Once a broad stroke that encompasses ideas of conservation and general environmental wellbeing, sustainability has come to mean many different things in this day and age. "Reuse, reduce, recycle" now finds its aging adage in the backseat, making way for new solutions to more contemporary challenges.

Today, the broader societal concern about sustainability has grown from almost nothing in the 1990's to a now dominant global discourse, and major corporations worldwide are increasingly facing the challenge of meeting stakeholders' expectations. As a result, sustainability is now an essential ingredient for a company's longterm success.

Take it from FGV, Malaysia's leading global agribusiness and one of the world's largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO). When FGV thinks about sustainability, they think first about people and the ways in which communities can be empowered through effective and ethical practices.

"[We] define sustainability as a balanced approach among three components - People,Planet and Prosperity," says Dato' Zakaria Arshad, Group President and Chief Executive Officer of FGV. Today, the group's focus spans three core business sectors- Plantation, Sugar and Logistics & Others.

"Our group abides to strong and high sustainability principles, but is simultaneously accommodative to smallholders' capability to embrace sustainability principles," asserts Dato' Zakaria. FGV has also collaborated with SUHAKAM in an effort to enhance greater compliance to international human rights laws.

We speak to Dato' Zakaria on the fundamental practices on sustainability, and how FGV best bridges the gap between People, Planet and Prosperity.

Before good work is created, wellbeing must be fostered- and understanding the needs of employees is the building block to generating overall wellness and prosperity for both FGV and the community.

This is why by the end of 2018, FGV aims to set up new living quarters complete with basic amenities and facilities for both its foreign and local employees. Equipped with recreational spaces, places of worship, and security systems, these pockets of communities can thrive both in and outside of work.

Most importantly for FGV, each worker's living standards remain in strict compliance with Malaysian Labour Law. This means ramping up efforts to upgrade existing workers housing that will exceed local authority requirements, by adding infrastructure such as clean water supply, football fields, badminton courts, resting area and places of worship.

Basic needs covered, Dato' Zakaria stresses the importance of worker's welfare beyond physical amenities. In line with this, the group encourages its workers to engage in their downtime and are committed in providing them with various avenues and activities outside of work, such as sports activities, musical contests, Best Dormitory Contest, and religious talks-even for foreign workers-are just some of the many initiatives by FGV to uphold workers' welfare. Plus, foreign workers' national holidays are also taken into account, in an effort to truly understand and respect different cultures and practices within the worker community.

"They are the pulse of FGV, our plantation workers play the biggest role in determining our productivity," said Dato' Zakaria.

Another important aspect of health and safety is workers' benefits. In this light, FGV is committed to provide a comprehensive insurance coverage for its plantation workers that includes free medical check-ups and hospitalisation allowance. In addition, clinics can be found in many FGV estates to attend to any health concerns among plantation workers. In the absence of a clinic in the estate, the Group bears each transportation cost to the nearest local clinic or government hospital.

As part of strengthening FGV's compliance of basic human rights, foreign employees under FGV are also able to enjoy the same incentives as their local counterparts. Apart from housing and insurance benefits, Dato' Zakaria also stresses the importance of safeguarding employee's passports and identification. To avoid human rights allegations on labour exploitation, passports are kept at the estate's office in individual passport safe boxes that workers have keys to.

FGV also hopes to open up more channels of communication so that workers needs are well understood to further improve their livelihood. "To bring the gap closer between foreign workers and [our] head office, a Hotline number has been provided for them to voice out their complaints or to give any suggestions. As part of a Grievance Mechanism Framework, we provide avenues for them to channel their complaints without fear of repercussions," Dato' Zakaria adds.

On top of that, Dato' Zakaria stresses on the importance of empowering worker communities through training and education, believing they are imperative components for sustaining a proactive, innovative, and environmentally conscious workforce.

In line with this, FGV provides incentives for its key stakeholders such as plantation workers, FELDA settlers (smallholders), third party suppliers, and contractors across the Group to take part in customized training programmes.

Before being deployed to the field, each worker is required to undergo health and safety training modules on general health and safety, hazards at the workplace, personal protective equipment (PPE), and other training specific to their role to ensure better productivity as well as safety of the workers themselves.

"In an increasingly competitive market, these incentives will help FGV in attracting, retaining, motivating and rewarding more workers," asserts Dato' Zakaria, adding the target to have sufficient workers coming 2018 by exploring Indonesia's other regions besides Lombok, such as Maluku, Sulawesi, East Java and West Java."

