Sime Darby Plantation | Bursa Top 20 Companies: Who’s The Most Charitable?

BURSA TOP 20: WHO'S THE MOST CHARITABLE?

How Malaysia's Biggest Public Companies Give Back To Society?

Sime Darby Plantation Berhad

Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (SDP) operates in a complex business environment across 13 countries and engages in the full spectrum of the palm oil value chain. SDP’s approach to sustainability embraces and contributes to the United Nations’ global goals, or Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relevant to their business.

SDP is focused on mainly four material issues; Responsible Agriculture, Commitment to People, Responsible Sourcing, Governance & Engagement. One of the sustainability targets met by SDP Malaysia is the development of the Conservation and Biodiversity Area initiative to classify areas and programmes for protection, connection, and restoration.

Fiscal Year-End: 31 December 2021

Industry: Plantation

Net Profit: RM2.26 billion

Net profit during FY2021 was 90% higher at RM2.257 billion compared to RM1.185 billion from the previous financial year.

Dividend Payout: RM1.13 billion

A total dividend payout of 20.28 sen per share for FY2021, which represents 60% of the Group’s recurring net earnings.

Cash Donations: RM13.71 million

Total cash contributions made by SDP during FY2021, as found in their sustainability report, is RM13.71 million which is approximately 0.61% of the Group’s net income.

In-kind Giving: RM25.47 million

Total in-kind contributions made by SDP was approximately RM25.47 million, equivalent to 1.13% of the Group’s total net profit.

Employee Volunteer Hours: N/A

No employee volunteer hours were reported by Sime Darby Plantation Berhad.

