Our newest manufacturing site in Penang, Malaysia, officially opened in June 2022. Throughout the planning and construction phases, it has been our goal to create a site that minimizes impact on the environment and is as sustainable as possible. Here are nine ways that we have been working towards that goal.
- Our new 250,000 sq. ft. space has created many new jobs in the Penang area and will continue to be a high-quality employer for years to come.
- We partner with Penang Skills Development Centre to support students from lower income backgrounds into careers with Smith+Nephew. So far, we have sponsored 36 students on the Centre’s Precision Machining Programme, offering full financial aid through their two-year programme. The students are then employed as trainee machinists on graduation.
- We have introduced the German Dual Vocational Training (GDVT) programme to upskill existing employees and school leavers joining us in Precision Machining. Nine employees are taking part in our first iteration of this programme.
- We achieved our ISO 14001 environmental management system certification in 2022.
- We have made a commitment to manufacture with ‘zero waste to landfill’ and before the plant was fully operational, we had secured recycling opportunities for our anticipated waste streams. We work with several local waste contractors to ensure that both general waste & hazardous waste are recycled, recovered or composted. Only a small amount of hazardous waste leaves site for incineration.
- We installed a 23m2 rainwater harvesting tank that provides the water needed for the gardens around the site.
- We installed more than 2700 solar panels in January 2023, making up 22% of the facility’s annual electricity needs. We also purchase renewable energy certificates to cover the remainder of our electricity needs to achieve 100% renewable energy.
- We pay very close attention to health and safety on site, so much so that in 2022, the Malaysian Society for Occupational Safety and Health recognized us with a Gold Class 2 award for exemplary practices.
- We achieved the LEED Silver Certification for the site itself. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building rating system that recognizes buildings designed, constructed, and operated in an environmentally responsible manner.
Our efforts in Penang have received repeated recognition, with the team picking up multiple sustainability awards.
"Our achievements since we first started work on the site in Penang, are testament to the collaborative spirit and care for the environment and local communities that our employees exhibit every day. We are committed to continuing our progress towards our environmental, social and governance (ESG) sustainability goals.” said Mark Arthun, Site Leader and Managing Director.