PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology Tbk : Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food Supports Suppliers in Aceh to Reach 100 Percent NDPE

Subulussalam, Aceh- Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food 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, Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food'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 Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food's supply chain.

The most recent Supplier Transformation initiative was a joint workshop in southern Aceh which was attended by 120 people. Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food 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.

Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food Supplier Transformation Team, Heri Santiko, delivered material on Traceability and Deforestation Monitoring.

At this workshop, Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food 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 Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food, 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 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 the company's products," said Syahid.

Previously, Syahid had participated in activities initiated by Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food 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 Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food 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, Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food 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 Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food 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.

Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food 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.

Tentang Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food

Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food, part of the Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) group of companies, is a leading global agribusiness based on palm oil production, with a planted area of more than 534,456 hectares (including plasma smallholders) as of 30 September 2023. The company has an integrated operation producing food made from raw vegetable oils.

Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food is focused on sustainable palm oil production. In Indonesia, its primary activities include cultivating and harvesting of oil palm trees; processing of fresh fruit bunch into crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel; merchandising and refining CPO into value-added products such as cooking oil, margarine, shortening, and biodiesel; as well as trading of palm oil products worldwide. It also has operations in China and India including a deep-sea port, oilseeds crushing plants, production capabilities for refined edible oil products as well as other food products such as noodles.

Its parent company, GAR was founded in 1996 and listed on the Singapore Exchange in 1999 with a market capitalisation of US$2.5 billion as of 30 September 2023. Flambo International Limited, an investment company, is currently GAR's largest shareholder, with a 50.56 percent stake. GAR has several subsidiaries, including PT SMART Tbk which was listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 1992.

For more information about our company, visit https://www.smart-tbk.com

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