At Mansa Sugar, we recognize the profound connection between our business and the environment. Our sugar mill and nucleus estate are not just centers of production, but also stewards of the land and resources that have sustained generations. We are deeply committed to nurturing this bond by championing sustainable growth principles. We understand that to continue thriving as a business, we must safeguard our environment, ensuring that our operations leave a minimal footprint and contribute positively to the ecological balance. This commitment is not merely an added responsibility, but the very foundation of our ethos. We pledge to grow in harmony with nature, ensuring that every grain of sugar we produce is a testament to our unwavering dedication to environmental sustainability. Through our ESG policy, we outline our strategies, practices, and benchmarks, driving us ever forward on our journey to a more sustainable future.
Land Use Change
Impact of Initiative on UN SDGs:
-
By increasing productivity on our current land, we reduce the need to clear new land for agriculture. This helps to protect forests, biodiversity and the climate.
Current Position:
-
Production: We have almost doubled our productivity from 60 tons per hectare to 120 tons per hectare in the past 5 years. Our production target is to yield approximately 160 tons per hectare. Our current productivity is above the global benchmark for sugarcane production in major sugar producing nations like Brazil and India.
Renewal Energy Production
Impact of Initiative on UN SDGs:
-
This goal emphasizes the importance of transitioning to clean and renewable energy sources to combat climate change, reduce pollution and promote sustainable development.
Current Position:
-
Electrical Energy: Bagasse is a by-product of sugarcane, primarily utilized as a source of renewable energy. We burn bagasse in boilers to produce steam, which drives turbines to generate clean electricity. This creates a circular energy cycle which limits our reliance on the grid and onsite generators.
Future Plan:
-
Green-fuels: Our sugarcane can be used to produce an ethanol based bio-fuels which can serve as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels.
-
High Pressure Boilers: We plan to invest in high pressure boilers which are be a more efficient and can produce more energy per unit of bagasse. Unlike regular boilers, high-pressure boilers are specifically designed to operate at higher pressures and temperatures, resulting in improved performance, energy utilization and overall system reliability. Installation of high pressure boilers will enable us to not only power our plants entirely from our bagasse bi-product, but it will also generate excess clean energy which we could sell to the grid.
Chemicals
Impact of Initiative on UN SDGs:
-
Our aim is to promote the sound management of chemicals throughout their life cycle, reduce the release of hazardous chemicals into the environment and minimize the adverse effects of chemicals on human health and the environment.
Current Position:
-
Organic naturals: We’re moving away from using chemical fertilizers to using organic naturals. We grow sunn hemp which is a green manure improving soil health. sunn hemp is a nitrogen-fixing plant, which forms a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria to transfer atmospheric nitrogen into soil so it can be absorbed by sugarcane. The process reduces the reliance of synthetic fertilizers which are extremely energy intensive to produce.
-
Foliar fertilization: Where possible we apply chemical fertilizers, through a foliar application (spray through the pivot lines). Foliar application allows the crop to absorb the fertilizer directly through the leaves, this allows for faster nutrient uptake, minimizing the exposure of chemicals to the soil and reducing the overall fertilizer requirement.
-
Covering fertilizers with soil: We have equipment that apply fertilizers below the soil, directly to the plant roots. This improves uptake efficiency, prevents volatization and release of Nitrogen Dioxide to the atmosphere and reduces run-off of nitrogen into waterways.
Future Plan:
-
Composting (Soil Fertility) to improve CEC: We are planning on launching a composting initiative to improve the Cation Exchange Capacity of the soil. We can do this in several ways such as shredding leaf trash and incorporating it back into the soil with a rotavator.
Soil Health and Erosion Control
Impact of Initiative on UN SDGs:
-
We focus on the protection, restoration and sustainable management of terrestrial ecosystems. Our practices aim to prevent land degradation, restore degraded land, and promote sustainable land management practices.
Current Position:
-
Sugarcane growth: Sugarcane crops have deep root systems that help improve soil structure, preventing erosion and nutrient runoff. The canopy formed after sugarcane growth, protects the soil from wind erosion.
-
Digging of trenches: Alluvial erosion is also prevented by trenches that have been dug to take in excess water from irrigation.
Water Management
Impact of Initiative on UN SDGs:
-
We recognize the importance of sustainable irrigation systems that optimize water use, minimize water losses and ensure the availability of freshwater resources for other sectors and ecosystems.
Current Position:
-
Pivot Systems: We use center pivot irrigation which is efficient compared to other forms of irrigation such as flood irrigation. It delivers water minimizing evapotranspiration and reducing water wastage.
-
Furrows: We have constructed furrows in between the sugarcane crops that withhold excessive water that comes from irrigation, instead of water flowing off the field, it infiltrates the soil, improving water retention.
