MALAYSIAN public listed companies (PLCs) must learn from their multinational counterparts to cherish water as a valuable commodity not only for businesses to flourish but to mankind as a whole.
There are two recent exemplary attitudes which can be emulated by Malaysian PLCs with regard to transparency related to water.
The first is how Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd swung into action the moment the company was notified by the Selangor State Department of Environment (DOE) of a river contamination incident adjacent to its premises on Aug 12.
The management team immediately commissioned an internal investigation team to query this matter in accordance with the company’s safety, health and environment (SHE) standard operating procedures.
While the source of the contamination is still under investigation, Dutch Lady Malaysia is cooperating with all relevant investigating authorities, including the DOE which has taken water samples for analysis.
“We have been a Petaling Jaya community member since 1963 and we are deeply saddened by the incident,” the dairy producer’s managing director Ramjeet Kaur Virik noted.
“We are closely monitoring the situation in Sungai Penchala and are grateful to the Selangor Department of Irrigation and Drainage for cleaning the river on Aug 13 while we secure the necessary permits from the authorities to allow us to access the river and assist in any further cleaning efforts during this current movement control order (MCO).”
Heineken Malaysia’s experience
On a happier note, Heineken Malaysia Bhd recently announced that it has achieved a significant sustainability milestone on Aug 11 with an achievement of balancing more than 100% of water used in its products in 2020.
This marks significant progress made by the brewer in line with its Every Drop water strategy, achieving its 2030 target on Water Stewardship 10 years ahead of the goal.
“Our efforts in protecting our water resources over the years have enabled us to fully balance water used to brew our beers and ciders,” Heineken Malaysia’s managing director Roland Bala pointed out. “We have an ambitious target to balance 1.5 litres for every one litre of water used in making our products.”
Through initiatives like river and peatland conservation, rainwater harvesting, reforestation, and other community initiatives, Heineken Malaysia achieved 267% versus its water balancing target in 2020.
The brewer’s water balancing achievements are quantified in line with international industry-standard methodologies consistent with the Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting framework published by the World Resources Institute.
The results are independently validated and verified by LimnoTech, a leading international environmental science and engineering firm based in the US. – Aug 15, 2021
