Plantations International’s Commitment to Environmental Responsibility through Sustainable Agriculture

How Plantations International’s Sustainable Agricultural Practices Benefit the Environment: We recognize that climate change is a serious issue that demands attention and action from the business community. Plantations International has set performance targets, and will continue to take actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from both direct and indirect business operations. We are committed to conducting our operations in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and to engaging with industry and public stakeholders to develop responsible standards and voluntary initiatives that support this policy.

Between 2012 and 2019, the asset size of investments specializing in food and agriculture assets jumped from USD 24 billion to 73 billion, growing 25% p.a. Of this, the majority are indirect exposure holdings with over 60% held via commodities futures and equities. In terms of physical ownership, almost all investment into the sector at the moment is privately owned with institutional investment representing only 0.50% of total value. This is slowly changing as savvy institutional investors are beginning to take notice, but for most investors, the sector remains fragmented, confusing, and costly to enter.

Food security is traditionally defined as food availability and one’s access to it. Over the years however the definition of food security has developed into more descriptive terms as its importance has risen. The Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and dozens of others today have their own interpretation of food security. Food security ought to be a priority for all countries, whether developing or developed. Although low levels of food security are commonly associated with poverty stricken countries they are also found in affluent developed countries as well. Food security rankings despite providing a decent gauge of performance are not without limitations. For example, some of wealthiest countries logically fare well in overall rankings as they have the capability and infrastructure to provide accessible, healthy food to their populations. Yet these high rankings dangerously mask their poor natural resources and resilience rank which measures food import dependency to a small degree. This raises the question, how can a country be food secure when they can be highly dependent on others for their food supply?

With offices, plantations, and representatives across Asia, Europe, and Africa, Plantations International is a multinational plantation and farm management company that specializes in providing sustainable agricultural and forestry or “agroforestry” management services for its clients. Plantations International has clients ranging from private individuals to large landholders and corporate investors. We put teamwork, innovation, and our passion for creating “Ethical & Sustainable Capital” at the heart of everything we do.

​Food insecurity occurs due to a variety of factors which are becoming increasingly more challenging to combat. Conflict and violence in many parts of the world can lead to food insecurity as so does climate variability and exposure to more complex, frequent and intense climate extremes. By 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach 9.6 billion and unfortunately while populations grow Earth’s surface does not. Global demand for food by 2050 will be 70% greater than it is today which requires addressing a number of key global food security challenges. Food wastage’s carbon footprint is estimated at 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2. Developing countries suffer more food losses during agricultural production, while in middle- and high-income regions, food waste at the retail and consumer level tends to be higher.

One of the first things Plantations International scientists learned is that there are several greenhouse gases responsible for warming, and humans emit them in a variety of ways. Most come from the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories and electricity production. The gas responsible for the most warming is carbon dioxide, also called CO2. Other contributors include methane released from landfills and agriculture (especially from the digestive systems of grazing animals), nitrous oxide from fertilizers, gases used for refrigeration and industrial processes, and the loss of forests that would otherwise store CO2. Plantations International calls the result global warming, but it is causing a set of changes to the Earth’s climate, or long-term weather patterns, that varies from place to place. As the Earth spins each day, the new heat swirls with it, picking up moisture over the oceans, rising here, settling there. It’s changing the rhythms of climate that all living things have come to rely upon.