GAR Announce 100 Percent Of Traceability To The Garden For Own Factory

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) announces the company's success in reaching 100% traceability to the plantation for all 44 of its own GAR plants.

Achievements completed in 2017, now 39% of GAR's total palm oil output can be traced completely.

At the same time, GAR is currently working with 427 other independent suppliers to map out their supply chains, and strive to achieve 100% traceability to plantations by the end of 2020.

The process of completion of the first phase of the GAR plan includes the searching of fresh fruit bunches purchased from merchants and independent farmers as well as those from GAR's plantations and smallholders.

With the capability of traceability to full plantations for GAR processing plants, the company now reaches more than 70 traders who buy from 11,000 self-employed farmers who manage over 44,000 hectares of land.

"Once we reach 100 percent of the traceability to the plant by 2015, we are embarking on an ambitious effort for the industry - that is, tracing over seven million tons of palm oil through 471 processing plants to the plantations where the palm fruits grow," he said. Franky Oesman Widjaja, CEO of GAR through the official statement received INDUSTRY.co.id, Wednesday (28/2/2018).

Franky added that through this journey, he has made rapid progress in involving thousands of independent farmers and suppliers, and with the support of partners, he is sure to achieve ambition by 2020.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of Sustainability and Strategic Stakeholder Engagement at GAR Agus Purnomo said that traceability means not only guaranteeing raw material sources, but also forming a backbone to engage suppliers to better change.

"Before we can help them change their business and join us to build a more responsible and resilient palm oil industry, we first need to know their background," Agus added.

The second phase, implemented simultaneously, is to achieve full traceability for third party independent suppliers to the GAR plant. By leveraging GAR's experience in involving farmers will enable third-party suppliers to implement the process of reaching full capability for them, with the aim of achieving full traceability by the end of 2020.

In 2017, GAR has visited more than 40 factories to assess compliance with responsible palm oil plantation practices as set out in the GAR Social and Environmental Policy (GSEP) Policy and Environment.

The analysis of the conditions of each supplier allows GAR to create appropriate support forms and appropriate intervention strategies, and to help them implement responsible practices.