At Mansa Sugar, we recognize the profound connection between our business and the environment. Our sugar mill and nucleus estate are not just centers of production, but also stewards of the land and resources that have sustained generations. We are deeply committed to nurturing this bond by championing sustainable growth principles. We understand that to continue thriving as a business, we must safeguard our environment, ensuring that our operations leave a minimal footprint and contribute positively to the ecological balance. This commitment is not merely an added responsibility, but the very foundation of our ethos. We pledge to grow in harmony with nature, ensuring that every grain of sugar we produce is a testament to our unwavering dedication to environmental sustainability. Through our ESG policy, we outline our strategies, practices, and benchmarks, driving us ever forward on our journey to a more sustainable future.
At Mansa Sugar, we recognize the profound connection between our business and the environment. Our sugar mill and nucleus estate are not just centers of production, but also stewards of the land and resources that have sustained generations. We are deeply committed to nurturing this bond by championing sustainable growth principles. We understand that to continue thriving as a business, we must safeguard our environment, ensuring that our operations leave a minimal footprint and contribute positively to the ecological balance. This commitment is not merely an added responsibility, but the very foundation of our ethos. We pledge to grow in harmony with nature, ensuring that every grain of sugar we produce is a testament to our unwavering dedication to environmental sustainability. Through our ESG policy, we outline our strategies, practices, and benchmarks, driving us ever forward on our journey to a more sustainable future.
Impact of Initiative on UN SDGs:
-
By increasing productivity on our current land, we reduce the need to clear new land for agriculture. This helps to protect forests, biodiversity and the climate.
Current Position:
-
Production: We have almost doubled our productivity from 60 tons per hectare to 120 tons per hectare in the past 5 years. Our production target is to yield approximately 160 tons per hectare. Our current productivity is above the global benchmark for sugarcane production in major sugar producing nations like Brazil and India.
-
Impact of Initiative on UN SDGs:
-
This goal emphasizes the importance of transitioning to clean and renewable energy sources to combat climate change, reduce pollution and promote sustainable development.
Current Position:
-
Electrical Energy: Bagasse is a by-product of sugarcane, primarily utilized as a source of renewable energy. We burn bagasse in boilers to produce steam, which drives turbines to generate clean electricity. This creates a circular energy cycle which limits our reliance on the grid and onsite generators.
Future Plan:
-
Green-fuels: Our sugarcane can be used to produce an ethanol based bio-fuels which can serve as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels.
-
High Pressure Boilers: We plan to invest in high pressure boilers which are be a more efficient and can produce more energy per unit of bagasse. Unlike regular boilers, high-pressure boilers are specifically designed to operate at higher pressures and temperatures, resulting in improved performance, energy utilization and overall system reliability. Installation of high pressure boilers will enable us to not only power our plants entirely from our bagasse bi-product, but it will also generate excess clean energy which we could sell to the grid.
-
Impact of Initiative on UN SDGs:
-
Our aim is to promote the sound management of chemicals throughout their life cycle, reduce the release of hazardous chemicals into the environment and minimize the adverse effects of chemicals on human health and the environment.
Current Position:
-
Organic naturals: We’re moving away from using chemical fertilizers to using organic naturals. We grow sunn hemp which is a green manure improving soil health. sunn hemp is a nitrogen-fixing plant, which forms a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria to transfer atmospheric nitrogen into soil so it can be absorbed by sugarcane. The process reduces the reliance of synthetic fertilizers which are extremely energy intensive to produce.
-
Foliar fertilization: Where possible we apply chemical fertilizers, through a foliar application (spray through the pivot lines). Foliar application allows the crop to absorb the fertilizer directly through the leaves, this allows for faster nutrient uptake, minimizing the exposure of chemicals to the soil and reducing the overall fertilizer requirement.
-
Covering fertilizers with soil: We have equipment that apply fertilizers below the soil, directly to the plant roots. This improves uptake efficiency, prevents volatization and release of Nitrogen Dioxide to the atmosphere and reduces run-off of nitrogen into waterways.
Future Plan:
-
Composting (Soil Fertility) to improve CEC: We are planning on launching a composting initiative to improve the Cation Exchange Capacity of the soil. We can do this in several ways such as shredding leaf trash and incorporating it back into the soil with a rotavator.
-
Impact of Initiative on UN SDGs:
-
We focus on the protection, restoration and sustainable management of terrestrial ecosystems. Our practices aim to prevent land degradation, restore degraded land, and promote sustainable land management practices.
Current Position:
-
Sugarcane growth: Sugarcane crops have deep root systems that help improve soil structure, preventing erosion and nutrient runoff. The canopy formed after sugarcane growth, protects the soil from wind erosion.
-
Digging of trenches: Alluvial erosion is also prevented by trenches that have been dug to take in excess water from irrigation.
-
Impact of Initiative on UN SDGs:
-
We recognize the importance of sustainable irrigation systems that optimize water use, minimize water losses and ensure the availability of freshwater resources for other sectors and ecosystems.
Current Position:
-
Pivot Systems: We use center pivot irrigation which is efficient compared to other forms of irrigation such as flood irrigation. It delivers water minimizing evapotranspiration and reducing water wastage.
-
Furrows: We have constructed furrows in between the sugarcane crops that withhold excessive water that comes from irrigation, instead of water flowing off the field, it infiltrates the soil, improving water retention.
-