WILMAR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Singapore/Malaysia, 30 March 2016 -- Wilmar International Limited (Wilmar) and the South East Asian Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance the knowledge and application of sustainable plantation practices in Malaysia, Indonesia and the wider tropics.
Under the MoU, Wilmar and SEARRP will establish a five-year research and training programme. Both parties commit to support and facilitate research by academics from many leading universities (including the UK universities of York, Oxford, Cambridge, Leeds, Nottingham and Aberdeen and Universiti Malaysia Sabah) with a strong focus on biodiversity conservation and the management of conservation areas within an oil palm plantation landscape. Wilmar and SEARRP will also work together to develop simplified methods for environmental assessment and monitoring. By deepening the partnership between a leading palm oil processor and one of the foremost research programmes in the tropics, Wilmar and SEARRP aim to make a major contribution to science which is critical to underpinning conservation, sustainability and environmental best practices for the palm oil industry.
"Wilmar is pleased to expand our collaboration with the SEARRP - one of our longstanding environmental partners. A number of studies on similar areas may have been undertaken in the past but with this partnership, we aim to further what we have accomplished so far by developing implementable actions that can eventually be shared with and applied to all plantation companies, as part of Wilmar's commitment to
accelerate market transformation for palm oil," said Jeremy Goon, Wilmar's Chief Sustainability Officer.
Dr Glen Reynolds, SEARRP's Director, said, "Our partnership with Wilmar provides a great opportunity for the outputs of SEARRP science to directly contribute not only to the development of best practice on Wilmar's own estates - but also to sector-wide policies intended to improve sustainability. In Wilmar we have a partner that is happy to support robust, independent field science and, importantly, to publicise research findings to the wider plantation industry. I'm delighted to sign this agreement with Jeremy and my colleagues and I are looking forward to making our partnership an even greater success in the future."
Wilmar and SEARRP are no strangers to each other. Since 2006, the collaboration between both parties has resulted in insights into the impact and role of sustainably- managed palm oil plantations in supporting and maintaining forest biodiversity in and around the plantations. The partnership had also culminated in a workshop organised in 2015 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, entitled "Enhancing biodiversity conservation in the oil palm industry: Translating science into action". Among the key findings of the research were a proposed forest patch size which is viable for biodiversity conservation, the importance of forest quality to increase viability for conservation and the position of conservation area in relation to other intact forest areas in the landscape.
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About Wilmar International Limited (www.wilmar-international.com)
Wilmar International Limited, founded in 1991 and headquartered in Singapore, is today Asia's leading agribusiness group. Wilmar is ranked amongst the largest listed companies by market capitalisation on the Singapore Exchange.
Wilmar's business activities include oil palm cultivation, oilseed crushing, edible oils refining, sugar milling and refining, specialty fats, oleochemicals, biodiesel and fertiliser manufacturing as well as flour and rice milling. At the core of Wilmar's strategy is an integrated agribusiness model that encompasses the entire value chain of the agricultural commodity business, from cultivation, processing, merchandising to manufacturing of a wide range of branded agricultural products. It has over 500 manufacturing plants and an extensive distribution network covering China, India, Indonesia and some 50 other countries. The Group has a multinational workforce of about 92,000 people.
Wilmar's portfolio of high quality processed agricultural products is the preferred choice of consumers and the food manufacturing industry. Its consumer-packed products have a leading share in many Asian and African countries. Through scale, integration and the logistical advantages of its business model, Wilmar is able to extract margins at every step of the value chain, thereby reaping operational synergies and cost efficiencies. Wilmar is a firm advocate of sustainable growth and is committed to its role as a responsible corporate citizen.
About the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (www.searrp.org) SEARRP is a Sabah-based research programme established by the UK's Royal Society in 1985 and headquartered at the world-renowned Danum Valley Field Centre. SEARRP's mission is to enable and communicate world-class research that delivers transformative skills, sustainability and conservation impacts. Over the past 30 years SEARRP scientists have published over 550 journal articles that have made a seminal contribution to the understanding of rainforests and the sustainable management of plantation-dominated landscapes. SEARRP has also supported 150 students through Masters and PhD degrees, including more than 60 young Malaysian scientists.
Media ContactsWilmarIris Chan Corporate Communications Iris.chan@wilmar.com.sg | SEARRP Katie King Assistant Director for Partnerships katie@searrp.org |
Wilmar International Limited issued this content on 30 March 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 30 March 2016 04:26:02 UTC
Original Document: http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/16/164878/News_Release_Wilmar_and_SEARRP_signs_MoU_30_March2016.pdf
