“As a corporation, we are aware, now more than ever, that the fate of the natural environment is deeply intertwined with our operations,” Datuk Lee Yeow Chor, the company’s group managing director and chief executive, said in its 2023 Sustainability Report.

“The balance of people, planet and prosperity plus partnership that we have continually emphasised becomes even more important in order to manage the intertwined risks posed by climate change, biodiversity loss, food security and social inequality,” said Lee.

Given its commitment to making sure that its business is sustainable in all aspects of environmental, social and governance (ESG), it is not surprising that the group, which has a global presence, emerged as a joint winner of The Edge Billion Ringgit Club’s Best CR Initiatives among Big Cap Companies of RM10 billion to RM40 billion market capitalisation.

In terms of the environment, after it introduced its Climate Change Action initiative (CCAi) back in 2019, it took steps to align the CCAi with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures framework that formed the basis for the group’s path towards decarbonising its business operations and building climate resilience. It aims to not only decarbonise its current activities but to also seek technologies and innovations to help design activities that will decarbonise future businesses and operations.

“I am happy to report that we are on track to meet our short-term target of a 40% greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction by 2025 for Scopes 1 and 2 (based on 2015 level). Following this consistent performance, the group launched its long-term target to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2040 for Scopes 1, 2 and 3,” Lee said in the group’s 2023 annual report.

As a pledge towards transparency and disclosure, the group further committed to the Science-based Target initiative in the category of Forest, Land and Agriculture in March this year, reiterating its commitment to zero deforestation and to develop verifiable science-based emission reduction targets.

On that note, the group has, in terms of biodiversity, been crafting strategies to enhance its role while monitoring its impact on the overall ecosystem in which it operates.

“On the social front, the group continues to protect its employees’ welfare and safety by implementing policies and guidelines such as the Worker’s Work Verification Guidelines and adhering to IOI’s Code of Conduct on Ethical Recruitment and Responsible Employment to protect the rights of our workforce. We also continued with the child education initiative to counter child labour which we launched in 2021,” Lee said.

The group has also, in FY2023, strengthened its sustainability governance by introducing a Board Sustainability Committee, chaired by an independent non-executive director, to enable the board to exercise better oversight over the group’s sustainability matters and ESG practices; and to ensure IOI’s activities and disclosures are in line with various local and global sustainability frameworks, standards and requirements it has committed to.

Meanwhile, in the more traditional sense of corporate social responsibility, IOI, via IOI Foundation — a charitable foundation formerly known as Yayasan Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng, named after its founder and funded by the group and its sister company, IOI Properties Group Bhd — has awarded more than 337 students with university scholarships and adopted more than 1,500 students under its Student Adoption Programme.

The foundation also operates Bargain Basement, a charity retail-based establishment that sells pre-loved items (as well as unused or excess goods) at affordable prices, with four outlets in Putrajaya, Selangor and Perak. In addition to that, the foundation has been sponsoring after-school science, technology, engineering and mathematics programmes in collaboration with Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.

“The group remains steadfast on building sustainable growth and is committed to the disciplined execution of its Five-Year Plan, despite the weaker external environment,” Lee said, referring to the plan initiated in March 2020 to steer the group’s progress from a cost-competitive palm oil producer to a high-value-added, diversified palm-based product producer. In its fourth year now, the plan is driven by priorities to build sustainable growth for the group.

“In pursuing these objectives, our team continues to uphold a values-centric culture based on the six IOI core values: integrity, commitment, team spirit, cost efficiency, innovation, and excellence in execution,” he added.