Bumitama
Bumitama Agri Ltd, headquartered in Jakarta, is a listed Indonesian Palm Oil producer. Bumitama is a member of RSPO since 2007. The relevant RSPO case trackers which are related to:
a) PT Hati Prima Agro can be found here.
b) PT Nabatindo Karya Utama can be found here.
c) PT Ladang Sawit Mas can be found here.
d) PT Andalan Sukses Makmur can be found here.
e) PT Bumitama Gunajaya Abadi can be found here and here.
Bumitama also has a corporate website which can be found here.
1) Greenpeace report titled, “Dirty Bankers – How HSBC is Financing Forest Destruction for Palm Oil” (17 January 2017)
2) Greenpeace report titled, “Final Countdown: Now or Never to Reform the Palm Oil Industry” (19 September 2018)
3) Greenpeace report titled, “Dying for a Cookie” (13 November 2018)
Greenpeace also submitted a letter to RSPO, calling for action against said supplier.
4) Mighty Earth report titled, “Rapid Response Report 22” (06 December 2019)
5) Mighty Earth report titled, “Rapid Response Report 23” (08 January 2020)
(1) The report stated that HSBC has begun or maintained a financial relationship (including providing or arranging loans) with companies and groups operating Palm Oil concessions in Indonesia allegedly associated with the most unsustainable aspects of Palm Oil development, including Bumitama.
(2a) Illegality: The report alleges that Bumitama has no legal permits for many of their plantations. They used dubious means, through divesting of concessions ownership to escape complaints, i.e: via management agreements with supposedly independent companies.
(2b) There are currently two pending cases with RSPO:
– PT Bumitama Gunajaya Abadi
– PT Hati Prima Agro
(3) Report stated that Mondelez continues to buy Palm Oil from Bumitama, which has developed over 70,000 ha of concession in 2012 without the necessary permits. Since 2005, 11,100 ha of forest were cleared within the ‘laundered’ concessions in the three case study areas, and nearly 2,300 ha of this clearance was from 2014 onwards.
(4) Alleged peat development by PT Damai Agro Sejahtera (PT DAS), where a total of 948 hectares of area were cleared between 06 September – 13 November 2019.
(5) Alleged deforestation by PT Andalan Sukses Makmur (PT ASMR) where a total of 129 hectares of forest were cleared between 4 September – 24 December 2019.
January 2017
We sent a letter to express our concerns related to the report and requested for more information. We discussed with Bumitama on its progress and action plan. We have also encouraged the supplier and will continue to monitor the situation, review the progress and encourage the implementation of Bumitama’s sustainability commitments.
October 2018
The senior management teams from Musim Mas and Bumitama had a bilateral discussion on actions to strengthen our respective sustainability commitments.
Bumitama has engaged a well-respected organisation, Aidenvironment, to assist in the assessment and implementation of their Sustainability Policy, including a commitment to continuously improve on their sustainability practices.
Bumitama is committed to transparency by publishing the information on its Sustainability Dashboard, which can be used to monitor the Group’s progress.
February 2019
After being alerted of possible land-clearing in PT Karya Makmur Langgeng, we immediately reached out to Bumitama via email to express our concerns on the issue and requested for further information.
We will continue to engage with Bumitama and follow up on their updates on PT KML.
December 2019
We contacted Bumitama to seek clarification.
January 2020
We contacted Bumitama to seek clarification after the allegations made in Mighty Earth RRR 23 were raised.
Progress to-date
Peatland – the company has worked together with the government for a detailed moratorium map, resulting in a “no peat moratorium” inside the concession. Bumitama has also conducted a comprehensive peat delineation survey to set aside the available Peatland for conservation.
High Conservation Value (HCV) degradation – Bumitama has done an HCV analysis. The identified area has been set aside for HCV conservation.
High Carbon Stock (HCS) degradation – Bumitama conducted an HCS analysis and subsequently set aside the area being for conservation.
Fire – Bumitama has put together a detailed fire prevention system involving the community to address fire hazard surrounding the operation.
Overlapping of land with the national park – Bumitama has returned the land area back to the government.
