Annual Sustainability Report FY 2014/15

by Biji-biji Initiative

Index

No. Title Page

1. Foreword 3-4

2. Company Brief 5-7

3. Sustainability Indicators 8-9

4. A Sustainable Economy 10-14

5. Waste Materials: Purchased 11

6. Local Procurement 12

7. Employment 13

8. Transparency 14

9. Social Impact Generated 15-25

10. Community Engagement 16-17

11. Gender Equality 18-19

12. Raising Awareness 20-22

14. Open Source Development 23-25

15. Environmental Gains 26-32

16. Waste Materials Upcycled 27

17. Waste Reduction 28

18. Sustainable Procurement 29

19. Green Technology 30-32

20. Our Past Projects - Compilation 33-35

Foreword

It brings us great pleasure and humility to publish our first Annual Sustainability Report. From our first days of recording how much waste materials we used, to categorizing receipts based on the type of purchases (waste materials, raw materials, etc), to publishing our first Annual Sustainability Report – measuring impacts has been a challenging task. Take these questions as an example: • What do you measure? The impact created or reach? Which is more

important? • How do you even measure some of these things? Is talking to someone

considered as reach, or is it spending a whole day teaching them? Or maybe just go by what Facebook recorded?

• Why is it important? And if so, how important? Economic impact or environmental impact? What about social impact then?

The dilemma goes on, We are certain that similar concerns are faced by all that is trying to measure their organizations' achievements, beyond just their P&L statements. As such, we took the approach to look at ourselves holistically, and determine what it is that we are doing differently, from other organizations. What is it that makes us do what we do, and be proud of it. That was the easy part. The next, and tougher, part was to measure how much we DIDN’T do. It won’t be fair to only measure the things we are good at, and ignore what we did poorly. For an instance, is it ethical to be paying a group of workers much lower salaries because they come from poorer countries? We can only truly reflect on what we have done if we measure the good, the bad and the ugly.

We measure not just the amount of waste we reduce, but on how we pay people, how much knowledge we share, male-to-female ratios, and also how much of waste we create ourselves. We are measured by 12 indicators which are a testament of the things we at Biji-biji Initiative believe is important, and should govern the way we operate. The aim for holistic recording is disclosure and transparency to be an important culture at Biji-biji Initiative. The reality is this; we are not always going to do things the way we imagined it to be, and the circumstances of how things happen always change. We may not be able to achieve all the indicators as we set out too, or maybe it is just not possible for some types of projects. For instance, try doing an Electronic project using waste components. Or purchasing everything from within 20km of your locality. It is not impossible, just not feasible. Transparently reporting and disclosing facts bring the best form of internal review, and also serve as the best form of pushing ourselves to achieve the most. We hope you enjoy going through this report, and understand what our work over the past year has been about. We look forward to your questions, and feedback on how to further improve this report. Thank you very much!

Foreword

Rashvin Pal Singh CEO

Company Overview

In the Financial Year 2014-2015, Biji-biji Initiative worked with 19 organizations (public, private and not-for-profits) providing Design & Build, Education, Electronics, and Art Installation, services.

Period of Engagement

Client Products and Services

August 2014 Levi’s Design & Build

September 2014 GAB Foundation Education

September 2014 Tropicana Corporation

Design & Build Education

October 2014 Hong Leong Foundation

Design & Build

November 2014 Malaysia Major Events

Electronics

December 2014 Urbanscapes Design & Build Electronics

December 2014 Hotlink Design & Build

Company Overview

Period of Engagement

Client Products and Services

January 2015 Resort World Genting Art Installation Design & Build

January 2015 Lars Huners Design & Build

January 2015 Apostrophe Art Installation

February 2015 Publika Art Installation

February 2015 1M4U Education

March 2015 Rantai Kolektif Electronics

April 2015 Designation Design & Build

April 2015 Genovasi Design & Build

April – May 2015 Ministry of Youth and Sports

Education Design & Build

May - June 2015 Pernod Ricard Malaysia Electronics

June – July 2015 EcoWorld Education Design & Build

Electronics

June 2015 TESCO Electronics Education

Bags made from rejected seat belts (local waste material).

