At the BIO Malaysia Conference and Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, introduced the National Biomass Strategy. Malaysia intends to cut down on its green house gas emissions and also create economic value through the Oil Palm Biomass Center (OPBC), which is to be setup as part of strategy.
The Delft University of Technology is coordinating the Biobased Ecologically BAlanced Sustainable Industrial Chemistry (BE-Basic) global partnership, which aims to develop bio-based solutions for sustainability. The OPBC is being set up as part of a MoU signed between the Malaysian Innovation Agency (AIM) and BE-Basic.
The OPBC business plan intends to develop the optimum routes for biorenewable plastics and other such chemical products of high value. Academic institutes, Malaysian companies and their international partners have joined in this endeavor. The business plan has occured due to the National Biomass Strategy of the AIM and McKinsey.
The OPBC aims to incorporate new methods of recycling nutrients to improve the quality of soil, and also increase the attention on sustainable practices.
The CTO of Purac, Rop Zoetemeyer, stated that the biochemical company supported the National Biomass Strategy and that it aims at creation of raw materials for manufacturing lactides and lactic acid for the bioplastics market.
Unilever CEO, Paul Polman, stated that the company ensured that the packaging materials and food ingredients were manufactured from sustainable sources.
Ramlan Aziz, a professor at the Universiti Teknologiki Malaysia, has a major role in creating the OPBC. He stated that the OPBC is aimed at improving the quality of soil through developing novel ways for recycling critical soil nutrients and also producing products of value from biomass. The OPBC intends to decrease effluent pollution, plant infections and increase plantation output, instead of developing new land.