Press Releases

We have received a complaint from Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) on the recent New Planting Procedure (NPP) submissions by GAR and our subsidiary PT SMART Tbk (SMART) to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). We take the complaint seriously and are currently investigating the matter.

In the meantime, we have written to the RSPO to remove our NPP submissions for the interim period while we embark on risk assessment fieldwork which will be conducted by GAR with support from The Forest Trust (TFT). We remain committed to complying with the RSPO NPP and will provide updates in due course. We have been communicating with FPP and will continue to work constructively with them.

GAR and SMART would like to reiterate our commitment to our Forest Conservation Policy (FCP) and Social and Community Engagement Policy (SCEP) launched in February 2011 and November 2011 respectively.

Our FCP and its robust and ongoing implementation will ensure that GAR has a no deforestation footprint in our entire supply chain, and we continue to work towards that goal with the support of TFT and other stakeholders.

Our SCEP guides and shapes the Company’s decisions in engaging communities to ensure that our palm oil operations improve the lives of those they impact. Core to this is a commitment to Free, Prior and Informed Consent of the local communities in keeping with the RSPO Principles and Criteria.

On 13 March 2013, we announced the implementation of a 12-month High Carbon Stock (HCS) forest conservation pilot project in PT Kartika Prima Cipta,West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The pilot follows the publication of the HCS Forest Study Report by GAR and SMART in collaboration with TFT and Greenpeace on 4 June 2012. As we progress in the multi stakeholder collaboration to conserve HCS, we are continuously learning and improving our processes. In this journey, we appreciate the findings and recommendations by our stakeholders.

We believe that multi-stakeholder collaboration is the best way to find solutions for sustainable palm oil production to conserve the forests, create much needed employment and ensure long-term sustainable growth of the palm oil industry which is a vital part of the Indonesian economy. We will continue to engage with the Government of Indonesia, civil society organisations, local and indigenous communities, key growers and other stakeholders in the Indonesian palm oil industry.

For further information, please contact:
Claire Yong / Ang Shih-Huei
Bell Pottinger Asia
Tel: (65) 6333 3449
Mobile: (65) 9185 0761 / (65) 9189 1039
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]