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Healthy children, healthy minds: Building a brighter future, one drink at a time
01 Oct 2021 to 31 Oct 2021
October 2021
Thriving Communities
COVID-19
Since the onset of COVID-19, it has led to the exacerbation of food insecurity faced by vulnerable communities. The pandemic has driven up food insecurity, depriving many children of low-income families of access to nutrition, which is essential for their growth.
GCB Cocoa recognises the severity of this issue. We have thus extended our help to as many children and households as possible by supporting the COVID-19 Food Assistance Program initiated by the
Rimbun Foundation. In October 2021, we donated 750 units of 3-in-1 Chocolate Drink (540g) to 15 schools in Klang Valley, Malaysia, hoping that our donations will spark joy and make a difference in these students’ lives, one drink at a time.
Rimbun Foundation has been actively helping to facilitate donations to 15 schools in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Rimbun Foundation seeks to improve the standard of education among children from impoverished and underprivileged families studying in selected public schools in Malaysia.
GCB Cocoa is committed to help alleviate world hunger and ensuring that no child goes hungry. We will continue to make a difference, through encouraging our employees to volunteer and provide donations – in kind or monetary, to assist these vulnerable communities during the pandemic and beyond.
Extending Aid to Community: Guru Shree Raghavendra Charity Home Renovation
01 Aug 2021 to 31 Aug 2021
August 2021
Thriving Communities
COVID-19
Over the months of May and June, the Guru Shree Raghavendra Charity Home underwent minor renovations supported by GCB Cocoa. Situated in Kulaijaya, Johor, Malaysia, the Home serves 41 children, age ranging from 2 to 17 years old. The Home’s mission is to save children who are orphaned, abandoned, and from broken families with the aim to fulfil all essential needs in every child’s life from shelter to food and good education.
Previously, GCB Cocoa has
coordinated the donation of a photocopier machine together with Canon Marketing (Malaysia) to the Guru Shree Raghavendra Charity Home. During the previous assessment, the need for minor renovations was identified for the Home.
To improve the facilities of the Home, GCB Cocoa offered to cover the full cost of renovation. The works covered tiles, ceilings and windows replacement, walls repainting and washrooms repairs, totaling up to an expenditure of RM 7200. After two months of renovation over May and June 2021, the corners of the home have been livened up with the refurbishment.
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GCB Cocoa hopes that the renovation works have helped brightened the atmosphere and made the Home more conducive for the residing children.
We wish the best for the children’s future endeavors.
Collaboration with Canon: Supporting the Children of Guru Shree Raghavendra Charity Home
22 Apr 2021
April 2021
Thriving Communities
COVID-19
In the true spirit of aiding the community, GCB Cocoa engaged the Guru Shree Raghavendra Charity Home to help provide operational relief. In collaboration with Canon, GCB Cocoa donated a multi-functional device to the Home.
Situated in Kulaijaya, Johor Malaysia, the Home has a total of 41 children aged between 2 to 17 years old, who are orphaned and abandoned. The Home aims to improve the lives of these children by providing essential needs, education, love and care.
GCB Cocoa spoke to the Home to uncover four areas in need of aid. Subsequently, GCB provided a wall-mounted sanitiser, a hand dryer, funding for renovation works as well as a Canon multi-functional device (3-in-1 copy, print and scan machine) gifted in collaboration with Canon.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about higher expenditures for the home to facilitate online-based education and the device was a great help to the Home in facilitating the children’s education.
Being a business partner of Canon Marketing Malaysia, the multi-functional device was provided complimentary and made possible with Canon’s support. This enabled the children of the home to make photocopies of textbooks and exercise notes to supplement their E-Learning during the pandemic.
A member of the GCB CSR Committee along with a Canon technician visited the home to train the Home in operating the multi-functional device.
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Similar to GCB Cocoa’s commitment to social responsibility, Canon believes in helping those who are in need as part of its corporate philosophy Kyosei, to balance the needs of the community and environment with its business interests and working for the good and betterment of all. At GCB Cocoa, it is also our wish to care beyond cocoa to be a socially responsible company, empowering employees, supporting communities, protecting our planet, and sourcing sustainable cocoa. Combined, these values allow us to join forces with a common goal to give back to our society.
Further updates on the Charity Home renovations will be posted on
Our CSR Website.
PT Asia Cocoa Indonesia Employees Undergo COVID-19 Vaccination
12 Jun 2021 to 30 Jun 2021
June 2021
As COVID-19 vaccination begin its roll out across Indonesia, every citizen of the country is encouraged to undergo the vaccination.
In Batam, Indonesia, PT Asia Cocoa Indonesia has taken up the initiative to kick off vaccination for employees, coordinating free vaccination and offering one day leave of rest after vaccination. On 7 June 2021, 61 employees were vaccinated voluntarily with the coordination of PT Asia Cocoa Indonesia.
