Kuala Lumpur, 15 September 2019 - We refer to the report by Mightyearth.org which alleged an occurrence of deforestation within Sime Darby Plantation’s (SDP) boundary at Derawan Estate in Bintulu, Sarawak between 19 February 2019 to 23 August 2019.
Pursuant to the report, our desktop verification on the coordinates (3.353, 113.39) showed that it falls outside of SDP’s operational area; approximately 100 meters away from our Rajawali Estate boundary. This was followed by an on- site verification which further confirmed that the deforested area mentioned in the report directed to a neighboring third party local agricultural company.
With this, we would like to clarify that this allegation is inaccurate and the investigation report has been submitted to Mighty Earth.
We would like to reiterate that as the world’s largest producer of certified sustainable palm oil, SDP strictly adheres to the No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation (NDPE) commitment as reflected in our Responsible Agriculture Charter and Human Rights Charter. SDP remains committed to our pledge to conduct business and operations responsibly by adhering to strict sustainability standards and best practices. For more information, please visit our website www.simedarbyplantation.com
(From left) Dato' Chang Khim Wah, Chief Executive Officer of Eco World Development Group Berhad; Norazhar Musa, Chief Executive Officer of NS Corporation; Dato’ Seri Aminuddin Harun, Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan; and Datuk Mohamad Helmy Othman Basha, Group Managing Director of SD Guthrie Berhad at the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony between NS Corporation, EcoWorld Development Group Berhad and SD Guthrie Berhad.