CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)
A Sustainable and Green Production Process from Coconut to Grill, with Focus on Suppliers and Employees
Indonesia – the Natural Home of the Coconut
ERB Global Sentosa produces superior quality charcoal briquettes from the shells of coconuts growing in abundance in Indonesia, where we produce our briquettes.
Indonesia as a tropical island country provides ideal conditions for the cultivation of high quality coconuts and is home to a vast number of coconut palm plantations owned and operated by local farmers.
Not a Single Tree is Cut Down in the Process
– as a matter of fact, the use of coconut shells reduces the overall need for logging.
The use of coconut shells offers a sustainable, fully renewable and highly eco-friendly alternative to regular wood charcoal and fossilized coal as it is a waste product from the coconut production.
In other words, harvesting coconuts does not put any strain on the environment – on the contrary it reduces the need for the cutting down trees to produce traditional charcoal. As such it is instrumental in improving the overall state of the environment.
Barbecuing with coconut shell charcoal equals loving the world with all its green.
Coconut Shell to Charcoal
After the coconuts have been harvested, they are split in half. The coconut water can be used in many ways, also as a valuable fertilizer in the plantation, and the white meat is sent to local mills for further processing – mainly used for coconut oil. The remaining shells are then carbonised into charcoal.
ERB Global Sentosa received charcoal materials which were well processed by carbonisation drum and educating the local farmers in their correct use. We describes five heat-related stages of charcoal formation:
- Initial degradation of coconut shell (20 to110ºC). Coconut shell absorbs heat as it is dried at low heat, giving off water vapor (or steam). The temperature remains just above 100ºC until the shell is bone dry.
- Pre-carbonization (110 to 270ºC) . As final traces of water are expelled, the coconut shell begins to decompose, giving off carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, acetic acid and methane. Heat is absorbed by the coconut shell.
- Initial exothermic decomposition (270 to 290ºC). Heat evolves from the coconut shell as spontaneous breakdown of coconut shell continues. Mixed gases, vapours and some tar are given off.
- Full exothermic decomposition (290 to 400ºC). The breakdown of coconut shell structure continues, giving off vapours comprised of various combustible gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane. Carbon dioxide and condensable vapours, including water, acetic acid, methanol, and acetone, as well as tars, begin to predominate as the temperature rises.
- High temperature refinement (400 to 500ºC). At 400ºC, the transformation to charcoal is nearly complete. However, the charcoal still contains considerable amounts of tar which can be driven off if the temperature reaches approximately 500ºC
A Chemical-Free Production – All the Way to the Grill
Once received at our factory, the carbonised shells are pulverised into granulate of different sizes for different purposes – one of them being the production of briquettes. In this process, the granulate is mixed with water and a specially formulated all-natural starch binder 100% free of any chemicals.
Aside from the obvious eco-friendly aspects of this, it means that our briquettes result in cleaner barbecuing and better tasting food.
The Coconut Shell is a Waste Product Turned into a Large Job-Creator
The large-scale use of coconut shells as fuel for BBQs has, in effect, resulted in a whole new area of jobs – both at the level of the local farmers and, of course, in the production of the briquettes themselves at our plant.
This is good news in an area and a community with a local population in dire need of financial input.
Furthermore, it has given rise to spin-off production at other local businesses such as offset print-houses, packaging manufacturers and test laboratories.
Health and Safety towards Welfare
It is important for us to create a workplace where people enjoy coming to work every day. This gives us motivation in terms of our daily conduct and the sustainable culture we build. Occupational health and safety (OHS).
Therefore, as a dedicated and responsible company, passionate employees are our most valuable resource
