MD’s Message
Dear Valued Stakeholders, Partners, and the Southland Family,
It is my honor to present our ninth Sustainability Report. 2025 was the year that transparency became a market access requirement rather than a strategic choice. With the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) entering its final pre-enforcement phase and the TNFD reshaping how nature-related risk is disclosed, we moved decisively to integrate sustainability into the architecture of our business — not alongside it. This report is the operational evidence of that commitment, validated externally by a Gold Medal from EcoVadis and a CDP Climate Change rating of B. Guided by our motto, “Think Good, Better Will Follow,” we remain convinced that growth and responsibility are the same ambition, expressed at different points in our value chain.
Our Supply Chain: Transparency as Market Access
The strongest defense against regulatory and climate disruption is verifiable, plot-level traceability. In 2025, we mapped tens of thousands of smallholder farms covering close to half of our upstream supply chain across 64 provinces of Thailand, strengthening our readiness for evolving EUDR requirements and helping identify areas requiring further attention. We continued to monitor regulatory developments and enhance our due-diligence processes, incorporating geolocation, legal verification, and customer feedback where appropriate. We also applied the TNFD LEAP framework to structure our nature-related risk decisions, while progressively improving relevant supply-chain controls in preparation for future European market expectations. Our engagement with smallholder farmers — through capacity-building, intercropping pilots, and joint training with the Rubber Authority of Thailand — is not philanthropic. It is a strategic investment in supply chain resilience: a well-prepared farming community is the most reliable supply chain we will ever have.
Our Operations: Decarbonisation in Practice
In our operating model, every efficiency gain is expected to be an emissions gain. In 2025, our combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions reached a five-year low against our 2020 baseline, and we expanded our Scope 3 inventory for the first time to complete our value-chain picture. Renewable electricity — now supplied through rooftop solar across multiple facilities and our newly commissioned BH solar farm — continues to grow as a share of total supply. Our Green Fleet Transition Programme has replaced a substantial portion of diesel factory equipment with electric alternatives, eliminating hundreds of thousands of litres of diesel annually. We have maintained zero wastewater discharge to natural water bodies, with all production water recycled and zero landfill or open burning since 2023. These initiatives are underpinned by strengthened data systems, ISO 14067 carbon footprinting, and our ongoing progression toward Science Based Targets (SBTi) alignment — alongside the continued “Nature in the Factory” programme expanding biodiversity within our operational footprint.
Our People and Communities: Resilience Under Pressure
The severe flooding that swept southern Thailand in November 2025, impacting millions of people across 9 provinces, was the most significant climate-related test we have faced. We achieved full life safety across our workforce, deployed substantial financial assistance to hundreds of affected colleagues, and provided direct community recovery support. Our broader safety culture also reached its strongest position to date: 2025 closed with our lowest-ever Lost-Time Injury Frequency Rate, zero work-related fatalities, and more than 200 Safety KAIZENs delivered — the majority targeting engineering controls. Underpinning all of this is a governance culture in which the Board oversees sustainability directly, all employees complete our Compliance Programme annually, and zero corruption incidents have been reported. These are the systems that make every figure in this report trustworthy.
Looking Forward to 2026
As we move into 2026, our key priorities are:
- Accelerating the deployment of eco-friendly innovations, to drive lower-carbon operations
- Advancing GPSNR Assurance Model implementation at group level
- Scaling nature-related risk assessment under the TNFD LEAP framework
- Continuing EV fleet transition and progressing SBTi alignment
- Investing in human capital — in a workforce where nearly half are female with strong managerial representation
- Reinforcing the governance of our sustainability data, on which every disclosure depends
Together, Let us continue to Think Good. Let us do better. And tomorrow let us lead sustainably.
Ng Tze Kiat
Managing Director
* The content of this message was originally posted on Southland Rubber's Sustainability Report 2025.
* The English version of the message shall prevail over the Thai translation.