Sime Darby Plantation Berhad:
Cash, In-Kind and Employee Volunteer Hours

No.	Contribution	Cash Giving	In-kind Giving	Employee Volunteer Hours	Beneficiaries
1	Contribution to Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD)	RM10M	N/A	N/A	Beneficiaries	In Malaysia, SDP has donated approximately MYR10 million to YSD which represents approximate 50% of the MYR20 million used by YSD in their COVID-19 emergency relief work since 2020.
2	Kami Prihatin (We Care) campaign	N/A	6,850 food baskets and 8,000 sembako	N/A	Impacted communities	SDP distributed 6,850 food baskets to all communities as part of a Kami Prihatin (We Care) campaign from July to December 2021 while also supporting local governments and providing rice packages through the Musi Banyuasin Regency Government where over 8,000 sembako or subsidised basic goods packages were distributed to impacted communities around SDP's Indonesian operations.
3	Covid-19 relief initiative: Providing access to medical care	N/A	Supported vaccination drive and provided 51 ventilators	N/A	Individuals with special needs and 12 hospitals	SDP provided support to government healthcare facilities and medical care for workers and their communties in Malaysia. The initiatives include collaborating with government to launch a five-month vaccination drive for individuals with special needs, providing 51 ventilators to 12 general hospitals in Peninsular Malaysia in partnership with Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD).
4	Covid-19 relief initiative: Providing access to medical care	N/A	Financial support, spraying disinfectant and hand-washing stations	N/A	Clinic and health authorities	SDP provided support to government healthcare facilities and medical care for workers and their communties in Pappa New Guinea. The initiatives include providing financial support to clinics and health authorities and spraying disinfectant as well as providing hand washing stations.
5	Covid-19 relief initiative: Providing access to medical care	N/A	Medical equipment and blood donation drives	N/A	Health workers	SDP provided support to government healthcare facilities and medical care for workers and their communties in Indonesia. The initiatives included donating medical equipment to health workers in Lawang Wetan and holding blood donation drives.
6	CERDIK Fund	N/A	Laptops, tablets, and internet connectivity	N/A	1,986 students	SDP Malaysia contributed to the CERDIK Education Fund (Tabung CERDIK) together with Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) by providing 1,986 school children from the B40 community, living in and around SDP operation areas with laptops, tablets, and internet connectivity to support digital access to education.
7	Covid-19 contributions	N/A	Contributions worth RM7.52M	N/A	Beneficiaries	SDP Malaysia contributed RM 1,027,500 worth of food baskets, RM 4,500,000 of in-kind contributions and another RM 2,000,000 to government initiatives for COVID-19 relief efforts during FY2021.
8	Covid-19 contributions	N/A	Contributions worth RM2.33M	N/A	Beneficiaries	Miniamas contributed RM 184,800 worth of food baskets and a total of RM 2,145,500 in in-kind efforts.
9	Covid-19 contributions	RM860k	Contributions worth RM1.31M	N/A	Beneficiaries	New Britain Palm Oil Limited contributed RM 860,170 in monetary support and RM 1,314,200 worth of in-kind contributions.
10	Providing access to education	N/A	53 schools, 42 kindergartens, 105 daycare centres and transportation	N/A	Children in plantations and those from surrounding communities	Across all operations, SDP built and operate 53 schools for children at their plantations and those from surrounding communities in Indonesia and Pappa New Guinea. SDP also provide transportation and ensure access to government-run and third-party schools, including institutions run by the Humana Child Aid Society and the Indonesian embassy in Malaysia. In Indonesia and Malaysia, we operate 42 kindergartens and 105 daycare centres.
11	Supporting landowners in Pappa New Guinea and Solomon Islands	N/A	Training programmes	N/A	Landowners	In Pappa New Guinea and Solomon Islands, SDP maintains a participatory approach to land-use planning by supporting landowners with training programmes on practical issues such as intercropping, sound agricultural practices and financial literacy.
12	Flood relief efforts	N/A	Essential items and assistance	N/A	Flood victims, flood-impacted workers, 950 individuals and 4 schools	SDP, together with Yayasan Sime Darby, provided aid and assistance such as food supplies and essential items, medical attention, and other on-the-ground aid to meet the immediate needs of flood victims. SDP supplied aid to flood-impacted workers within their operations and surrounding community members by ensuring their well-being and providing for their immediate needs. As of December 2021, SDP has delivered assistance to over 950 of those in affected areas, including 74 families in Kampung Sg. Kurau. SDP also identified 4 schools in Carey Island for post-flood relief efforts.
13	Supporting children’s education in Indonesia	N/A	Scholarships worth IDR500M since 2020	N/A	34 students	Minamas awarded 6 students a year with full scholarships amounting to IDR250 million through their Minamas Cares programme allowing students to pursue palm oil industry-related tertiary studies. In 2021, we allocated an equal amount of funding to pay the tuition fees of 25 deserving students.
14	DMCA reward programme	N/A	Fire equipment and development initiatives	N/A	Village community	Minamas supported the Desa Mandiri Cegah Api (DMCA) reward programme in Indonesia, an annual incentive-based programme where SDP provides non-monetary support, including fire equipment and infrastructure and economic development initiatives to community members in villages that remain fire-free.
15	Guru Peduli Api fire educator programme	N/A	Training programmes	N/A	750 educators from 70 schools	The Guru Peduli Api fire educator programme trains educators around SDP's operational areas to share their fire prevention knowledge with youth at schools. In July 2021, they held a training seminar for more than 750 educators from 70 kindergartens and primary and secondary schools to provide better guidance on the importance of environmental preservation and the dangers of forest and land fires.
16	Forest restoration	N/A	1,892,182 trees planted as of December 2021, 2 restoration initiatives and research programme	N/A	Beneficiaries	Together with government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), research institutes, universities, local communities and customers, SDP have collectively and cumulatively planted 1,892,182 trees as of December 2021 across all operations. SDP completed 2 more restoration initiatives in Malaysia in 2020 and 2021, Project RELeaf with Nestlé Malaysia in Kinabatangan, Sabah, and a research programme in Sarawak to restore a riparian reserve in Rajawali and Semarak.
17	Conserving the Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing Butterfly	N/A	Laboratory, flight cages and foodplant nurseries	N/A	Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Butterfly (QABB)	With support from the Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD), SDP built and equipped a dedicated laboratory, flight cages and foodplant nurseries within their residential and operations compound in an attempt to breed the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Butterfly (QABB).
18	Rehabilitating riparian area		200 points planted	N/A	SDP’s Segaliud estate	SDP and the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) rehabilitated a riparian area within a conservation area at SDP’s Segaliud estate with orangutan food plants by planting about 200 points during FY2021.
19	Managing human-elephant conflict	RM2.85M	N/A	N/A	Beneficiaries	SDP, Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD), Management and Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME), and the University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) have jointly conducted human-elephant conflict research and built scholarly capacity and public awareness to mitigate the social, economic and conservation impacts of human-elephant conflicts in Malaysia since 2011. SDP also published the SOP for Human Wildlife Conflict Mitigation to guide the management of human-wildlife conflicts at SDP-owned and adjacent oil palm plantations, and other third parties, including researchers, academics and NGOs. Yayasan Sime Darby has committed MYR2.85 million to support MEME from 2020 to 2022 in its efforts to develop conflict management approaches that cater to smallholders.
20	Sanctuary for the Santa Cruz Ground Dove in Solomon Islands	N/A	Land donated, construct facility, basic amenities and in-kind support	N/A	Santa Cruz ground doves	In 2020, NBPOL partnered with the Toledo Zoo to build and run a conservation breeding centre for Santa Cruz ground doves, a bird species native to a small island in the Solomon Islands at serious risk of extinction. NBPOL donated an area of land in Tetere to construct the facility and agreed to provide basic amenities and other in-kind support to the project.
21	Supporting smallholders through financial literacy	N/A	Training programmes	N/A	Local communities, smallholder and landowner groups	NBPOL sites carry out programmes with local communities on land use planning, gender empowerment, and sharing best practices to equip farmers with skills and knowledge to manage their oil palm blocks and improve their livelihoods. One of the programme provides financial literacy support to smallholders and landowner groups that covers topics such as budgeting, financial planning, sound financial practices, and banking. NBPOL also facilitate the opening of personal bank accounts for interested members.
22	Improving the socioeconomic status of smallholders	N/A	Research study and technical advisory	N/A	Smallholders	NBPOL collaborates with the PNG Oil Palm Research Association’s (PNGOPRA) Smallholder and Socioeconomic Research Division to conduct extensive research and provide technical advisory services to smallholders. This includes conducting research on fertiliser programmes to maximise yields for smallholders, understanding the effectiveness of smallholder training on best management practices provided by SDP, and understanding smallholders’ income and expenditure patterns.

1. The numerical value for total cash and in-kind giving was calculated based on individual monetary mentions in the Annual and Sustainability report.

2. The information above is derived from Sime Darby Plantation Berhad’s 2021 Annual and Sustainability Report. Email correspondence was made between between 8 July – 3 August 2022 to seek further clarification, however no reply was received.