Nestlé Malaysia's Reforestation Efforts Make Further Progress

Nestlé Malaysia's reforestation efforts have reached another remarkable milestone, with the successful planting of 2.8 million trees through the ongoing Project RELeaf and the previously accomplished Project RiLeaf. Notably, Project RELeaf alone has reached 1.8 million trees. These achievements align with the Company's goal of planting 4 million trees throughout Malaysia by 2025, resulting in an estimated carbon sequestration of 700,000 tonnes of CO2.

To further accelerate these efforts, the Company continued to carry out its annual Nationwide Tree Planting event, where over 400 dedicated Nestlé Cares volunteers and representatives from partners Sime Darby Plantation and TDM Plantation, joined hands to plant a total of 5,000 trees in five locations across the nation, namely Kuala Selangor Nature Park; SDP North Labis, Johor, SDP Tiger Estate Tawau, Sabah; TDM Plantation, Terengganu; and Perlis State Forestry Department. 

Mr. Juan Aranols, Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad said, “Reflecting on our journey, we are proud of the progress we have made in our reforestation efforts. The cumulated planting of 2.8 million trees marks a significant milestone in our ESG journey, and our work today reflects our continued dedication to further our Forest Positive strategy in safeguarding Malaysia's precious ecosystems. We are now setting our sights on the planting of the remaining 1.2 million trees through Project RELeaf by the first half of 2025, contributing to our overarching target of 4 million trees. We would also like to express our gratitude to our esteemed partners Sime Darby Plantation, TDM Plantation and the Malaysian Nature Society for their unwavering support in our reforestation initiative.”

Nestlé Malaysia’s Project RELeaf name is guided by the 3”Rs” – REforest, REstore and REspect. Through this project, the Company aims to reforest wildlife corridors to connect fragmented forests to mitigate human-animal conflict and protect wildlife habitat, restore riparian buffer zones to minimise water contamination due to soil sediments and agricultural run-offs, and importantly, respect and support the positive transformation of local communities. 

Hand-in-hand with environmental stewardship, Project RELeaf also supports the livelihoods of local farmers and Orang Asli communities, particularly women, in both Kinabatangan, Sabah, and throughout Peninsular Malaysia. This is achieved by providing training aimed at capacity building while enhancing their awareness of the importance of environmental conservation. Among others, this includes activities such as planting and nurturing seedlings, overseeing their transfer to planting sites and tending to the planted trees. To date, Nestlé Malaysia has engaged more than 90 local communities in seedling production and more than 120 local communities in tree planting. 

Alongside engaging local communities, this time around the nationwide tree planting event also served as a training ground, taking a hands-on approach to equip employees with the necessary knowledge about reforestation and planting methods. The objective is not only to enhance their understanding of reforestation but also to foster a sustainability mindset within the organisation.

"We at Nestlé Malaysia, truly appreciate the importance of reforestation and the respect for nature. It is our hope that by participating in this tree planting event, all of us will inspire others to get involved in environmental stewardship. By fostering a culture of sustainability, we aim to create lasting positive impact on the environment and the communities we serve,” concluded Aranols.