Sustainability
Conoce el trabajo que venimos desarrollando desde el 2016, por la sostenibilidad ambiental, desarrollo economico y social de la región Ucayali.
MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO
Since the acquisition of the Tibecocha and Sanja Seca estates and the start of Grupo Ocho Sur operations in 2016, we have made a great effort to maintain and reinforce our key values, ensuring our employees well-being, respecting the environment, our neighboring communities and the current legislation.
Our goal is to be a role model of sustainable practices in oil palm development, respecting and caring the Amazon forest biodiversity and generating inclusive development for the communities, our collaborators and contractors. We want to be an agro-industrial benchmark, aimed at having long-term relationships of trust and mutual benefit with society.
For the latter, we have been building a committed multidisciplinary team of great ethical and professional quality, and we are proud of it.
In addition, we are aware that sustainability is a permanent challenge and work that demands excellence and transparency in what we do. Every day we are encouraged and motivated, because there is no greater satisfaction than to witness that our activity improves lives, generates opportunities and promotes social and economic development in harmony with the environment.
That makes us proud, as well as being part of the history of this wonderful region of Ucayali.
Michael Spoor
CEO
OUR COMMITMENT
In order to ensure that our values are respected, we have adopted a series of policies that demonstrate our commitment to:
- A safe and healthy work environment.
- Care for the environment and biodiversity of the Amazon forest.
- Respect and contribution to the inclusive development of the communities in which we operate.
In our effort to achieve these goals, we are committed to:
- Comply with the relevant national legislation.
- Promote continuous improvement of our management systems to incorporate best practices.
- Prevent and manage safety, health and environmental risks proactively and diligently.
- Promote compliance with the values and Code of Ethics and Conduct of our company.
OUR PEOPLE
Respect for the Amazon life and culture are part of our values, which is why we continuously strive to provide a safe and healthy working environment that promotes the integral development of all our collaborators, including contractors and suppliers.
We are the largest employer in the Ucayali region, providing formal work, payroll and health insurance to 1,700 employees directly, benefiting approximately 8,500 people indirectly.
Our field staff has quality food and accommodation located at the farms, as well as all the personal protective equipment needed and medical care 24 hours a day.
We comply with all safety and health protocols at work, including those established by COVID-19 authorities.
We conduct ongoing safety training and talks for our employees, and we disseminate our safety policies and practices to our suppliers and contractors.
We also energize the economy in Ucayali, hiring more than 600 local suppliers with regional purchases valued at more than $10MM a year.
OUR ENVIRONMENT
We are firmly committed to making our industrial and agricultural activities sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Servicios Agrarios de Pucallpa (SAP)
Permissions
We have the Environmental Certification of the Peruvian State (EIA) issued by resolution N° 300-2019-PRODUCE/DVMYPE-I/DGAAMI, a key instrument that ratifies our commitment to comply with an environmental management program with the highest standards.
Likewise, we have all the other permits and authorizations required by national legislation, including authorizations from different institutions such as the Ministry of Culture and Production, the National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR), the District Municipality of Nueva Requena, the National Water Authority (ANA), the Regional Health Department, among others.
Virtuous Circle and Monitoring
We manage the solid waste produced by our activity in accordance with the regulations set forth in the Law on Integral Management of Solid Waste. We have everything duly accredited with the documentation that supports an adequate landfill disposition by an operating company.
Our by-products and effluents from the extraction process return to the farms where our raw material comes from for the recirculation of nutrients. This reduces our water and fertilizer requirements, and increases the productivity of our crops.
Likewise, we use another part of the by-products in generating water vapor, the same we use in cogenerating electricity and in the industrial extraction processes of different oils.
Thus, we avoid using fossil fuels by reducing in 207 tons of fuel per month or 576 metric tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) not emitted into the environment.
We promote the participation of our neighboring communities in the flora and fauna monitoring, reporting these activities to the Environmental Assessment and Control Agency (OEFA) of the Ministry of the Environment of Peru.
Ocho Sur (OS)
Care of the Amazon Forest
We reaffirm our commitment to the care and preservation of the Amazon forest and our policy of non-expansion, so much so that, since the acquisition of the estates in 2016, we have not cultivated a single additional hectare of oil palm in them.
