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The pilot is part of WWF\u2019s initiative to restore\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Wildlife Connectivity Across Sabah\u00a0<\/strong> The pilot is part of WWF\u2019s initiative to restore\u00a0Wildlife Connectivity Across Sabah\u00a0 KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 (Bernama) —\u00a0World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) and SD Guthrie Berhad are piloting a five-year regenerative agriculture programme for palm oil in Sabah, Malaysia, the first such initiative of its kind for the industry. This transformational partnership is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,34],"tags":[63,62,61],"class_list":["post-6750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-general","tag-palmoil","tag-sdguthrie","tag-wwf"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6751,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6750\/revisions\/6751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 (Bernama) —<\/strong>\u00a0World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) and SD Guthrie Berhad are piloting a five-year regenerative agriculture programme for palm oil in Sabah, Malaysia, the first such initiative of its kind for the industry. This transformational partnership is part of WWF-Malaysia\u2019s larger initiative to deliver landscape-scale level biodiversity and climate-positive outcomes in the region.
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The partnership will focus on a landscape in Tawau, Sabah, covering approximately 13,000 hectares across five Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)-certified Guthrie estates. This initiative will serve as a pilot under WWF\u2019s Reconnect Borneo Initiative, which is a regional effort to restore ecological connectivity across Borneo through a network of wildlife corridors.
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As part of the collaboration, WWF-Malaysia and Guthrie will work together to establish a wildlife corridor, strengthen biodiversity conservation, and implement WWF\u2019s global regenerative palm oil framework, in real operating conditions. This initiative is designed to move beyond certification towards measurable improvements for biodiversity, climate resilience, and communities while optimising long-term productivity.
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The regenerative palm oil framework refers to palm oil production that remains commercially viable, supports workers and local communities, and actively improves biodiversity, ecosystem services, and climate resilience. It builds on existing sustainability standards, including RSPO and Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certifications. Success will be measured against clear baselines, with progress demonstrated through biodiversity connectivity, ecosystem services, soil health, and social outcomes.
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\u201cThrough this ground-breaking partnership, WWF-Malaysia and SD Guthrie are taking a decisive step to pilot regenerative palm oilpracticesand deliver landscape-scale biodiversity and climate outcomes in a priority area of Sabah,\u201d said Sophia Lim, WWF-Malaysia’s Chief Executive Officer.\u00a0<\/em>
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\u201cThese approaches go beyond RSPO and MSPO certification to deliver measurable improvements for biodiversity, climate resilience, and communities, while recognising the economic importance of palm oil to Malaysia and the global market. This partnership reflects a shared understanding that transformation cannot happen in silos\u2014conservation organisations, industry leaders, and value-chain stakeholders must work together to co-create practical, science-based, and scalable solutions. As a conservation organisation, WWF-Malaysia believes\u00a0in engaging constructively with the palm oil sector, alongside other priority industries to drive meaningful environmental outcomes.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>
For Guthrie, the collaboration reinforces its \u201cBeyond Zero\u201d sustainability framework, which lists piloting a Regenerative Agriculture Framework for the palm oil sector by 2028 as a key goal. Guthrie had also committed to restoring and conserving 100,000 hectares of land across and beyond its value chain by 2030 to enhance biodiversity and environmental resilience, which resonates with WWF\u2019s landscape-level initiative for biodiversity.\u00a0
\u201cWe are excited to commence this pilot for regenerative palm oil with WWF and look forward to new learnings that will improve the way we interact with the environment,\u201d said Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad, Guthrie\u2019s Group Managing Director.
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\u201cThis partnership reflects Guthrie\u2019s commitment to achieve our \u201cBeyond Zero\u201d targets in a practical and credible way, while boosting productive and responsible palm oil operations., With this initiative, we will go above and beyond certification requirements, aiming not only to minimise and mitigate our negative impacts, but also ensure that we actively cultivate positive outcomes in the landscapes where we operate.\u201d<\/em>
Activities under the collaboration include RSPO- and MSPO-certified plantations and conservation areas and will be subject to independent audits, risk reviews, and WWF governance controls. Future communications related to the partnership will focus on verified conservation baselines and outcomes.\u00a0\u00a0
Designed as a pilot, the partnership has the potential to inform wider industry adoption and future engagements with all stakeholders within the sector, seeking credible pathways to support regenerative practices.\u00a0
By anchoring regenerative palm oil within a landscape-scale conservation approach, WWF-Malaysia and Guthrie aim to demonstrate how collaborative action can contribute to Malaysia\u2019s biodiversity and climate goals while influencing broader transformation across the global palm oil sector.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"