Permit irregularities – Bumitama explained the legal position of the concession. The company’s operations comply with the legal requirements now.
Sustainability Policy – Bumitama is committed to its sustainability policy and will be reporting on its progress:
- Multi-stakeholder landscape project in West Kalimantan on wildlife corridor and Peatland conservation with local communities;
- Livelihood improvement and local community projects;
- Certification programme focused on scheme Smallholders and independent Smallholders ;
- GHG reduction programmes;
- Supply chain traceability programmes.
October 2017
Bumitama published its sustainability report for 2016.
It published its objectives and targets for implementation of its sustainability initiatives for the years 2017 to 2024.
They also published their time bound plan for RSPO certification for all subsidiaries and Smallholders.
An area of 29,415 hectares has been set aside for conservation.
Bumitama provided a detailed statement on the legality and process surrounding the acquisition of PT Langgeng Makmur Sejahtera (LMS) in Central Kalimantan.
The full Sustainability Report can be found here and the Grievance Procedure Update can be accessed here.
August 2018
Following our engagements with Bumitama, the company is making progress on resolving the grievances. The parties involved will be meeting to further discuss about the case.
The RSPO is conducting a legal review on the PT Hati Prima Agro complaint.
September 2018
Bumitama issued a press release on 25 September in response to Greenpeace’s report “Final Countdown”. It assures stakeholders that the company remains committed to its NDPE policy outlined in its 2015 Sustainability policy. Read the full release here.
November 2018
Bumitama issued a press release on 15 November in response to Greenpeace’s report “Dying for a Cookie”. It reiterates the company’s commitment to its NDPE policy, and consistent adherence to the applicable laws in all transactions involving the acquisition of concessions. Read the full release here.
December 2018
Bumitama issued a press release on 14 December in reply to an article published by the New York Times “Fuel to the Fire” on 20 November 2018. The company outlined their commitment to sustainability and the efforts it had put in to develop Smallholders . They also described their efforts in preventing deforestation and their conservation initiatives. Read the full release here.
January 2019
Bumitama’s progress on all its complaints cases can be found here.
February 2019
Bumitama issued a press release in response to the allegations and a Stop-Work Order was announced on all land-clearing activities in PT Karya Makmur Langgeng. Bumitama stated that the 18 hectares of land that was developed was mistakenly cleared due to on-site operations usage of a different map from the approved Go-area map. They will be developing a rehabilitation plan and conserving the cleared area. Ground-truthing on the cleared land will also be conducted and Bumitama will publish regular updates through their website and sustainability dashboard.
December 2019
Bumitama clarified that the alleged areas were not cleared but impacted by forest fires which occurred during the peak of the dry season in September 2019.
Upon ground-check, the degree of damage in the fire-scarred area varies; from apparently unaffected to scorched and burned vegetation. These areas were all set-aside for conservation and will undergo rehabilitation planting under the Bumitama Biodiversity and Community Project (BBCP)
Prior to the fire incident, company’s BBCP patrols noticed there were increased illegal logging activity in the area, taking advantage from the access road opened by the local mining company. Activities of external parties inside the conservation areas, amplified by the unusually hot, windy and dry weather, low levels of ground water and hard-to-access terrain are presumed the main causes of the fires.
(read the full release here)
January 2020
Bumitama clarified that:
- Based on the field verification, the alleged clearance area was a fire scar from fires that occurred in September 2019. The incident was reported to relevant local authorities and RSPO.
- These areas were set-aside for conservation based on the rapid HCS assessment and peat delineation study conducted in April 2014 (refer to their 12 September 2014 Announcement: http://ir.bumitama-agri.com/static-files/5ce66171-9006-449f-9189-b206eca3e0c7)
- Bumitama communicated with the local community about its plans to conserve this area and installed signage informing about its zoning for conservation. Despite Bumitama’s management permit, this area belongs to the local community and it’s conservation is therefore subject to the principles of FPIC. Bumitama’s patrolling team approached the people that use this land for small–scale paddy and oil palm Plantation development and cautioned them about the restrain on purchase of palm fruit originated from conservation areas, as per its 2015 Sustainability policy.
