Environmental and Social Assessment and Management System
In accordance with Uganda’s National Environment Act and the Environment Impact Assessment Regulations No 13 of 1998, Pearl Dairy has commissioned the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report for the greenfield dairy processing plant of Mbarara. In January 2011, Pearl Dairy received a Certificate of Approval (certificate no NEMA/EIA/3570) from the National Environment Management Authority. The land of the dairy plant is located on a freehold tenure. The Land Act of 1998 defines ‘freehold’ as a tenure that derives its legality from the Constitution and the written law. Freehold tenure may involve either a grant of land in perpetuity, or for a lesser specified time period. The Act specifies that the holder of land in freehold has full power of ownership of it.
Pearl Dairy aims at getting ISO 9001, 14001, and 22000 certification in the next coming years. It has an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) framework covering issues, like discharge of effluent, management of hydrocarbons, handling of solid waste, and OHS. It developed procedures to sample raw milk, to handle can and tanker milk reception. It has also Key Performance Indicators for effluent discharge, noise pollution, emissions to air, and water and energy efficiency (ref. water and energy). Going forward, as set forth in the ESAP, Pearl Dairy will develop and implement an Environmental, OHS and food safety management system, including policies, plans, manuals and procedures – consistent with ISO 9001, 14001, and HACCP/ISO 22001.
Policy
Pearl Dairy has an overarching environmental policy dated January 2013. It contains provisions related to environmental safety, development of environmental management system, assessment of environmental impacts, objectives to meet ISO 14001 requirements, reduction of waste, energy efficiency, training programs, suppliers’involvement in improving overall environmental performance, and development of partnerships to achieve environmental goals.
Management Programs
Mitigating measures proposed in the EIA includes the following: treatment of wastewater, solid waste management, reuse of rainwater, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), tree planting, fencing of plant perimeter, road safety measures, restoration of quarried site, and monitoring of water. As mentioned above, Pearl Dairy will mainstream these E&S management programs within the framework of ISO 9001, 14001, and 22000 management system.
Organizational Capacity and Competency
Pearl Dairy’s Organizational Chart includes, among others, a Procurement Manager for raw milk, a Production Manager, a Maintenance Manager, and a Quality, Environment, Health, and Safety (QEHS) Manager. At the time of appraisal, a Quality Manager had already been hired. Management confirmed that the EHS Manager will be hired in the next 4-6 months as set forth in the ESAP. The tasks of the EHS Manager will be to im
plement the overall ESH management system, to develop EHS Action Plans, to ensure training of all workers on EHS issues, to implement procedures for reporting injuries, rules for use of Protective Personnel Equipment (PPE), transport safety practices, waste management, resources monitoring, community engagement, etc. The Federation of Uganda Employers, which is the voice of employers in Uganda on social and economic issues has developed an EHS training plan for Pearl Dairy workers. The plan comprises modules on OHS, first aid, life and fire safety and prevention.
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Pearl Dairy’s operations could be associated with fire and explosion risks, and ammoniac leakage from the refrigeration system. Pearl Dairy developed an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan taking into account major and minor emergencies. Major emergency scenarios include major fire/explosion, leakage of ammonia, and natural hazards. Minor emergency scenarios include spillage of acid/sodium hydroxide or caustic soda, inhalation of ammonia, security breaches, collapse of structure, accident of tankers (diesel, milk, etc.), sudden health issues (heart attack, etc.), fall of high voltage power lines. To be in line with requirements of IFC’s Performance Standard 1, the Plan will include the following elements: procedures for shutting down equipment, production and evacuations procedures, including means of egress and a designated meeting place outside the plant. It will also include specific training and practice (simulations and drills with periodicity), schedules and equipement requirements for employees who are responsaible for rescue operations, medical duties, threat and incident responses. As part of the plant’s EHS inspection, fire extinguishers, hydrants and the fire fighting system will be inspected on a regular manner. In coordination with local fire brigades, neighbouring farmers and surrounding companies, the assigned Company’s security team will undertake periodic fire drills.
Monitoring and Review
As set forth in the ESAP, Pearl Dairy will adopt a structured EHS monitoring and reporting system on environmental, OHS and social impacts of its operations. Monitoring frequencies and methodology will be defined by the above mentioned ESMS and monitoring data will be stored in a centralized database for monthly and annual report production. Pearl Dairy will report on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in order to monitor the following EHS parameters: a) Safety – Lost Time Incidence Frequency Rate (LTIFR), Accident Free Days; b) Resource Efficiency – Carbon (kg/ton), Water Usage (kiloliters/ton), Energy Usage (kWh/ton), wastewater monitoring effluents and air emissions parameters from boiler, generators in line with IFC/WBG’s General and Sector specific EHS guidelines; c) Staff - Retention and training days. In addition, the Quality and EHS Managers will define an integrated EHS report format and based on critical EHS key performance i
ndicators (e.g. compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, EHS management system progress report and certification, including quality control and food safety management system, energy and water consumption and efficiency; air emissions (Nitrous and sulfur oxides (NOx, SOx), particulates), including GHG emissions; noise levels and management, solid and hazardous waste management and disposal, effluent discharges from the wastewater treatment unit, compliance with national OHS requirements, including accident rates (lost-time accidents); customers and community complaints, supplier performance and community engagement activities). The Company will also report annually to IFC as part of the Annual Monitoring Report (AMR).
Stakeholder Engagement
During the EIA preparation process, a community meeting was held in July 2010 to discuss potential impacts and opportunities of the project. Residents, community representatives as well as local authorities were met during the meeting and minutes were taken. Comments were related to positive and negative impacts as well as opportunities of the project. Impacts identified during the meeting were related to employment opportunities, increase of income generating activities in the area, increase in the land value, pollution of land and water, dust during construction, security and morality issues because of the presence of workers, and increase of traffic accidents. Participants agreed that the long-term positive attributes associated with the establishment of the milk processing plant outweigh the negative impacts as long as the mitigating measures are properly and effectively implemented. Mitigating measures identified during the meeting include fencing, employment, and a wastewaster treatment plant (WWTP). Pearl Dairy also conducted a survey of potential dairy farmers and cooperatives interested in providing milk to the processing plant. A total of 87 cooperatives (for a total of about 5,000 farmers) were contacted and interviewed.