NIOSHCert is commited to realising the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 through its sustainable pledge, CSR and business operations. NIOSHCert’s Sustainability Pledge is as follows:
As a leading national certification body, NIOSHCert’s recognition of an organisation’s certification that has fulfilled the sustainable element in ISO and other standards may have significant contribution to SDGs.
The International Standards Organisation (ISO) has published over 22,000 International Standards and related documents that represent globally recognised guidelines and frameworks based on international collaboration. Built around consensus, they provide a solid base on which innovation can thrive, and are essential tools to help governments, industry and consumers contribute to the achievement of every one of the SDGs. (Extracted from https://www.iso.org/sdgs.html). The ISO has also published a document “Contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals with ISO standards” as an overview of how standards can contribute directly to the 2030 agenda and to transforming the world.
The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil Certification (MSPO) was introduced by the Malaysian Government with the mission to establish and operate a credible and internationally recognised national palm oil certification scheme to promote sustainable management of oil palm estates in Malaysia. The Seven (7) Principles of the Standard are seen as good initiatives to raise the productivity of oil palm plantations, the livelihoods of smallholders, as well as environmental protection and sustainable communities. The Malaysian Sustainable Development Goals Voluntary National Review 2017 recognised that the MSPO certification plays an important role in the sustainable production of palm oil under SDG 2 - Zero Hunger, which include food security and improved nutrition, and promotion of sustainable agriculture.
The ISO and MSPO management systems certifications offered by NIOSHCert fulfil the sustainable elements in the respective standards, which may significantly contribute to the achievement of the UN’s SDGs 2030.
It is estimated that 8 million tonnes of plastic waste are being dumped into the world’s oceans and lands, which are cleared to the meet the need for landfills for plastic waste disposal. NIOSHCert actively promotes and encourages its stakeholder to join this pledge to reduce the use of single-use plastic bottles within their organisations. NIOSHCert’s premises are equipped with filtered drinking water dispensers to encourage staff, visitors and participants to use reusable bottles or cups/glasses, which are provided to reduce the accumulation of plastic waste. This seemingly small and simple change can actually make a difference in reducing plastic waste and production.
NIOSHCert also promotes SDG 4 (KPI 4.7) through providing internship opportunities to university students within the organisation. Internships in NIOSHCert gives exposure, knowledge and skills to students in courses related to business operations and sustainable development.
3R + E initiative aims to promote the “3Rs“ – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle – within NIOSHCert’s premises by emphasising the environmental impact of waste minimization and resource optimization. This pledge is a show of love to our mother earth. NIOSHCert also actively promotes this pledge to be implemented by its clients and stakeholders.
The devastating environmental impact of paper production include high water consumption, destruction of large areas of forest, endangering of natural habitats and wildlife, increase of landfill areas, etc. NIOSHCert advocates reducing use of paper, and is in the process of transitioning its conventional training programmes to e-training, including introducing e-modules and e-certificates.