Golden Agri-Resources Supports Suppliers in Aceh to Reach 100 Percent NDPE

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Subulussalam, Aceh- Golden Agri-Resources Ltd's ("GAR" or the "Company") supports suppliers of palm oil products and their derivatives in Aceh Province to achieve 100 percent No Deforestation, No Peat, and No Exploitation (NDPE) through the Supplier Transformation initiative. In 2023, GAR's suppliers in Aceh achieved a 99.5 percent "Delivering" status using the NDPE Implementation Reporting Framework (IRF). This is on track with the Company's target to achieve 100 percent "Delivering" status for its global palm supply by the end of 2025.

The Supplier Transformation initiative in Aceh includes outreach, discussions, workshops, and technical guidance to create a sustainable and environmentally friendly supply chain. The target audience of these initiatives is oil palm farmers, palm oil sales agents, and companies that own palm oil mills. Currently, 34 mills in Aceh contribute to GAR's supply chain.

The most recent Supplier Transformation initiative was a joint workshop in southern Aceh which was attended by 120 people. GAR collaborates with Wilmar and Musim Mas, which also have supply sources in Aceh. This collaborative effort is the response of the three palm oil companies to overcome deforestation in southern Aceh, especially in the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve area.

GAR Supplier Transformation Team, Heri Santiko, delivered material on Traceability and Deforestation Monitoring.

At this workshop, GAR presented insights on Traceability and Deforestation Monitoring and the methodology used to trace the origin of palm oil products. By tracking the coordinates of palm oil mills, collecting data on agents and plantations, and closely monitoring land conversion, the Company demonstrates a solid approach to monitoring for deforestation and being able to offer a traceable supply chain.

The head of Supplier Transformation at GAR, Fauzan Kurniawan, said that suppliers are essential to the Company's ability to meet its sustainability commitments, it is important to help them understand and comply with both government regulations and the Company policies to prevent deforestation.

"We support and monitor our supply chain through various intensive assistance methods and comprehensive and systematic monitoring. Our goal is to help make it easy for suppliers to meet our sustainability requirements, improve the performance of their own farms and businesses, and operate legally. Preventing the rate of deforestation and realising a sustainable supply chain is our shared responsibility," Fauzan said.

One of the participants from the supplier company PT Sawit Nagan Raya Makmur, Syahid, admitted that he was enthusiastic about participating in this workshop. "I want to deepen the implementation process of various buyer requirements such as NDPE, especially their relationship with the supply chain. The implementation of NDPE in the supply chain plays a big role in sales of company's products," said Syahid.

Previously, Syahid had participated in activities initiated by GAR regarding sustainable palm oil, such as Ksatria Sawit and Sawit Terampil. Some of the materials he received included product tracing to the plantation (TTP), waste management, deforestation monitoring, and farmer assistance. "So far, the support provided by the Company has been very useful and broadened our insight," said Syahid.

The participants took a group photo to show synergy in implementing the NDPE policy.

In the last three years, GAR has conducted four workshops to deepen supplier understanding in Aceh regarding implementing the NDPE policy. These workshops contributed to the improvement of the NDPE IRF of GAR suppliers in Aceh from 75.6 percent "Delivering" status in 2022 to 99.5 percent by the end of 2023.

This achievement cannot be separated from other Supplier Transformation initiatives, for example, Sawit Terampil, which has assisted more than 4.000 independent oil palm farmers in Aceh in realising good agricultural practices (GAP). According to Fauzan, this training increases farmers' opportunities to create profitable, environmentally friendly, and sustainable oil palm plantations.

"Independent farmers are part of the Company's supply chain and need to be supported to increase crop yields, gain market access, and reduce the risk of land conversion. In North Aceh Regency, Perkumpulan Sejahtera Pelita Nusantara (PSPN), a group consisting of 270 independent farmers, succeeded in obtaining Roundtable on Sustainability Palm Oil (RSPO) certification thanks to assistance from the Sawit Terampil programme," he explained.

GAR is committed to supporting palm oil supply chain transformation and meeting global sustainability requirements. The Company's next target is to help 10.000 independent oil palm farmers in Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, and West Kalimantan and realise a 100 percent deforestation-free supply chain globally by 2025.

About Golden Agri-Resources Ltd (GAR)

GAR is a leading fully-integrated agribusiness company. In Indonesia, it manages an oil palm plantation area of 532,488 hectares (including plasma smallholders) as of 31 March 2024. It has integrated operations focused on the technology-driven production and distribution of 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$2.5 billion as of 28 March 2024. Flambo International Limited, an investment company, is GAR's largest shareholder, with a 50.56 percent stake. In addition, GAR's subsidiary, PT SMART Tbk 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.

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