increase font size
Kuala Lumpur, 10 August 2022 – Samling has emerged as the top ranked Malaysian timber-related company in the annual global assessment report conducted by SPOTT which covered 100 timber-related companies worldwide across 179 ESG indicators.
Placing at a creditable 13th place, Samling’s score of 58.3% was an improvement of 1.4% over its previous score of 56.9%. Samling was one of only 28 companies which recorded an improved score from the previous year.
“Considering that the average improved score was 1.94% for the 28 companies, we realise that while we are progressing, we need to improve further. For instance, while we have a clear Sustainability Policy, we are still working on applying that policy to all our suppliers,” said Samling CEO Lawrence Chia.
What was especially striking about Samling’s assessment was the fact that its score of 58.3% was double that of the next ranked local company, Golden Pharos which placed 30th with a score of 29%.
The annual SPOTT rankings are essentially an assessment of a company’s level of transparency in relation to ESG issues, with companies being scored according to three main disclosure types, namely organisation, policy and practice. Each company receives a percentage score based on 179 indicators which are grouped into 10 separate categories to benchmark their progress over time.
“We continue to make progress in our ESG journey and part of this is being more transparent about our activities, and this is reflected in our ever-improving scores on SPOTT,” said Chia.
“In our first year of assessment in 2020, our score was 50.5%. That was also when we embarked in a major way on our sustainability journey, a big part of which was the transformation of our timber operations.
“We increased the use of plantation logs for timber products and this year, we launched our biomass production line also utilising plantation logs, while reducing harvesting of natural timber,” he said.
Samling is also working towards full certification of all its Forest Management Units by 2024 in accord with the Forestry Policy and Goals on Certification and Conservation of the Sarawak state government.
Fully aware of how important the ESG journey is given the greater awareness and commitment from not only governments, but financiers, investors, and the general public as a whole, Samling has brought on board subject matter experts which covers not merely compliance issues but also reporting matters so that Samling’s efforts are reported in a timely and accurate manner.
Chia gave the example of Samling’s HCV and HCS assessments where the company is working towards making publicly available all its assessment reports.
The overwhelming importance placed on the reporting of ESG compliance and sustainability measures for all industries worldwide has also made Samling realise that it can no longer operate in a closed manner but realises the importance of finding the right balance between making public its ESG and sustainability efforts and over-selling.
While there is a need to inform stakeholders of its efforts, Samling also knows that only real and tangible change will lend greater credence to these efforts.
“Our sustainability journey is a continuous effort, and we will incorporate more measures in meeting our goals and those of all our stakeholders as well,” Chia added.