Following the first company-coordinated initiative, similar vaccination opportunities were offered company-wide for voluntary registration. Subsequent groups of employees were vaccinated from 12 to 30 June, raising the total number of employees vaccinated to 270. Vaccines were provided by the Indonesian government through APINDO while the administration fee for vaccination were covered entirely by PT Asia Cocoa Indonesia, making the it free of charge for employees.
By the end of June, 78% of the company has been vaccinated. The management hopes that all employees could be vaccinated to build a community resilient to COVID-19 and contribute to the national recovery from the pandemic.
GCB’s 2020 CSR Achievements
30 Mar 2021
March 2021
Happy Employees
Thriving Communites
Healty Planet
2020 marked the start of GCB’s CSR Committee, Caring Beyond Cocoa, to solidify our commitment as a socially responsible company. Our four pillars of Happy Employees, Thriving Communities, Healthy Planet, and Good Cocoa and Beyond aims to promote social responsibility at various levels and in a holistic manner throughout the company.
We kickstarted the Caring Beyond Cocoa programme with the formation of a CSR Committee helmed by committed individuals from various departments with the passion to promote social responsibility in their various subcommittees. With the support of the Board of Directors, the CSR Committee organized and executed various events, with an initial focus on our subsidiaries in Malaysia and Singapore. We also launched a CSR page on the GCB website to share our progress and commitment on social responsibility with our investors, customers, suppliers and the public.
The infographic Below summarizes our impact for 2020:
.png "Extending support to vulnerable communities amidst COVID-19: GCB’s donation to The Food Bank Singapore")
Happy Employees
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In 2020, the Employee Care team focused on promoting healthy lifestyles among employees. We organized a weekly fruit day session for employees with the mission of providing every employee with a piece of fruit every week to encourage them to include more fruits in their diet. We have also provided nutritional facts of the fruits received so that the employees are well aware of the health benefits from consuming more fruits.
Our Fruit Day impacts:
- More than 9,700 pieces of fruit provided to our employees in Malaysia from October to December 2020, reaching about 70% of our employees in Malaysia.
- 43% of employees reported an increase in their fruits consumption and adopted a healthier diet
Overall, 84% of employees felt that there was a general improvement in employee welfare based on the CSR activities conducted.
In addition, we continue to provide many opportunities for staff to receive training to gain new skills and knowledge. The training hours per employee averaged 6.18 hours, 55% higher than the target 4.0 training hours. We will continue to promote training and opportunities for career advancement for our employees.
In 2021 the Employee Care team will continue to encourage healthy lifestyles among employees with more exciting and varied Fruit Days. The team is also organizing a series of lifestyle talks and seminars of the employees’ interest on topics such as financial management and healthy living to promote employee well-being.
Thriving Communities
Amidst COVID-19, many communities have been impacted with the loss of jobs and income. Recognizing the need to support the community with our capabilities, GCB has taken action to support our communities in the following ways:
- Donated 600 bags of Cacao Rich Hot Chocolate Drinks to Food Bank Singapore to support vulnerable families in Singapore
- Donated another 180 bags of Cacao Rich Hot Chocolate Drinks to SMK Kota Masai 2, a school in Pasir Gudang, to support the food security of low-income students.
.jpg "Extending support to vulnerable communities amidst COVID-19: GCB’s donation to The Food Bank Singapore")
GCB staff with students of SMK Kota Masai 2, receiving GCB Food’s Cacao Rich Hot Chocolate Drinks
- Supported the 34 chronically ill and disabled residents at Johor Cheshire Home over 3 months by helping the home cover the daily necessities of all residents.
- Contributed biohazard coverall suits to the healthcare workers and masks to the police to relief the strain in healthcare resources in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Donated $30,000 to the global cocoa and chocolate industry response to COVID-19 in cocoa-growing communities in West Africa and elsewhere.
Moving forward, the Community Care team will continue to extend our support to vulnerable communities and will organize activities to encourage more employees to volunteer in causes of their interest.
Healthy Planet
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In 2020, we continued to support existing efforts to recycle waste and pioneered new projects to reduce our use of water and use more renewable energy:
- In July 2020, we installed solar panels at our warehouse in Keluli, Pasir Gudang. This achieved a CO2 reduction of more than 720 tonnes from July to December 2020, equivalent to planting 40,004 trees or saving 293 tons of coal.
- In 2020, we recycled more than 87,500 kg of waste in our Malaysia facility, including cocoa shells, cartons, plastic and wooden pallets. Notably, we recycled 16% more cocoa shells and 27% more plastic than the year before.
- We are installing new recycling bins in our Malaysia factory, along with posters and notices on recycling to educate employees on proper recycling practices.
- We are continuously upgrading our offices and factories to reduce the amount of water we use in our daily operations by installing new automatic water taps in our Malaysia facility.
In 2021, we are working closely with employees to organize park and beach clean-up sessions in our community. We are also collaborating with experts to increase energy efficiency in our Malaysia facilities and measure our carbon footprint so that we can better devise suitable solutions to minimize our impact on the environment.
