CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT

Transcription

1 CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT Based on the Sustainability Reporting Guide issued by Bursa Malaysia, our Sustainability Statement covers the following areas deemed material to be disclosed during the year under review: Environment, Governance and Social. Preserving the Environment As forecast by the IMF, the GDP in Asia will exceed that of the Group of Seven major industrial economies by The rapid economic development experienced by Asian countries is due to the high demand of industrial output where businesses are relying on low production costs to remain competitive. While Asia is enjoying rapid economic growth, it also has to deal with deteriorating environmental quality due to the increased emission of CO 2 and pollutants discharged into bodies of water. In our journey towards preserving the environment, we have made commendable advancements in the following areas: 1. reducing Non-Revenue Water or NRW in our water distribution network 2. reducing the environmental footprint of our facilities 3. increasing the recovery of wastewater through Circular Economy Reducing NRW in water distribution network The global volume of NRW or water losses is staggering. Each year, more than 32 billion m 3 of treated water is lost through leakage from distribution networks. A conservative estimate of the total annual cost to water utilities worldwide is USD14 billion. In Malaysia, our national NRW average in 2014 stood at 35.6 percent which is equivalent to 2.1 billion cubic metres of treated water loss along distribution networks. This translated to RM2.6 billion losses in water operators revenue. Ranhill has always advocated better management of NRW and in Johor, where our subsidiary, SAJ Holdings is operating, we managed to reduce the NRW level from 27 percent in 2014 to 25.6 percent in Johor recorded the lowest NRW per kilometre of water pipe length in Malaysia, which currently stands at 0.02 MLD/KM. In Pahang and Kelantan, where we are currently working on NRW management projects, we reduced the NRW level to an average of 7.8 percent in We will be unceasing in our efforts to reduce the NRW level nationwide, in keeping with the Government s agenda of reducing NRW in the country to 25 percent by 2020.

2 Reducing the environmental footprint of our facilities Our subsidiary SAJ Holdings (SAJ) serves 3.5 million people in Johor, the second most populous state in Malaysia. To serve a large number of end consumers, SAJH produces up to 1,986 million litres daily, requiring 44 water treatment plants, 644 water pumps, 86 booster stations and 2,266 employees, all of which consume energy in their operations. SAJH began managing its environmental impact in 2011 by launching a comprehensive Carbon Footprint Assessment throughout its operations. These included water treatment plants, all pump houses and all offices in Johor. Based on the assessment, five initiatives were identified to reduce energy consumption, which directly contributed to lower CO 2 emission. The five initiatives are: 1. increasing pump and motor efficiency in compliance with SAJH internal guidelines through constant monitoring and rectification 2. increasing energy efficiency through the Energy Management Programme launched in SAJH achieved MS ISO 50001:2001 certification in August 2015 at six of its premises i.e. five water treatment plants and at its Headquarters 3. adopting a holistic NRW Strategic Plan to reduce NRW which has direct impact on electricity consumption in the production of potable water 4. replacing water-cooled AC systems with air-cooled AC systems which use less equipment 5. using energy efficient lighting. To date, SAJH has replaced 2,121 units of conventional lighting to LED or power saving lighting at its Headquarters In recognition of its environmental preservation initiatives, SAJH won second place in the MYCarbon Awards in 2015 given by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Malaysia. Looking forward, SAJH aims to reduce emissions by 5 percent of every cubic meter of water produced by 2017.

3 Increasing the recovery of wastewater through Circular Economy We firmly believe that the Linear Economic Model as practised by many businesses currently is no longer viable, given the increasing depletion of natural resources used for production. The Linear Economy Model of extracting, consuming and discarding or taking-making-disposing have put enormous stress on the environment. Adopting the alternative restorative and regenerative Circular Economy Model which focuses on protecting, improving and sustaining resources should be the norm and a priority. Ranhill, via our subsidiary Ranhill Water Technologies (RWT), has been actively involved in treating industrial wastewater in China and Thailand. In China, we have a presence in four provinces, namely Liaoning, Henan, Anhui and Jiangxi with the capacity to treat 230 million litres per day or MLD of industrial wastewater while in Thailand we have 45.5 MLD capacity. In addition to discharging treated wastewater into the natural environment, we have also extended our services to further reclaim treated wastewater before recycling it for industrial use. Our present combined capacity for reclaimed water services is 40 MLD; 30 MLD in China and 10 MLD in Thailand. Enhancing Governance across the Group With diverse operations across Malaysia and in overseas markets, Ranhill has to maintain good Corporate Governance to instil confidence among its stakeholders. To this effect, our Group Human Capital conducted a series of workshops in 2015 to ensure all Ranhill employees comply with our various Policies and Procedures. Among other areas, our employees have been trained for compliance in the following areas: Employees Competency and Career Development Competency based Performance Management System Management of Under Performance Code of Conduct and Business Ethics Grievance Handling Business Continuity Management Fraud Risk Management Fraud and Whistle Blowing A dedicated Whisteblowing channel has also been set up to allow ease of reporting for both employees and external parties to lodge reports on any misconduct by employees.

4 Contributing towards Social Wellbeing Our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives are closely aligned with our core business. For the year under review, we carried out CSR activities in a number of states where we operate i.e. Kelantan, Pahang and Johor. Water education in Johor In May 2015, the Group participated in World Water Day 2015, an annual educational event organised by SAJH. Held in Muar, Johor, the activities included educating the public on how potable water is treated and the importance of reducing NRW. Flood relief in Kelantan and Pahang In January 2015, a number of teams comprising Group employees departed to Kota Bharu, Kelantan and Kuala Lipis, Pahang with two lorries loaded with donated items on a 3-day post-flood relief mission. To alleviate the hardship of those affected by the floods, the teams distributed the donated items. In addition, the teams also contributed their expertise by repairing water treatment plants affected by flooding in Kuala Krai, Kelantan while SAJH deployed six water tankers to assist Syarikat Air Kelantan to distribute clean water to flood victims. Distributing clean water to the residents Measuring water quality with schoolchildren Moving forward, the Group is revising its approach towards sustainability for improvements. A more cohesive and structured approach is needed to ensure Sustainability is adopted by every subsidiary within the Group. We will be scoping Ranhill s Sustainability agenda based on international standards and globally recognised guidelines. Among others, the Group is referencing FTSE4Good that promotes an effective and comprehensive Environment, Social and Governance framework, and the Global Reporting Index (GRI) in upgrading the quality of our Sustainability Reporting.

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