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This paper presents the sustainability implications of installing biogas trapping systems in palm oil mills of a crude palm oil production supply chains in Malaysia. The study evaluates the impact of this mitigation strategy on the existing supply chains published by Lim and Biswas. The experience of a local palm oil mill installed with the KUBOTA biogas trapping system was incorporated into a typical 60 metric tonne per hour palm oil mill for effluent treatment. This allowed us to assess the changes in sustainability performance of the whole crude palm oil supply chain using the Palm Oil Sustainability Assessment (POSA) framework. Installing the biogas trapping system increased waste recycling and reuse percentage of the mill from 81.81% to 99.99% and the energy ratio (energy output/fossil fuel and biomass energy input) from 2.45 to 2.56; and reduced the Greenhouse Gas emission of the supply chain from 0.814 tonne CO2eq to 0.196 tonne CO2eq per tonne of Crude Palm Oil. This system could also potentially increase the mill’s annual revenue by 2.3%, while sacrificing the sustainability performance of other economic indicators (i.e., a further 3% negative deviation of actual growth rate from sustainable growth rate). Overall, sustainability score of the supply chain improved from 3.47/5 to 3.59/5 on the 5-level-Likert-scale due to environmental improvement strategy consideration. Finally, this paper shows that the POSA framework is capable of capturing changes in the sustainability performance of triple bottom line indicators associated with the use or incorporation of any improvement strategy in the crude palm oil supply chain.
Chye Ing Lim; Wahidul K. Biswas. Sustainability Implications of the Incorporation of a Biogas Trapping System into a Conventional Crude Palm Oil Supply Chain. Sustainability 2019, 11, 792 .
AMA StyleChye Ing Lim, Wahidul K. Biswas. Sustainability Implications of the Incorporation of a Biogas Trapping System into a Conventional Crude Palm Oil Supply Chain. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (3):792.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChye Ing Lim; Wahidul K. Biswas. 2019. "Sustainability Implications of the Incorporation of a Biogas Trapping System into a Conventional Crude Palm Oil Supply Chain." Sustainability 11, no. 3: 792.
The sustainability of production is one of the greatest challenges experienced by the Malaysian palm oil industry. Palm oil products consistently receive negative press and criticism, for causing deforestation, land use changes, peat land conversion, species loss, greenhouse gas emissions, biomass waste generation, violation of indigenous people's rights and limited local employment. This paper evaluates the sustainability of the most common crude palm oil supply chain in Malaysia, located in Sarawak, using the Palm Oil Sustainability Assessment (POSA) framework. The results show that the overall sustainability score for a typical crude palm oil supply chain in Malaysia is 3.47/5, which is below the sustainability target of 5/5. Hotspots identified include smallholder inequity, lack of biomass waste recycling and recovery, improper plantation practices, lower average wages and local employment. The site‐specific application of the POSA framework in the current study demonstrates its potential to be used universally across Malaysia.
Chye Ing Lim; Wahidul Biswas. Sustainability assessment for crude palm oil production in Malaysia using the palm oil sustainability assessment framework. Sustainable Development 2018, 27, 253 -269.
AMA StyleChye Ing Lim, Wahidul Biswas. Sustainability assessment for crude palm oil production in Malaysia using the palm oil sustainability assessment framework. Sustainable Development. 2018; 27 (3):253-269.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChye Ing Lim; Wahidul Biswas. 2018. "Sustainability assessment for crude palm oil production in Malaysia using the palm oil sustainability assessment framework." Sustainable Development 27, no. 3: 253-269.
The production of crude palm oil has environmental, economic and social implications. A sustainability assessment framework is needed to improve the sustainability performance of crude palm oil production in a carbon-constrained economy. The objective of this paper is to develop Performance Measures for triple bottom line assessment in the Malaysian palm oil industry, which includes Key Performance Indicators and Higher Performance Indicators for implementing the sustainability assessment framework. The Performance Measures of the triple bottom line assessment were built on the framework of Lim and Biswas (Sustainability 7(12):16561–16587, 2015). The measures were further developed through a participatory approach involving stakeholders and area experts, including Government, Industry, Academia and Local Smallholders/Non-Government Organisations. The developed framework presents a final list of Performance Measures, Key Performance Indicators and Higher Performance Indicators using a structured process and introduces weighting factors to the indicators to reflect the difference in the perceived level of importance. The calculation methods of the assessment framework were verified, and finally, the framework was tested using hypothetical data.