In our estates, logging and extraction of vegetation is prohibited. It is our policy to conserve and protect forested areas for the conservation of ecosystems and that these serve for the interconnection of species.
We also have prohibited, acquiring, offering, hunting and trapping wildlife specimens. To prevent such actions, we give talks to the staff on site, we place prevention and prohibition warnings, permanently monitoring and sanctioning with termination to those who fail to comply with this rule. This applies to the estates and surrounding areas.
Sustainable Agricultural Practices
In Grupo Ocho Sur estates, we carry out prevention and pest and diseases control in order to minimize the use of chemicals. We can do this by implementing integrated management of species in the form of pesticides or biological pest controllers.
For example, with the installation of owl and barn-owl sheds for rodent control. Also, with the acquisition of a biological controller from the National Agricultural Health Service (SENASA), called Trichogramma SPP, a parasitoid controller of defoliating larvae, specific to the cultivation of oil palm. Thus, we manage to prevent adverse effects on the soil and water bodies.
In our estates we do not apply restricted or prohibited agrochemicals categorized as such in accordance with the regulations set forth by SENASA. Also, we do not use agrochemicals within the Red category (extremely or highly hazardous) according to the Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).
We comply with all environmental air and water quality standards. For this we perform air quality monitoring in order to verify the concentrations of particles less than 10 microns of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. We also monitor parameters concentration corresponding to the group of pesticides and total metals in water bodies.
We reaffirm our commitment to use renewable energy by switching to and using solar panels when generating electricity for our camp sites; reducing CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases produced by the use of fossil fuels.
OUR COMMUNITY
We are convinced that our activity must promote in an inclusive way the development and well-being of our neighbors and society in coordination with local, regional and national authorities. Therefore, we are focused on making our operations help improve the quality of life of people and their families.
That is why we really consider the twenty-three communities and population areas surrounding our estates, as well as their needs.
Health Campaigns
In coordination with the regional and local governments as well as the various competent authorities, we collaborate with periodic medical campaigns in the surrounding communities aimed at taking care of the people’s health.
For this purpose, we provide logistical support and medicines benefitting thousands of families.
In addition, we provide free medical care in case of emergency to neighboring residents through our first-aid posts that have permanent medical personnel and medicines.
Improvement of Road Infrastructure
In coordination with the authorities, we have improved and maintained more than 400 kilometers of neighborhood access roads around our estates, facilitating transportation to bring their agricultural products to the market and prompt attention for health emergencies, thus promoting better quality of life for thousands of families.
PAPE
A través del Programa de Alianza y Producción Estratégica (PAPE), hemos contribuido a la inclusión de 178 familias de las comunidades vecinas en la industria de la palma aceitera con cultivos que van desde las 5 a 10 hectáreas en terrenos de uso exclusivamente agrícola. Esto viene promoviendo el desarrollo económico y social de estas familias.
IMPACT MAP
At Grupo Ocho Sur we work along with the communities to transform the local economy with sustainable practices for the Peruvian Amazon progress. This map reflects the impact of our activities for the benefit of our neighbors.
Thus, together with the local government and other private companies, we manage projects related to education, health, electrification, marketing for subsisting farming products, river transport, road maintenance, free first aid in case of emergencies and other social outreach work.
GRIEVANCE
| Company | Last Update | Report | Stakeholder Group | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocho Sur P | November 2022 | You can find the report here | AIDESEP, Native Community of Santa Clara de Uchunya, Various government agencies | Completed |
| Ocho Sur P | October 2022 | You can find the report here | Native Community of Santa Clara de Uchunya, Legal Defense Institute (IDL), Various government agencies | In progress |
| Ocho Sur P | September 2022 | You can find the report here | Provincial Corporate Prosecutor Specialized in Environmental Matters of Ucayali | In progress |
| - | August 2022 | You can find the report here | ||
| - | July 2022 | You can find the report here | ||
| - | June 2022 | You can find the report here | ||
| - | May 2022 | You can find the report here | ||
| - | April 2022 | You can find the report here | ||
| - | March 2022 | You can find the report here | ||
| - | February 2022 | You can find the report here | ||
| Ocho Sur P | 25 January 2022 | You can find the report here Constitutional Court Ruling here | Santa Clara de Uchunya, Forest People Programme, IDL | Status: Concluded Case: Amparo Action for claiming ancestral lands |
