effluent and ashes from refining operations as fertiliser.
Furthermore, IOI’s oleochemicals lowered their waste disposal volumes by repurposing cleaning soap scraps into hygienic scented soaps in collaboration with third events, whereas palm oil sludge is being repurposed as a uncooked materials for the cement business.
These outcomes exhibit that the implementation of the 7Rs have helped the group to minimise its environmental affect whereas unlocking new alternatives for worth creation, share IOI. IOI stated the outcomes spotlight a enterprise case for implementing climate-responsive approaches to waste administration and is a testomony to the advantages of utilized circularity.
This text was first printed on Bursa Maintain, Bursa Malaysia’s one-stop information hub that promotes and helps improvement in sustainability, company governance and accountable funding amongst public-listed corporations.
