Fibertex Personal Care Sdn Bhd – Implementation of Environmental Sustainability Measures

4,000 solar cells at the roof of Fibertex factory in Nilai covering an area of approximately 10,000m2 was installed in April 2021 and generates green energy equivalent to 2,600MWh/year – corresponding to a reduction of 1,700 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Sustainability efforts

Fibertex Personal Care produces non-wovens textiles used as raw material for various disposable products – primarily baby diapers, femcare and adult incontinence products.

The fact that the main raw material is plastic has attracted increasing attention and concerns from consumers the latest years. We are well aware that the use of energy, solvents and plastics affects the environment, and acknowledge that the environmental challenges are calling for urgent actions.

Recently, Fibertex adopted the statement “Sustainable is Possible”. This defines a fundamental mindset and willingness to keep pushing the limits of sustainability and serves as a compass on an endless journey towards more sustainable solutions – and as a reminder of always striving to: reimagine, reduce and reuse.

Renewable sources and energy savings

To increase the share of our energy supply deriving from renewable energy, Fibertex Personal Care has installed 4,000 solar cells at the roof on our largest site in Nilai. The installation covering an area of approximately 10,000 m2 was installed in April 2021 and generates green energy equivalent to 2,600 MWh/year – corresponding to a reduction of 1,700 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. A similar installation is planned at our second site in Sendayan in the near future.

In another initiative we recently purchased Malaysian Renewable Energy Certificates (mREC) covering 30% of our energy consumption with TNB. This is a significant reduction of Scope 2 GHG emissions from electricity used.

Apart from renewable energy, we work on continuously implementing energy saving initiatives related to all parts of our operation. Alone in 2021 this led to a reduced consumption of 559 MWh.

Sustainable products

In June 2020, Fibertex Personal Care became the world’s first manufacturer of nonwovens to obtain International Sustainability & Carbon Certification Plus (ISCC Plus). The first certification applied for the production facility in Denmark and in November 2021, a certification for the Malaysian facilities followed. Our solution is based on the mass balance principle – materials are produced from ISCC PLUS certified raw materials derived from bio-based and/or recycled plastics. This enables us to supply our customers with products that have a significantly lower carbon footprint and we see it as an excellent opportunity to help speed up the development of a more sustainable supply chain.

Reimagine. Reduce. Reuse.

At Fibertex Personal Care, we believe that involving employees to ensure a sustainable and responsible approach at all levels is essential. An example of this is a recently implemented waste project. By reimagining daily routines with the aim to reduce consumption, ensure recycling and avoid landfills, a waste project was initialised. By fundamental efforts, such as replacing individual waste bins at each desk with centralised office recycle bins and segregation of canteen waste in five different fragments, our people make a real change every day.

We installed a composter machine and now process food waste from the canteen into composted soil, which is given away to employees as a tangible result of their contribution. Other recyclable consumer waste is send to recycle centres for recycling.

The above are just examples – all illustrating that a fundamental element of our mind-set is that business expansion and sustainability are interdependent. Fibertex truly are driven by “Sustainable is Possible”.