Press Releases

Jakarta, 27 April 2010 – PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology Tbk (“SMART”) would like to reaffirm that it remains committed to achieving sustainable palm oil production. With effect from 4 February 2010, the company announced that it will not develop on land with High Carbon stock (i.e. on peat land and primary forests) and will conserve biodiversity by not developing land assessed as High Conservation Value. As a business, SMART complies with national laws and regulations and the principles and criteria of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (“RSPO”). This commitment applies to all plantations owned and managed by SMART and its parent company, Golden Agri-Resources Ltd (“GAR”).

SMART has engaged Control Union Certification (“CUC”) and the BSI Group (“BSI”) to verify independently, reports by Greenpeace. The two agencies have been jointly appointed, following consultation with Unilever, who currently chairs the RSPO. The verification is assisted by Prof. Dr. Bambang Hero Saharjo and Dr. Ir. H. Yanto Santosa, two experts who are senior academicians and forestry conservation researchers at Bogor Institute of Agriculture’s Faculty of Forestry, Indonesia’s leading institute of agriculture.

In response to the latest report published by Greenpeace, titled “Sinar Mas – Rainforest and Peatland Destruction”, SMART stated that it would verify these claims as part of the verification process by CUC and BSI. In the meantime, the company views any breach of its sustainability practices seriously and has suspended the plantation manager responsible for the area highlighted in the Greenpeace report.

Palm oil is an important product and helps to alleviate poverty in Indonesia. The industry provides direct employment for approximately 4.5 million persons in the country and, in 2009, generated US$10.4 billion worth of exports or 11 percent of Indonesia’s non oil and gas exports. In addition, the product is a vital component in the food chain, allowing the world to meet its growing demand for food. The presence of palm oil makes a wide range of products – from food to cosmetics – affordable for households.

For further information please contact: 

For Singapore:

Ang Shih-Huei / Carolina Ruhman – Pelham Bell Pottinger Asia
Tel         : (65) 6333 3449
Cell        : (65) 9189 1039 / (65) 8133 7504
Email     : [email protected] / [email protected]

For Indonesia:
Fajar Reksoprodjo – Corporate Communications and Public Relations

Tel. : (62-21) 318 1388
Fax : (62-21) 318 1390
Cell. : (62-881) 123 9513 (62-812) 957 3832
Email     : [email protected]

About SMART and GAR
SMART is one of the largest, publicly-listed, integrated palm-based consumer companies in Indonesia. SMART’s primary activities are cultivating and harvesting of palm trees, processing of fresh fruit bunches into crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK), and refining CPO into value-added products such as cooking oil, margarine and shortening. 

Founded in 1962, SMART currently has palm plantation with total coverage area of approximately 134,000 hectares (including plasma). SMART also operates 15 mills, 4 kernel crushing plants and 3 refineries. 

Besides bulk and industrial oil, SMART’s refined products are also marketed under several brands such as Filma and Kunci Mas. Today, those brands have been recognized for their high quality, presently command significant market share in their respective segmentation in Indonesia.

SMART is a subsidiary of GAR, one of the largest palm-based companies in the world which is listed on the Singapore Exchange. This relationship benefits SMART with its economies of scale in plantation management, information technology, research and development, sourcing of raw material, and access to a wide domestic and international marketing network.