Musim Mas
Language
Date Progress
October 2024 16 October 2024

Received an initial email notification informing that the RSPO Secretariat will be performing an Initial Diagnosis to determine whether the submission by the Complainant will be accepted or rejected. The details of the complaint were not provided by the RSPO.

November 2024 18 November 2024

The RSPO confirmed that the Complaint has been formally accepted.

The summary of the Complaint which was submitted by the head of Pelanduk Village, Mr. S. Samsul Hadi, S.H., M.H. is as follows:

  1. PT GIN’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program is not concrete and sustainable for the surrounding community;
  2. PT GIN has conducted replanting/cutting down of oil palm trees on a plantation, resulting in the emergence of insect pests damaging the community’s coconut plantation;
  3. PT GIN only provided pesticides twice and did not take responsibility for the community’s coconut plantation damage; and
  4. The community’s pesticide proposal through the Village Head was not urgently responded to by PT GIN, which caused the surrounding community to suffer great losses.

Access to the case tracker on the RSPO Complaint portal/website can be found here.

December 2024

 

 

12 December 2024

PT GIN has provided a written response to the RSPO Secretariat and stated that the allegations are unfounded and not backed by evidence.

Based on the principally good relationship with the community, PT GIN is open to address the Complaint through Bilateral Engagement, as outlined in the RSPO Complaints & Appeals Procedures.

18 December 2024

The RSPO Secretariat informed PT GIN that the Complainant agreed to resolve the Complaint under Bilateral Engagement.

20 December 2024

Based on the parties’ indication to pursue the Bilateral Engagement, the Complaint Panel has adjourned the hearing of the Complaint to enable the Bilateral Engagement process. The Bilateral Engagement process will last for a period of 60 working days, starting from 20 December 2024 to 19 March 2025, as informed by the RSPO Secretariat.

January – February 2025 The Bilateral Engagement process is currently underway.
March 2025 Upon the expiry of the Bilateral Engagement process on 19 March 2025, the parties were unable to reach an amicable settlement, and no request for an extension of time was submitted by either party.
April 2025 The Complaints Panel has directed the RSPO Secretariat to refer the Complaint to the relevant Certification Body to conduct a special audit in accordance with Section 5.9 of the CAP 2017.
May 2025 The Complaints Panel has instructed Secretariat to proceed with an independent investigation in this Complaint pursuant to Section 8.4.1 of the CAP 2017, in place of a special audit.
June – August 2025 The Terms of Reference (ToR) for the independent investigation was being drafted, reviewed and furnished. The ToR was finalised and endorsed by the Complaints Panel on 27 August 2025.
September 2025 The RSPO Secretariat publicly announced a Call for Expression of Interest on its website to invite independent investigators/experts based on the final ToR.
November 2025

 

3 November 2025

The RSPO Secretariat received an email from the Complainant conveying his intention to withdraw the Complaint, on the basis that a series of discussions with PT GIN had resulted in a mutually agreed resolution.

10 November 2025

To exercise prudence, the RSPO Secretariat held a virtual meeting with the Complainant on 10 November 2025 to obtain his confirmation on the same. The RSPO Secretariat also sought clarification from PT GIN on the abovementioned dialogue and mutual consensus, to which PT GIN responded confirming the same.

15 November 2025

After providing confirmation to the RSPO Secretariat regarding the discussions and mutual consensus, PT GIN and the Complainant convened a meeting to finalise their resolution. Subsequently, the parties submitted to the RSPO Secretariat a Minutes of Meeting dated on 15 November 2025, duly signed by both Parties.

January 2026 The Complaints Panel has issued its Decision Letter in accordance with the Parties’ mutual consensus.

With this issuance, the Complaint is officially closed.