Chye Ing Lim; Wahidul K. Biswas. Development of triple bottom line indicators for sustainability assessment framework of Malaysian palm oil industry. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy 2017, 20, 539 -560.
AMA StyleChye Ing Lim, Wahidul K. Biswas. Development of triple bottom line indicators for sustainability assessment framework of Malaysian palm oil industry. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. 2017; 20 (3):539-560.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChye Ing Lim; Wahidul K. Biswas. 2017. "Development of triple bottom line indicators for sustainability assessment framework of Malaysian palm oil industry." Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy 20, no. 3: 539-560.
Palm oil based biodiesel offers an alternative energy source that can reduce current dependence on conventional fossil fuels and may reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions depending on the type of feedstock and processes used. In the Malaysian context, the palm oil industry not only provides high-yield, renewable feedstock to the world, it brings socio-economic development to the Malaysian rural community and contributes to the national income. However, the sustainability of palm oil remains controversial, due to deforestation, pollution and social conflicts associated with its production. Sustainability assessment is vital for the palm oil industry to identify weaknesses, improve its sustainability performance and improve consumer confidence. This paper proposes a holistic sustainability assessment framework for palm oil production with the aim to address the weaknesses of existing palm oil sustainability assessment methods. It identifies environmental, social and economic Headline Performance Indicators, Key Performance Indicators and their Performance Measures in crude palm oil production in a structured framework. Each quantitative/semi-quantitative performance measure is translated into Likert Scale of 1–5, where 3 is the threshold value, 5 is the ideal condition, and 1 is the worst case scenario. Calculation methods were established for the framework to provide quantitative assessment results. The framework was tested using a hypothetical example with data from existing studies. The results suggest that crude palm oil production in Malaysia is below the sustainability threshold. Evaluations of this sustainability assessment framework also demonstrate that it is a comprehensive assessment method for assessing sustainability of feedstock for biofuel production.
Chye Ing Lim; Wahidul Biswas. An Evaluation of Holistic Sustainability Assessment Framework for Palm Oil Production in Malaysia. Sustainability 2015, 7, 16561 -16587.
AMA StyleChye Ing Lim, Wahidul Biswas. An Evaluation of Holistic Sustainability Assessment Framework for Palm Oil Production in Malaysia. Sustainability. 2015; 7 (12):16561-16587.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChye Ing Lim; Wahidul Biswas. 2015. "An Evaluation of Holistic Sustainability Assessment Framework for Palm Oil Production in Malaysia." Sustainability 7, no. 12: 16561-16587.
Malaysia is the second largest palm oil producer in the world. Palm oil production contributes to 6.4% of its gross national income and is important to the socio-economic growth of the country. Palm oil is cheap, high-yield and versatile in various applications. However, the Malaysian palm oil industries are facing enormous challenges due to environmental criticism from pressure groups, green consumerism and increasingly stringent sustainability criterion of importing countries. As a result, various assessment methods have been applied to assess the sustainability performance of palm oil production in Malaysia. This paper reviews how the stakeholders define sustainable palm oil, the effectiveness of existing sustainability assessment through tools (e.g. LCA), standards (e.g. ISPO, ISCC) and legislative requirements (RFS2, REDcert) to identify gaps and barriers to achieve environmental, economic and social objectives of sustainable palm oil production. The gaps and barriers identified would be the basis for developing a holistic framework to attain sustainable palm oil production in Malaysia
Chye Ing Lim; Wahidul Biswas; Yudi Samyudia. Review of Existing Sustainability Assessment Methods for Malaysian Palm Oil Production. Procedia CIRP 2015, 26, 13 -18.
AMA StyleChye Ing Lim, Wahidul Biswas, Yudi Samyudia. Review of Existing Sustainability Assessment Methods for Malaysian Palm Oil Production. Procedia CIRP. 2015; 26 ():13-18.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChye Ing Lim; Wahidul Biswas; Yudi Samyudia. 2015. "Review of Existing Sustainability Assessment Methods for Malaysian Palm Oil Production." Procedia CIRP 26, no. : 13-18.