Environmental commitment
SIAT Nigeria Ltd (SNL) is fully committed to providing quality services in a manner that ensures a safe and healthy workplace and minimizes its potential impact on the environment. It will operate in compliance with all relevant environmental legislation and will strive to use pollution prevention and environmental best practices in all its operations.
Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
RSPO, Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil, is a non-profit organization that unites all stakeholders of the palm oil industry towards the development and implementation of a global standard for sustainable palm oil. SNL is in the process of being RSPO certified.
Obtaining the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Certification is of paramount importance to SIAT Nigeria Limited and the HSE department.
In a bid to fast track the process of obtaining the RSPO certification, a committee (RSPO committee) was set up. The committee is faced with the task of ensuring that SNL conforms to all RSPO principles and criteria which are relevant to its operation.
Currently, much effort has been put into this process, and it is hoped that the first RSPO audit will be conducted by Q1 2018.
Figure 1 SNL RSPO Committee Meeting
Why RSPO Certification at SNL?
Obtaining the RSPO certification is important for the following reasons;
-
It gives an assurance to buyers and customers of palm oil products that the standard of production is sustainable. This is important because of the growing global concern for commodities to be produced without causing harm to the environment or society.
-
RSPO had developed a set of principles and criteria which have helped to minimize the negative impacts arising from various social and environmental controversies which over the years, have been generated in the palm oil industry.
-
It ensures commitment to respect the rights of the land users, farm workers and the preservation of high conservation value (HCV) areas.
Waste Management
As a way of maintaining the company’s commitment to sustainability, the HSE department is putting in all necessary efforts to ensure that Siat Nigeria Limited maintains a healthy and sustainable environment. This is made possible via the development and implementation of a waste management plan.
As part of the implementation of the waste management plan, the HSE department has put the following processes in place.
-
Engaged the services of a waste management company to dispose its waste in accordance the regulatory standards.
-
Proper management of empty chemical containers and obsolete chemical products.
-
Conducted waste management training for staff and the primary school pupils to facilitate understanding of the various types of waste they generate and how to properly segregate the waste.
At SNL, wastes are classified into four groups with the aid of some colour coding.
Figure 2 Different colours of waste bins for waste segregation
Siat Nigeria's engagement towards RSPO