What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2018 Sustainability Report GAR identified a range of material issues, such as labour relations and human rights, occupational health and safety and employee wellbeing, rights of communities and indigenous peoples, corporate governance, ethics and integrity. Among these, protecting biodiversity stands out as a key material issue for GAR.

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:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s 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 GAR engages with:                       

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Customers and consumers	·      Multi-stakeholder forums and industry groups ·      GAR website ·      Social media ·      GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·      Presentations and meetings ·      Field visits ·      Consumer Focus group discussions ·      Monthly e-update ·      Annual Report ·      Sustainability Report ·      Materiality assessment
Employees	·      Annual appraisals ·      Townhall meetings ·      Celebration of major festivals ·      HR Training/e-learning & testing ·      Internal campaigns e.g. International Women’s Day ·      Trade union meetings ·      GAR website ·      GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·      Social media ·      Materiality assessment
Financial community (investors, banks, financial analysts)	·      Quarterly analyst briefings ·      One-on-one communication ·      Field visits ·      Monthly e-update ·      GAR website ·      GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·      Social media ·      Annual Report ·      Sustainability Report ·      Webinar ·      Materiality assessment
Governments and Regulatory bodies	·      One-on-one meetings ·      Field visits ·      Multi-stakeholder forums and events ·      GAR website ·      GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·      Annual Report ·      Sustainability Report ·      Webinar ·      Materiality assessment
Industry bodies and trade associations	·      HCV/HCS Working groups ·      HCSA Board meeting ·      Executive committee meetings ·      Multi-stakeholder forums and events ·      Materiality assessment
Local communities	·      Participatory Mapping and Participatory Conservation approach and community development programmes ·      Complaint handling, grievance procedures and conflict resolution mechanisms ·      Dialogue and consultation with community groups and representatives ·      Community programmes ·      Outreach programmes to combat fire and haze
Media	·      One-on-one communication ·      GAR website ·      GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·      Social media ·      Field visits ·      Briefings and interviews ·      Articles and op-eds ·      Multi-stakeholder forums events ·      Monthly e-update ·      Annual Report ·      Sustainability Report ·      Materiality assessments
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)	·      Multi-stakeholder forums and events ·      GAR website ·      GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·      Social media ·      One-on-one communication ·      Monthly e-update ·      Annual Report ·      Sustainability Report ·      Webinar ·      Materiality assessment
Suppliers	·      Supplier Support Team and dedicated e-helpline ·      One-on-one communication ·      Workshops and training sessions ·      Site visits ·      Questionnaires and self-assessments ·      GAR website ·      GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·      Social media ·      Annual Report ·      Sustainability Report ·      Materiality assessment
Certification bodies: RSPO, ISPO, ISCC	·      Working groups ·      One-on-one meetings ·      RSPO Roundtable meetings ·      RSPO ACOP ·      ISCC Report ·      Materiality assessment

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics GAR engaged with its stakeholders through surveys – 170 surveys sent to internal stakeholders and 300 surveys sent to external stakeholders – and interviews.

What actions were taken by GAR to protect biodiversity?

In its 2018 Sustainability Report GAR reports that it took the following actions for protecting biodiversity:

• Preserving and protecting HCV areas
• Operating in Indonesia places GAR in or near areas of rich biodiversity. Through HCV (High Conservation Value) assessments conducted by licensed HCV assessors, GAR identified the rare and endangered species within its concessions and surrounding areas, including threatened species under Indonesia’s National Law of Protected Species (Indonesian Government Regulation No. 7 of 1999) or on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red list. GAR continues to work to preserve and protect HCV areas, and implements a strict Zero Tolerance Policy towards hunting, injuring, possessing and killing of rare and endangered wildlife.

• Educating stakeholders on biodiversity protection
• GAR continuously educates its employees, local communities and related stakeholders on the importance of protecting rare and endangered species. GAR also continues to work on orangutan conservation as a special focus area, and renewed its partnership with Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) to rehabilitate and release wild-born, formerly captive primates. GAR aims to release another 60 orangutans by 2021 back into the wild, specifically back to the Seruyan Forest in Central Kalimantan. Most importantly, the new partnership agreement focuses on local community and school education programmes on orangutan conservation.