Company Overview

In the retail sector, we opened our online shop through www.biji-biji.com and increased our focus on B2C sales. Yet, our sales are within the production capacity of one individual. Thus, we have not hired our second tailor yet. Our commitment to provide employment opportunities to local communities in need still remains a plan, waiting for increased sales and demand for labor. Biji Score All our bags are measured using Biji Score. It is a point-based scoring system developed based on our Sustainability Indicators. It measures the social, environmental and economic impact of making one unit of a product. Highest score achieved is 14.5 out of a score of 25. This is because our bag designs are not published yet, bringing down the score for Open Source Documentation. For more information: http://biji-biji.com/pages/frequently-asked-questions-f-a-q

Sustainability Indicators

Economic Local Procurement Percentage of materials sourced from local and international suppliers

Fair wages How many times more is the wage earned by permanent staff compared to minimum wage

Social Inclusion Total amount of money channeled to community-in-needs through employment

Transparency Adherence to the Biji-biji Initiative Financial Model

Our Sustainability Indicators are used in designing sustainable solutions., and measure the impacts generated by engaging with Biji-biji Initiative. The chart below summarizes the social, environmental and economic indicators that we used to measure our success in delivering our products and services.

Social Community Engagement How many individuals or communities were engaged

Raise awareness How many new people were reached (no. of participants)

Gender Equality Ratio of male and female members engaged by job scope and in decision making roles

Open Source Development How many new open source how-to’s were made and shared

Environment Waste upcycled Amount of waste, renewables, recyclables and second-hand materials incorporated

Waste reduced New methods and technologies explored to eliminate waste creation

Sustainable Procurement How was 1% sustainable procurement budget used

Green Technology Aspects of green technology incorporated (energy efficiency, etc.)

Sustainability Indicators

A Sustainable Economy

Waste Materials

10%

19%

58%

0.19% 10%

3%

Expense by Categories of Materials

Raw Materials Associated Process MaterialsSemi-Manufactured Materials Packaging MaterialsWaste Materials Sustainable Materials

30% of each project’s budget is allocated for materials cost. At Biji-biji Initiative, we categorize materials into six different types. In this project, we have incorporated 7% waste materials worth RM 2,400 and 5% sustainable materials worth RM 1,515. This is above the waste materials that we get for free such as PVC banners, ‘money wooden boxes’, cloth off-cuts, etc.

Local Procurement

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

0%

76%

8.69% 0% 0% 0%

100%

24%

91.31% 100% 100% 100%

Non-Local

Local

Percentage of local vs non-local suppliers

Biji-biji Initiative is committed to support the local economy and reduce our carbon footprint. Thus, we aim to source our supplies from local suppliers. Only 9.44%, that is RM 19,555.81 worth of materials was sourced from international suppliers. Below is a chart that shows the percentage of local procurement made within Malaysia based on the types of materials sourced.

0%

50%

100%

International

Local

Percentage of local and international team members

We engage permanent staff, freelancers, volunteers and interns. For permanent staff, there is a salary cap of 3-5 times between the highest and lowest earners. Thus far, the lowest earner earned 2.2 times above minimum wage whereas the highest earner earned 2.8 above minimum wage. All volunteers engaged were provided a lunch allowance of RM 6.00 per day and free accommodation. When engaged in specific client projects, volunteers are given RM 50.00 per day.

Employment

Open Book Finance is a term coined by John Case in Inc. magazine in 1993. It was popularized by Jack Stack in his 1992 book, The Great Game of Business, co-written with Bo Burlingame. Open Book Finance encourages the creation of a culture where employees at all levels understand how their particular task fits in with the company’s financial plan. It inspires employees at all level to think and make decisions as the owner of the social enterprise. Every member of the Biji-biji Initiative team has access to information on project value, total budget and breakdown of each project as per our Open Book Finance policies and procedures. Below is the our Financial Distribution Model:

Transparency

Breakdown Projected % Actual %

Salaries 30 40

Materials 30-40 20

Reinvestment 20-30 10

Overheads 10 30

Social Impact Generated

It is Biji-biji Initiative’s aim to employ individuals from communities in-need, or to engage communities to be suppliers of our products and services.

Chow Kit Youth Chow Kit Youth (Venture) is a self-organized group of vibrant and spirited teen-agers working to promote their community through socially responsible activities. To fundraise for their organization, Chow Kit Youth a theater performance called Lorong Pemimpi. They requested our assistance in building props. We decided to teach them to build, instead of building their props for them.

