Sustainability in Malaysian Palm Oil: A Review on Manufacturing Perspective

Abdullah, Ilyana; Mahmood, Wan Mohd Faizal Wan; Fauadi, Muhammad Hafidz Fazli Md; Rahman, Mohd Nizam Ab; Ahmad, Fathiyah

doi:10.15244/pjoes/37888

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…In recent years, palm oil use has become the subject of several controversies and has been widely criticized on various sustainability grounds due to the severe pollution and destruction of natural resources that have been the consequences of palm oil production processes (Abdullah et al, 2015a;Oosterveer, 2014). The process of palm oil milling uses large quantities of water and generates large amounts of solid waste in the forms of empty fruit bunches (EFBs), fibres and palm shells, palm kernel endocarp and palm kernel press cake.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable manufacturing practices in Malaysian palm oil mills

Abdullah

Mahmood

Fauadi

et al. 2017

JMTM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation of sustainable manufacturing practices in Malaysian palm oil mills (POMs) by comparing the status of their current achievements and the levels of priority placed on their practices. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was used to collect data about 20 sustainable manufacturing practices from 51 POMs located in Malaysia. A five-point Likert scale was considered for recording variations in priorities and current practices with regard to sustainable manufacturing. A Cronbach’s α reliability test and a binomial test were undertaken to assess the internal consistency and the validity of the survey data. Spearman’s ρ correlation analysis was employed to determine the linear correlation between each of the sustainability practices identified. Factor analysis was conducted to reduce the number of sustainable manufacturing practices based on factor loading and to derive a clustering of these factors. Findings The results showed that employees’ well-being has the highest level in terms of both priority and current achievement. However, for other sustainable manufacturing practices, there was a difference where the current achievement of these practices in the Malaysian POMs was seen to be slightly lower than the priority given to them. Strong correlation of significant value was observed between the minimization of production waste and pollution prevention practices. From factor analysis, 15 practices of high factor loading were grouped into a proactive sustainability strategy and a preventive sustainability strategy. Research limitations/implications The study was still relatively exploratory. Future studies could investigate the barriers to the implementation of sustainable manufacturing practices at Malaysian POMs. The sample, which consisted of 51 Malaysian POMs, represented an important sector of the Malaysian economy. Reliance on stated, rather than revealed, preferences may limit the implications of the analysis undertaken for this study, but it does represent a major step forward in understanding the past in what was a highly recommended sector for investigation due to the paucity of extant data. A more broadly based, random sample of POMs from other countries would provide a better understanding of issues related to sustainable manufacturing practices. Practical implications The results of this study can be used by practitioners to adjust the sustainable manufacturing practices currently applied and further studies may go on to examine the reasons and implications for discrepancies between priorities and desired sustainability goals in more detail. Originality/value The survey conducted about sustainable manufacturing practices amongst Malaysian POMs was focussed on the three dimensions of sustainability, namely, the economic, environmental, and social elements involved.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable manufacturing practices in Malaysian palm oil mills

Abdullah

Mahmood

Fauadi

et al. 2017

JMTM

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…It has been defined by several authors, as asserted by Morelli (2011), as a natural system on human impact, and it is an "ecological subset" (Vivian et al 2006;Morelli 2011). More specifically, sustainable manufacturing practices in Malaysia involve several dimensions of environmental conservations with their factors, such as environment legislation compliance with international standard (ISO 14001), green policies (KETTHA), Malaysian standards and regulations, carbon footprint labeling policy, waste management and pollution control with reverse logistic, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Green House Gas emissions (GHGE), technological advancement with waste treatment and energy generation (Abdullah et al 2015b). Previous studies on improving sustainability in palm oil milling have been conducted in the area of environmental impacts of palm oil production (Shirai et al 2003), renewable energy applications of palm oil (Yusoff 2006), utilization of palm oil waste, wastewater treatment, and sustainable development and practices as detailed in the current research on the POM (Zhang et al 2019).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sustainability of the palm oil mills is mainly defined by the combination of environment and social and economic aspects (Abdullah et al 2015b). In this study, the environmental aspects were discussed only because of its significance for palm oil processing mills.…”

Section: Variables Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental sustainability practices among palm oil millers

Begum

Alam

et al. 2019

Clean Techn Environ Policy

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Considering the global palm oil production, it can be identified as the second largest vegetable oil. Palm oil is a natural resource that is favorable for the Malaysian climate. In 2017, Malaysia had a total of 454 palm oil mills with a production capacity of approximately 112 million tonnes of fresh fruit bunches. A sustainable environment denotes high income, value addition and zero waste. Nonetheless, palm oil mills are being associated with the discharge of untreated effluent water stream pollution, solid wastes, air pollution, etc. The important objective of this study is to measure the level of sustainable environmental practices parameters and awareness of millers. The primary data were collected through questionnaire survey and interviews from 71 millers in Malaysia. This study used confirmatory factor analysis to describe the relationships between the environmental parameters for measuring environment sustainability. This study found that most of the millers employ positive practices for environmental sustainability, and the highest environment parameter is disposal of solid wastes. However, this study can be implemented in Malaysian palm oil mills for identifying the lowest parameters. This study suggested to the industries that the new national sustainable policies for palm oil mills, especially for small and medium players, may enhance the environmental parameters.

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“…The palm oil processing industry is well developed in Malaysia, where companies maintain higher comparative advantage based on their efficiency (Abdullah et al 2015). Indonesian companies have been able to slowly expand their palm oil refining capacity over time, thanks to government incentives aimed at capturing more of the added value from manufacturing in the country.…”

Section: Structure Of the Global Palm Oil Value Chains 231 Main Buymentioning

confidence: 99%