Owing to its unrivaled versatility and yield efficiency, palm oil remains one of the most widely produced, consumed and traded vegetable oils in the world. Given the imminent challenge climate change poses to palm oil production, as well as the ever-present need to uphold environmental conservation and community development, we must find new and sustainable ways to produce palm oil.

At Apical, we enshrine sustainable development at the core of our business, prompting us to minimize our impacts and develop resources responsibly. With many initiatives and programs in place, we constantly strive to do our part by building a transparent, traceable and sustainable palm oil supply chain.

As we expand our business, we will continue to engage our suppliers to commit to our sustainability policy and help them along their sustainability journey.

This is why sustainability is our way of thinking, being and operating our business. We are constantly striving to do our part in building a transparent, traceable and sustainable palm oil supply chain.

The highly fragmented and complex supply chain can make it challenging to trace palm oil back to its source. Despite the complexities, as a Group, we are committed to No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation (NDPE), and we go to great lengths to ensure our traceability to origin maintains an unparalleled record.

Today, our Traceability to Plantation stands at 99.8 percent (July 2022). In 2021, Apical was also rated the second most transparent palm oil company globally with 89.4 percent in the Sustainable Palm Oil Transparency Toolkit Assessment by Zoological Society of London.

Apical2030 and Our Sustainability Journey

Just as global challenges continue to evolve, so should our sustainability goals and aspirations. We developed Apical2030 as our road map to start a new chapter in our sustainability journey. Centered on creating a positive social, environmental and business impact, Apical2030 accelerates our sustainability commitment by driving transformative changes in the palm oil sector.

The road map will guide our decisions and actions with the aim of achieving sustainable growth and value creation for all our stakeholders, all while protecting the planet. Apical2030 includes 10 ambitious time-bound targets around four strategic pillars, namely Transformative Partnerships, Climate Action, Green innovation and Inclusive Progress.

Four targets aimed at collaborating with stakeholders along the supply chain to spur positive changes relating to NDPE compliance, traceability and conservation.

• Collaborate with suppliers to achieve 100 percent NDPE compliant supply chain by 2025.
• Engage 100 percent suppliers for traceability independent verification by 2025.
• Collaborate with suppliers to promote clean energy through 20 biogas plants.
• Partner with suppliers to protect and/or conserve 150,000 hectares of forest and peat areas by 2030.

Two targets aimed at taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

• Reduce 50 percent greenhouse gas emission intensity in our production against 2020 baseline by 2030.
• Achieve net zero by 2050.

Two targets aimed at leveraging on innovation for an increasingly sustainable operation.

• 38 percent of total energy use derived from renewable and clean energy sources.
• Improve water use intensity by 30 percent through circular solutions.

Two targets aimed at empowering communities and improving livelihoods through tailored initiatives.

• Support communities through 30 Sustainable Living Villages by 2030.
• Support 5,000 independent smallholders to achieve certification by 2030.

Building a more sustainable and responsible supply chain requires the commitment and collective effort of all parties, including industry partners, palm oil companies, independent smallholders and non-government organizations among many others.

To date, Apical has rolled out various initiatives to drive greater traceability, NDPE compliance, smallholder inclusion and certification.

These include the Traceability Outreach Program to provide suppliers with simplified traceability solutions, the Smallholder Inclusion for Better Livelihood & Empowerment (‘SMILE’) program to help independent smallholders in Indonesia improve their yields, acquire international certification, and secure sales premiums.

And the Sustainability Assurance & Innovation Alliance (SUSTAIN), a palm oil blockchain solution formed to improve traceability to palm oil production areas and accelerate the implementation of NDPE policies across complex supply chains.

Apical2030 builds on all these existing efforts while adding ambitious sustainability targets for a transformative and sustainable change in the palm oil sector. As a business with a global footprint, we understand our contribution and the important role we play in the markets we operate in – as such, our efforts and sustainability targets are also intended to support national ESG agendas.