Community Engagement

Hence, some of the Chow Kit Youth members learnt woodworking and metalworking skills. When we had the chance to hire these youths as facilitators for Camp Benih, nationwide woodworking and metalworking training for youth, we hired them.

Positive Living Community Positive Living Community is based in Batu Arang, Selangor which provides shelter, loving care, treatment and support to people who have been rejected or had become homeless due to: (1) HIV and AIDS, and (2) Drug or Alcohol addiction. To date, we have engaged Positive Living Community’s members in the capacity of: (1) Assisting in the assembly of Pernod Ricard Malaysia’s

Brightboxes (2) As a supplier of pallet wood (3) Assisting with moving newly acquired machines to our

Open Workshop (4) Assisting with builds during Festival Belia Putrajaya In total, we have offered 15 days of employment for 4 individuals.

Community Engagement

Gender Equality by Job Categories Biji-biji Initiative’s work does concentrate more on building and production. Due to the nature of our social enterprise, our production team has more male members. However, we provide equal opportunity to all members to explore any task that interests them. We measure our commitment to gender equality through percentage of male and female members engaged by (1) job categories, and (2) decision making roles. Below is the data on percentage of male and female members engaged.

0

5

10

15

20

25Gender by Job Categories

Male

Female

Gender Equality

Gender Equality

Gender Equality In Management Our management team consists of 2 women and 6 men, which brings female participation in organizational decision making processes to 25%. In the FY 2014/15, we took on 19 projects. 7 out of those 19 projects were led by female team members. Their levels of participations are as below:

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

OrganizationManagement

ProjectManagement

Gender by Level of Participation

Female

Male

In the Financial Year 2014-2015, through various client engagements, we reached at least 3830 people. Mostly, we engaged public participants through our educational modules, except for EcoWorld’s EcoFestival – where we get to incorporate sustainability in curating Malaysia’s first Upcycling festival.

Period of Engagement

Client Reach

September 2014 GAB Foundation 100

September 2014 Tropicana Corporation 20

December 2014 Urbanscapes 500

February 2015 1M4U 40

April – May 2015 Ministry of Youth and Sports Camp Benih

450

May - June 2015 Pernod Ricard Malaysia 100

June 2015 TESCO 120

June – July 2015 EcoWorld EcoFestivals 2,500 (175 through workshops)

Total 3,830

Raising Awareness

In the Financial Year 2014-2015, we also gave talks at conferences, schools, universities and at events, reaching students and public alike. Below is the list of events and the number of people reached.

Events Reach

Tropicana Green Talks 30

Yayasan Anak Warisan Alam 40

Do Something Good - Panelist 200

Maybank Culture Innovation 200

Sponge Talk - Leo Burnett 40

Sunway University - SE Talk 80

Sunway University - Alliance Talk 140

OSCE Days 20

EcoKnights - Knights of Nature 40

ICYL 100

Raising Awareness

Events Reach

Impact Hub Mix 'n Fix 80

Makerspace KL 60

Anugerah Hijau Finalists 20

IntiKL - MasterClass 60

Change for Good 50

Total 1,160

Raising Awareness

Open Source

Open Source Development The Biji-biji Initiative is a strong advocate of Open Source principles. Our designs are shared online for non-commercial use, which means the rights to study, change and distribute our designs are open to anyone with non-commercial intentions. This allows the designs to be constantly improved, and for us to further develop our building techniques by making new prototypes. By trying to spread good ideas instead of protecting them, we can innovate efficiently and effectively. To date, we published 6 Open Source Designs which are available under Our Designs tab at our website: http://biji-biji.com/pages/open-workshops

Wire Mesh Furniture

Singing Garden installation always leaves people in awe

Open Source

We also use Open Source Designs shared online to develop our products. You can find some of the designs that have inspired us under Our Favorites tab at http://biji-biji.com/pages/open-workshops

The Singing Garden and Singing Pool Installations are developed together with GeoCyclab, a collaboration between Fanch Dodeur and Barth Peron of France, who were cycling across the world sharing Open Source Technology.

