GAR's 2022 Sustainability Report Demonstrates Role of Robust Data to Advance Sustainable Supply Chains

SINGAPORE, May 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Golden Agri-Resources' (GAR) Sustainability Report 2022 showcases the company's ongoing commitment to advancing responsible production across palm oil supply chains.

Chairman and CEO Franky O. Widjaja commented on GAR's progress on its long-term sustainability targets:

"By the end of 2022, we had achieved 98 percent traceability to plantation (TTP), one of our key sustainability goals. This is the culmination of years of intensive effort, beginning in 2015 when we launched our supply chain traceability project. As a result, we are likely one of the few agri-businesses to have mapped their palm critical suppliers this comprehensively in Indonesia.

"Investing in mapping, knowing our supply chain, and using that data to monitor compliance with sustainability commitments is paying off. Our traceability and related efforts enable us to mitigate risks in our supply chain while offering our customers a clearer overview of their supply chain."

Report highlights include:

Continued progress on the path to 100 percent TTP. GAR has extended its palm supply chain traceability efforts and has achieved 98 percent TTP, providing comprehensive monitoring of compliance with the company's sustainability commitments, including the implementation of No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation (NDPE) policies. This is reported on annually through the NDPE Implementation Reporting Framework (NDPE IRF).

In line with its commitment to providing robust, transparent sustainability data, selected supply chain indicators, including TTP achievement, have been externally assured by an independent third party for the first time. NDPE IRF data is also externally assured. These advances in supply chain traceability put GAR at an advantage to comply with increased regulatory scrutiny of deforestation-free supply chains such as the European Union Anti-Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). 

Accelerating climate action through the Agriculture Sector Roadmap to 1.5°C. At COP27, GAR and 13 other companies signed the Agriculture Sector Roadmap to 1.5°C, which aims to accelerate existing action by the agri-commodity sector on deforestation to align with global climate goals in a way that contributes to food security, economic development and farmer livelihoods. As agreed in the roadmap, all of the company's palm oil volumes are expected to be in the "Delivering" category of the NDPE IRF by 2025. GAR has already achieved more than 90 percent "Delivering" for all of its crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO) production.

Stepping up leadership in reporting and transparency. GAR has started implementing Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) recommendations and is reporting both scope 3 emissions and Land Use, Land-use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) emissions for the first time. Work is also progressing on strategies to curb GHG emissions.

Building resilience in rural communities through increased incomes and improved livelihoods. GAR has launched 76 Community Economic Empowerment projects throughout its Indonesian operations, providing training in organic farming and growing valuable crops like coffee, moringa, medicinal plants and pepper. The company is supporting communities to scale up these initiatives with training in business planning and digital and financial literacy. 37 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been set up through this programme to date.

Enhancing fire vigilance in anticipation of El Niño. Over 100 villages are enrolled in GAR's long-term fire prevention programme, Desa Makmur Peduli Api (DMPA), to tackle fire and haze. GAR has also enhanced its fire detection capacity, launching the GeoSMART app to detect hotspots three times faster than previous methods. With the possibility of El Niño weather conditions returning in 2023 and 2024, these strategic collaborations are critical to fire and haze mitigation - protecting GAR employees and the community while avoiding GHG emissions. 

About Golden Agri-Resources Ltd (GAR)

GAR is a leading fully-integrated agribusiness company. In Indonesia, it manages an oil palm plantation area of 536,399 hectares (including plasma smallholders) as of 31 March 2023. It has integrated operations focused on the technology-driven production and distribution of an extensive portfolio of palm-based products throughout its established international marketing network.

Founded in 1996, GAR was listed on the Singapore Exchange in 1999 and has a market capitalisation of US$2.7 billion as of 31 March 2023. Flambo International Limited, an investment company, is GAR's largest shareholder, with a 50.56 percent stake. In addition, GAR has several subsidiaries, including PT SMART Tbk, which was listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 1992.

As an integrated agribusiness, GAR delivers an efficient end-to-end supply chain, from responsible production to global delivery. In Indonesia, its primary activities include cultivating and harvesting oil palm trees; the processing of fresh fruit bunch into crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel; refining CPO into value-added products such as cooking oil, margarine, shortening, biodiesel and oleo-chemicals; as well as merchandising palm products globally. GAR's products are delivered to a diversified customer base in over 100 countries through its global distribution network with shipping and logistics capabilities, destination marketing, on-shore refining and ex-tank operations. GAR also has complementary businesses such as soybean-based products in China, sunflower-based products in India, and sugar businesses.