Case study: How ANJ respects and promotes human rights
Austindo Nusantara Jaya (ANJ) is an agricultural commodity holding company that engages primarily, both directly and through its subsidiaries, in trading, services and operations related to palm oil plantations and processing. ANJ’s Sustainability Policy states its clear commitments to upholding and respecting the human rights of employees and all stakeholders Tweet This!, who may be directly or indirectly impacted by its operations.
This case study is based on the 2019 Sustainability Report by ANJ published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
ANJ recognises and is guided by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948) which sets out fundamental rights to be universally protected, does not subscribe to any form of exploitation in any of its business operations and practices zero tolerance with regard to discrimination. In order to respect and promote human rights ANJ took action to:
- comply with laws and regulations
- promote children’s rights
- uphold the standards of the International Labour Organisation
- train security personnel on human rights
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) ANJ has identified;
- How ANJ proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by ANJ to respect and promote human rights
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report ANJ identified a range of material issues, such as economic performance, biodiversity, occupational health and safety, emissions, local communities. Among these, respecting and promoting human rights stands out as a key material issue for ANJ.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups ANJ engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics ANJ engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
Shareholders and Investors | · Production performance report · Financial performance/Investor newsletter · General Meetings of Shareholders (AGMS/ EGMS) · Annual Report · Sustainability Report · Corporate website · Speeches by BOD |
Employees and labourers | · Labour union · Training and seminars · Soft skill trainings, certifications, seminars · Collective Labour Agreement · Socialisation, meetings, magazines, newsletters |
Central Government/ regulator | · Licence and permit process · Regular meeting · Regular reporting, including Annual Report to OJK |
Local government | · Participation in regional development planning forum (musrenbang) · Stakeholder meeting · Coordination of CSR working practices with local administration working units (SKPD) · Dialog and cooperation · Facilitation and mediation |
Partners Smallholders
| · Regular meetings · Workshops · Training & assistance |
Customers (B2B) | · Business partnership · ISPO and RSPO certification |
Community (Including Local Leaders) | · Stakeholder meetings · Community involvement and development programmes · Responsible development projects · Capacity building · Stakeholder meetings and dialog · Socialisation of procedure · Response to grievance · Information dissemination and dialog |
Media | · Production report · Financial performance/Investor newsletter · AGMS/EGMS · Annual Report · Sustainability Report · Press Releases · Media Briefings · Interviews · Site visits · Press conference |
Non-Governmental Organisations | · Cooperation on community development programmes · Direct meetings |
What actions were taken by ANJ to respect and promote human rights?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report ANJ reports that it took the following actions for respecting and promoting human rights:
- Complying with laws and regulations
- ANJ upholds and respects human rights through its policies, procedures and overall method of business practice and complies with national employment laws, as well as the RSPO P&C (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Principles and Criteria) on no exploitation, human rights, and community engagement. ANJ’s subsidiaries ANJA, ANJAS, SMM, and KAL all hold RSPO certification. ANJ’s remaining plantations all uphold the RSPO P&C and are either in the process of applying for certification or will apply when operating commercially.
- Promoting children’s rights
- As stated in its Sustainability Policy, ANJ recognises the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children (1990). ANJ makes sure that children in and around its operations are given the right to be with their families with access to housing, adequate nutrition, clean water, electricity and basic facilities. ANJ also provides them with access to healthcare, basic education and protection from abuse and neglect. ANJ’s commitment to protecting the rights of children means that its policies and procedures clearly prohibit the employment of underage workers, or young workers exposed to hazardous work and these provisions also apply to ANJ’s vendors and contractors.
- Upholding the standards of the International Labour Organisation
- ANJ upholds the standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which advances social justice and promotes decent work by setting international labour standards. ANJ’s labour rights commitment includes implementing strict policies regarding no trafficked or forced labour in any of its business practices. ANJ also promotes decent work conditions through fair and equitable benefits by providing medical insurance, retirement plans and annual, sick and maternity leave.
- Training security personnel on human rights
- All security management practices and their implementation at ANJ’s operations are carried out in accordance with its commitments to respecting human rights. All security personnel, including members of the local police force assigned to ANJ’s sites, has undergone the national certified training programme on human rights, ethics, and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPHSR). ANJ also makes sure that refresher training is carried out regularly on its security policy and procedures, as well as the grievance procedure.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 410-1 Security personnel trained in human rights policies or procedures
Disclosure 410-1 Security personnel trained in human rights policies or procedures corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Targets: 16.1
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by ANJ, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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