"We will continue to strive to increase the involvement of locals in the plantation sector by improving their career development packages as well as the best benefits." says Dato' Zakaria.

As part of FGV's commitment to sustainability and the strict criteria imposed by the market to curb deforestation, habitat destruction and labour exploitation, it becomes imperative that the Group engages with its key stakeholders in the palm oil value chain to keep them abreast with sustainability issues, while striving for longterm growth for the industry and community.

Since 2004, FGV has been a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) under a joint membership with Felda and were amongst the first few to test its Principles and Criteria for sustainable palm oil. In a gist, the RSPO develops, implements, verifies, and assures credible global standards for the entire supply chain of sustainable palm oil.

In 2010, the Felda Group became the first smallholder organisation in the world to achieve RSPO certification, and have in return certified 60,000 smallholders under FELDA's RSPO membership - almost one-third of the total certified smallholders, globally.

However, in May 2016, FGV voluntarily withdrew from RSPO P&C certificates to address sustainability issues in its supply chain. Ultimately, the group aims for all its 70 complexes to be 100 per cent RSPO certified under its own membership by 2021. In its effort, more than 7,000 settlers have attended the RSPO and the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) awareness programmes.

At present, Dato' Zakaria hopes to secure FGV's first RSPO certification for eight palm oil mill complexes by the end of 2017. "This will be a symbol of FGV's commitment towards sustainability, as we continue to collaborate with small holders by helping them to be certified for RSPO," Dato' Zakaria says.

There are at least 10 different species of Rafflesias in the world, two of which are endemic to Peninsula Malaysia. Specifically in Gerik, Perak, three species can be found enclosed around FELDA plantation land.

Realising its significance, FGV is cautious and adamant in taking steps to ensure that land is not cultivated at the expense of local communities or the environment. As an effort to uphold the longevity of Malaysia's prized Rafflesia, FGV collaborated with FELDA and Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) to establish the Rafflesia Conservation and Research Center (RCIC).

The first in Peninsula Malaysia, RCIC will be purpose-built in Gerik, Perak on 223 hectares of land for research and conservation of the Rafflesia species. It is scheduled to be completed in 2018.

This collaborative project is intended to serve as a one-stop centre for research, education and conservation of the endangered species of Rafflesia. Once completed, RCIC may also serve as a venue for international symposiums, workshops, colloquiums, environmental awareness programmes for both public and the scientific fraternity.

Apart from that, FGV has also collaborated with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN) in their efforts to establish the Sun Bear Conservation Programme (SBCP).

"Naturally, [we have to] take the accountability to initiate conservation efforts," Dato' Zakaria affirms." We realise that little has been done to understand these two species and coupled with lack of awareness amongst the general public, they may face the same fate as the Javan Rhino, Green Peafowl and few other species that have been lost in Malaysian territory."

The collaboration with PERHILITAN will encompass research efforts, rehabilitation of injured and orphaned bears, education and the establishment of Citizen Action Groups (CAG) that will act as the eyes and ears of enforcement agencies in controlling illegal hunting and poaching.

FGV has also engaged with the Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT) to collaborate on a 5-year project to facilitate wild life movement along the Kinabatangan corridor with a focus on Bornean Elephants and Orang Utan.

The project is a first of its kind with the aim to support the re-establishment, restoration and protection of key migratory routes for the wildlife to safely migrate within the lower Kinabatangan basin. Ultimately, the collaboration serves also to provide a sustainable alternative livelihood for the local communities living along the Kinabatangan River through a sustainable community eco-tourism program.

"In the past, communities went about their own business when working their plantations. However, the same methods used before by my parents are no longer sustainable," Dato' Zakaria expresses.

For Dato' Zakaria, change is merely constant, and for FGV, sustainability is an ongoing challenge to purposefully think about. When a corporation cares about its people, and treats the environment with utmost respect, prosperity is merely an open door away. All it takes is to keep the good work going.

Ramping up 2018, Dato' Zakaria aims to focus on enhancing various social and human rights elements within the group's own third-party supply chain. This move will also involve FGV's contractors and those who employ foreign workers.

"As a listed company, FGV is always focusing on maximising returns to shareholders that will directly impact the community," says Dato' Zakaria. "Now, with RSPO and many other sustainable standards, many old methods need to be replaced by new and better plantation management practices that are friendlier to the environment, socially acceptable and brings prosperity to all in a holistic manner."

FGV is a global agri-business leader which takes pride in driving sustainability awareness throughout its palm oil value chain. To find out more about who we are and what we do, visit www.feldaglobal.com.