Sasbadi Annual Report 2019

PAGE 31 SUSTAINABILITY STATEMENT (continued) Occupational Safety and Health The Group endeavours to ensure that a safe working environment is provided. This makes good business sense and would result in less work-related injuries and illnesses, which leads to more productive hours. We have developed and implemented initiatives and guidelines to prevent, reduce and address occupational injuries. As part of our internal reporting protocol, any workplace accidents, identified cases of occupational diseases and health and safety incidents or near-misses that have occurred, shall be first reported to the Human Resource Department. This would then be escalated to the Management and subsequently highlighted to the BOD, if necessary, depending on the seriousness of the matter. During the FYE 31 August 2019, there was one (1) incident of minor work-related injury. We are continuously implementing control measures to strive for a zero incident workplace. ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP We acknowledge that for the long-term sustainability of our corporate strategy, sound environmental stewardship is necessary. Thus, we are committed to minimising any adverse impact of our operations on the environment. Material Sourcing and Managing Waste We place great care in the usage of our raw materials: paper. We manage material wastage arising from the manufacturing of books as well as excess stocks by applying stringent control over all our printers and making data-driven decisions to prevent over-printing. Proper care is placed in the storage of our raw materials and finished products to avoid damage. Older stocks still fit for use are cleared through markdown sales and donations to organisations while remainders are recycled. For the FYE 31 August 2019, production wastage is kept at 1%, which is within the current standard set by the Group. We are continuously evaluating and improving processes in order to reduce wastage. To the best of our abilities, purchases are made from manufacturers who are supportive of sustainability initiatives and bodies, such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative ("SFI"), Forest Stewardship Council ("FSC") and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification ("PEFC"). Without compromising quality, coupled with the consent of our customers, we would also incorporate the use of recycled papers into our product mix. In order to meet the needs arising from the changing education landscape, we have dedicated a significant portion of our resources to developing digital education solutions. By introducing digital products, we are able to empower our customers with cutting edge educational technology while reducing our carbon footprint. BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY Investing Into the Next Generation We believe in playing our part to bridge the gap in education through our Corporate Social Responsibility efforts. Our goal is simple: to help more people gain access to educational resources, prioritising the underserved communities, so that they may benefit from the promise of knowledge in the classroom and beyond. Supporting Underserved Communities This year, we have sponsored a variety of reading materials to benefit about 300 refugee children and teenagers via Common Ground and the Malaysian Social Research Institution’s ("MRSI") Charity Jingle Bazaar at Jaya One, Petaling Jaya. During this event, we also conducted robotics workshops for the community throughout the day to promote a hands-on learning session that is fun for parents and children. This challenge-based workshop featured LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime, a new range of applied-learning products scheduled to be launched in January 2020. Supporting English Literacy Sasbadi has been a long-time supporter of The Reading Bus Club, a local NGO championing English literacy for underprivileged communities. This year, we sponsored around RM54,000 worth of English and STEM resources such as textbooks, workbooks, and revision guides for primary and secondary school students. ANNUAL REPORT 2019