Achieving Plastic Sustainability Through ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance)
The plastic manufacturing industry in Malaysia is a growing and dynamic sector that has brought wide ranging benefits to Malaysians with highly-diversified sector products such as automotive components, construction materials, housewares and packaging products. However, due to rapid urbanisation, plastic pollution has become a serious emerging issue and achieving sustainability has become a new goal.
What is ESG?
ESG or Environment, Social and Governance is a set of standards that is increasingly popular among socially-conscious investors which is used to screen potential investments of a company’s operation. With criterias such as the company’s use of renewable energy sources, and its waste management programme, investors apply these metrics as part of their analysis to determine risks and growth potential to screen potential investments
What does it mean for companies?
One emerging ESG factor is a company’s strategy for plastic management or its “plastic footprint,” meaning how much plastics a company contributes to the world’s plastic waste - in both products and incidental operations. Many companies, big or small,have put forth their ESG strategy to differentiate themselves from competitors to attract investments by improving their sustainability profile or reevaluating business plans in the context of ESG factors.
Action & contribution
At Gaia Plas, our action towards the ESG strategy lies in our product formulation. Innovating towards green technology in the polymer industry, we are working on manufacturing biodegradable jerrycans in the near future. Through incorporating biodegradable additives to our existing fully-HDPE jerrycan formulation, we aim to add biodegradable credentials in our productions.
In addition, we have also developed a formulation of biohybrid resin that can be customised with up to 40% of renewable plant-based material through our subsidiary company Gaia Greentech. eJau™ is an innovative biohybrid polymer resin derived from a combination of palm stearin and polyolefin. This recyclable resin aims to reduce the dependencies on petroleum-based plastic thus a sustainable approach for the plastic industry.
Gaia Plas strives to innovate in both manufacturing technologies and products development in order to stay relevant and get to the forefront of the industry. Visit www.gaiaplas.com for more about Gaia Plas.
