InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – In the reply documents that PT Bakrie Sumatera Plantations Tbk., (BSP) wrote on 4 September 2024, the company officially resigned from Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) membership by the documents on 5 August 2024. The resignation happened before RSPO officially published complaint document about the complaint to BSP subsidiary, PT Grahadura Leidongprima (GLP), on 26 August 2024.
Director of PT BSP, Bayu Irianto mentioned that the company resigned from RSPO membership voluntarily. BSP claimed, there was not significant advantages for being RSPO member anymore.
One main issue to be the main focus in the company was the claim from civil organizations (groups) about its obligation to develop plasma plantation (fasilitasi pembangunan kebun masyarakat sekitar (FPKM) by GLP. Bayu thought the claim had no strong legal because GLP got plantation business permit on 8 December 2004, and the obligation to realize FPKM was not available. It has been available since on 28 February 2007 and not available before the period.
“So far, the obligation is not available for GLP. But since 2022, GLP has conducted productive partnership with the local through the cooperation and groups to support smallholders replanting program (SRP),” Bayu wrote on his documents to InfoSAWIT, Friday (6/9/2024).
About the people’s complaint to RSPO about GLP, BSP thought, the complaint procedures by RSPO would not be correct. He thought, there were lacks of validation and verification to the legal subject of complainant and the complaint substance. “We asked to get clarifications about legal subject of complainant to RSPO but it was not well responded. The complaint process ran without delivering protection for RSPO member,” he said.
BSP also sent clarification documents to RSPO about the decision of complaint panel on 26 August 2024, to revise and re-publish the decision in RSPO official website. It was about to confirm transparency and accuracy in complaint management process.
Bayu also said the decision of BSP to resign from RSPO members would be the strategy by the consideration that the membership would not significantly deliver advantages for the company. (T2)