Open Source

Making the water dance at the Singing Pool Installation

Bicycle powered lights that showcases

renewable energy generation

Environmental Gains

An art installation made from Resort World Genting’s scrap metal.

Waste Materials

We incorporate waste, renewable, second-hand and sustainable materials into our builds. We measure the amount of waste we have upcycled in our projects. Intentionally, we prevent creating more waste that could have been generated if we were to use conventional methods. Below is a chart that shows the amount of waste upcycled: No Waste Materials Upcycle Total Amount

1. Pallet wood 4480 pieces

2. Wood 1205 KG

3. Repurposed Metal Clips from Lanyards 1200 units

4. Scrap Metal 2605 KG

5. Glass bottles 321 units

6. Bamboo Poles 115 poles

7. Egg Cartons 80 pieces

8. Old Pipe Taps 30 units

9. Diesel Drums 63 units

10. 1.5ℓ plastic bottles 2303 bottles

11. 9.5ℓ plastic bottles 80 units

12. Money Boxes 250 units

We also work with the organizations that we collaborate with to provide more sustainable and responsible options to customers. For example, for EcoWorld’s EcoFestivals, we worked with a total number of 12 food truck vendors. Through early and continuous engagement, we were able to eliminate use of polystyrene and reduce waste through:

Waste Reduction

• No use of plastic and polystyrene at EcoTropics-Masai, Johor and EcoSky-Kuala Lumpur as plates and cutlery made from fallen Areca palm leaves were used.

• Bags provided to vendor for their product distribution were made from tapioca-starch and thus, are biodegradable.

• There was also a ban on the usage of cup lids and straws.

• Some of the sawdust generated from the furniture builds was incorporated into table designs.

• Our production processes ensured least waste generation in fulfilling the client’s order requirements.

Sustainable Procurement

Biodegradable Tableware For EcoWorld EcoFestivals, we used biodegradable tableware made from fallen Areca Palm leaves were used as an alternative for plastic and polystyrene products, Since then, we have connected and created business opportunities for the supplier.

Name Cards Our name cards are printed with soy-based ink, on non-bleached paper. Biodegradable Bags For EcoWorld EcoFestival, we also used bags made from tapioca starch as a replacement for plastic bags..

Open Source 3D Printer and Extruder We procured an Open Source 3D Printer and extruder. We are planning to use shredded plastic as filament, finding new use for cast-away plastic.

Human-Powered Lights & Juicer Renewable energy installations namely human-powered lights and human-powered juicer were explored. These were built using discarded bicycles, hooked to generators that transforms kinetic energy, produced by human movements, into electric energy. Human-powered lights connects electricity generated from pedaling to LED lights which lights installations that the LED lights are connected to. Human-powered Juicer, on the other hand, connects electricity generated from pedaling, to a juicer. 4,800 watts of energy is needed to produce 1 cup of juice. And, thus, 4,800 watts of energy could be saved each time one juice was made using our juicer.

Green Technology

Bright Boxes We upcycled Pernod Ricard Malaysia’s used glass bottles into Brightboxes. These portable and re-chargeable lamps will bring lights to the Malaysian homes without electricity and for flood victims in Nepal. These Brightboxes, also called Bottled Hope, are lit by an energy efficient LED bulb. It can shine for 12 hours in between charges. The recipients of Brightboxes can charge their lights via the solar panel provided along with the Brightbox. Staying true to our Open Source commitments, the design is Open Source.

Green Technology

Motion-sensor Solar Lights We have installed motion-sensor lighting at our Open Workshop store rooms which are connected to solar panels installed on our roofs.

Green Technology

Laser Synthesizer

Laser synthesizer is an Interactive art installation using music and lasers to get people to jam together. The frame has been built in a way to accommodate a few participants at the same time, from both sides of the frame. It also comes with a control box which allows the participants to choose a different genre drum pattern like, hip hop, techno, pop, and house music. The control box also has a tempo knob allowing the participants to choose the speed they are jamming to.

Music buskers keeping the mood lively

The Singing Garden installation that always leaves people in awe.

Eco Drum Circle - Great fun for any age!

Energy Playground – Urbanscapes.!

Water Bottle Shade – an art installation at KLPAC!

Together with EPIC Homes, Seksan Design and Sustainable Building Initiative, we built house for a flood victim.,