2020 has been a meaningful year for GCB as we take our first steps towards having a formalized CSR programme. In 2021, we hope to build on our successes in the year before to expand our reach, engagement and impact. We look forward to an exciting 2021 with more activities planned to promote Happy Employees, Thriving Communities and a Healthy Planet!
Coastal Cleanup: Cleaning Sembawang Park, Singapore
27 Feb 2021
February 2021
Thriving Communities
Healthy Planet
On 27 February 2021, 6 employees from GCB Cocoa Singapore (GCBCS), along with 9 of their family members, participated in a beach cleanup at Sembawang Park, Singapore. The event was organized as part of the Singapore National Environment Agency’s (NEA) Clean Singapore Learning Trail (Beaches and Parks) initiative and will be conducted on a quarterly basis, subject to the approval by the NEA.
Participants were split into two groups to clean up different sections of the park and to adhere to safe-distancing measures. Armed with gloves, tongs and trash bags, the team picked up litter from the beach and along the park pavements.
Many participants expressed concern and surprise about the amount of litter that was found in the park. Although the park looked pristine from afar, the group found a lot of plastic bottles, empty food containers, plastic wrappers, styrofoam, paper and other waste products in the park. In total, the group collected about 7 large bags of trash. Many members of the public also chipped in to pick up litter from their surroundings and were curious about the activity.
The beach cleanup at Sembawang Park was without a doubt an inspiring learning experience for all the participants. Seeing the amount of litter around the park and the harm it has caused to the environment made us reflective of our use of disposables in our everyday life. The beach cleanup experience made us aware that environmental action is both important and necessary to improve the coastal and ocean ecosystem.
GCB will continue to take part in similar activities and to advocate for environmental protection and conservation in our community. We have plans to organize more beach cleanups in the months ahead and will continue to support environmental conservation initiatives among our employees and in the community.
GCB Cocoa Supports Needy Students at Chong Hwa High School
01 Jan 2021
January 2021
Thriving Communities
COVID-19
On 1st January 2021, GCB Cocoa donated RM 73,000 to Muar Chong Associated Chinese Schools located in Muar, Johor, to support needy students. The fund will help to support the school’s 2021 Adoption Fund.
With the COVID-19 pandemic and Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented by the Malaysian government, Chong Hwa High School has been under tremendous financial pressure. Aside from having to pay the full salaries of teachers and staff, the Board of Governors has had to provide over RM 100,000 in special MCO assistance to more than 100 students who are unable to afford school fees due to the pandemic. As an independent school without the support of government subsidies and with most fundraising efforts postponed or cancelled, the maintenance and development of the school relies heavily on the support of the public and organizations.
We hope that our contribution will be able to support the students and staff at Chong Hwa High School to tide through the COVID-19 pandemic. We wish all staff and students a safe and healthy 2021 and we look forward to a close partnership in the year ahead.
Supporting Vulnerable Communities at Johor Cheshire Home
14 Oct 2020
October 2020
Thriving Communities
Events
On 14 October 2020, GCB Cocoa donated RM 17,000 to Johor Cheshire Home to support the purchase of daily necessities for the 34 residents of the home.
Located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Johor Cheshire Home is one of the oldest disabled homes in Malaysia supporting the chronically ill of all races and religions who are unable to look after themselves and have no relatives or home to turn to. The 34 children and adults residing in the home are mostly physically disabled, while some are mentally challenged.
We hope that our donation will help to support the residents at Johor Cheshire Home so that they can have better access to food and daily necessities and improve their standard of living.
GCB Cocoa is committed to promoting an inclusive community for the disabled in society. We will continue to support Johor Cheshire Home through monthly donations and volunteering activities for staff in the future when COVID-19 restrictions have been eased. We look forward to working more closely with Johor Cheshire Home in the months ahead!
Promoting Nutrition and Food Security among Low Income Students at SMK Kota Masai 2
22 Oct 2020
October 2020
Thriving Communities
Events
On 22 October 2020, GCB Cocoa employees visited SMK (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan) Kota Masai 2, located in the vicinity GCB Cocoa’s Malaysia facilities, and distributed 180 packets of GCB’s Cacao Rich Hot Chocolate to low-income students at the school.
The event is part of GCB Cocoa’s commitment to support our communities’ health and wellbeing through our Nutritious Drink and Food Security Programme. As low-income students often do not have access to healthy and nutritious food, we hope that our programme will help to alleviate food insecurity and provide a nutritious source of food for them.
GCB Cocoa has plans to continue providing low-income students from SMK Kota Masai 2 with our Cacao Rich Hot Chocolate Drinks every month. We thank SMK Kota Masai 2 for having us at your school and for supporting our programme, and we look forward to working with you closely to improve the health and nutrition of students with our Cacao Rich Hot Chocolate Drinks!