• Preventing fires
• GAR continues to maintain its vigilance on fire prevention and management and has over 10,000 fire fighters on standby across all its plantations. Outside its own concessions, GAR implements its community collaboration programme on long-term fire prevention – Desa Makmur Peduli Api (DMPA) – which, in 2018, was rolled out to 15 more villages. Aside from training and equipping local community members to suppress fires rapidly, GAR also works with schools to educate the younger generation and drive long-term change in the community. Noting that in 2018 there was an increase in fire incidents involving some of the original pilot villages, GAR strengthened mitigation plans and focused on:
  • Prevention: raise fire prevention awareness, community empowerment and improve water management system
  • Preparedness: have well-trained and well-equipped personnel and improve infrastructure
  • Early warning systems: hot spot maps; effective and efficient fire patrol systems; implementation of rating system for potential for fires
  • Quick response teams

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 304-1 Operational sites owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas

2) Disclosure 304-2 Significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity

3) Disclosure 304-3 Habitats protected or restored

4) Disclosure 304-4 IUCN Red List species and national conservation list species with habitats in areas affected by operations

 

Disclosure 304-1 Operational sites owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
• Business theme: Water-related ecosystems and biodiversity
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
• Business theme: Marine biodiversity
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
• Business theme: Mountain ecosystems, Natural habitat degradation, Terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems

Disclosure 304-2 Significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
• Business theme: Water-related ecosystems and biodiversity
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
• Business theme: Marine biodiversity
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
• Business theme: Mountain ecosystems, Natural habitat degradation, Terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems

Disclosure 304-3 Habitats protected or restored corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
• Business theme: Water-related ecosystems and biodiversity
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
• Business theme: Marine biodiversity
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
• Business theme: Mountain ecosystems, Natural habitat degradation, Terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems

Disclosure 304-4 IUCN Red List species and national conservation list species with habitats in areas affected by operations corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
• Business theme: Water-related ecosystems and biodiversity
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
• Business theme: Marine biodiversity
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
• Business theme: Mountain ecosystems, Natural habitat degradation, Terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by GAR, 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/

Note to GAR: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2015 Sustainability Report GAR identified a range of material issues, such as deforestation of High Carbon Stock (HCS) forests and peat lands, community relations and resolution of community conflicts, degradation of High Conservation Value (HCV) forests and biodiversity, free, prior, informed consent (FPIC) for indigenous and local communities. Among these, promoting employee health, safety and wellbeing stands out as a key material issue for GAR.

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:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s 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 GAR engages with:                       

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Customers and consumers	·         Multi-stakeholder forums and industry groups ·         One-on-one meetings ·         Monthly e-update ·         GAR website ·         GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·         Annual Report ·         Sustainability Report ·         Social media
Employees	·         Annual appraisals ·         Townhall meetings ·         Trade union meeting ·         HR training sessions ·         Surveys ·         GAR website ·         GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·         Social media
Investors, banks, financial analysts	·         Investor briefings ·         One-on-one communications ·         Communication via email ·         Monthly e-update ·         GAR website ·         GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·         Annual Report ·         Sustainability Report
Governments	·         One-on-one meetings ·         Multi-stakeholder forums ·         Events ·         GAR website ·         GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·         Annual Report ·         Sustainability Report
Industry bodies and trade associations	·         One-on-one meetings ·         Multi-stakeholder forums ·         Events
Local communities	·         FPIC through GAR’s participatory conservation approach ·         Complaints handling and conflict resolution mechanisms ·         Two-way dialogue and consultation with community groups and representatives ·         Involvement in GAR’s community programmes ·         Involvement in the Desa Siaga Api programme to combat fire and haze
Media	·         One-on-one communications, briefings, interviews, articles and op-eds ·         Corporate events ·         Multi-stakeholder forums and external events ·         GAR website ·         GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·         Annual Report ·         Sustainability Report ·         Social media
Civil society organisations (CSOs)	·         Multi-stakeholder forums ·         Regular one-on-one meetings ·         GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·         GAR website ·         Monthly e-update ·         Annual Report ·         Sustainability Report ·         Social media
Suppliers (including smallholders)	·         One-on-one communications ·         Workshops and training sessions ·         Site visits ·         Questionnaires ·         GAR website ·         GAR Sustainability Dashboard ·         Annual Report ·         Sustainability Report
Certification bodies: RSPO, ISPO, ISCC	·         Regular reporting ·         Participation in working groups ·         One-on-one meetings ·         Roundtable meetings

 How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritize material issues GAR conducted a survey among external stakeholders and internal management. The external stakeholders – 119 people – consulted through the survey included academia, banks and investors, civil society organizations, customers and consumers, certification bodies, trade and industry associations and Indonesian and Singaporean government.

What actions were taken by GAR to promote employee health, safety and wellbeing?

In its 2015 Sustainability Report GAR reports that it took the following actions for promoting employee health, safety and wellbeing:

• Introducing a new Health and Safety policy
• GAR launched a new Health and Safety policy to:
  • raise awareness of health and safety management among employees and related stakeholders
  • promote compliance with government regulations and related guidelines
  • implement health and safety practices as part of GAR’s operating processes
  • identify and manage operational risks, to prevent and reduce work-related accidents
  • constantly improve the company’s OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) performance through regular monitoring and evaluation

• Providing OHS training to employees
• GAR has approximately 530 dedicated OHS experts within its workforce and carries out periodic training for all employees, in line with national regulations. In 2014 and 2015, 6,890 of the company’s downstream employees were offered OHS training.

• Offering employees access to healthcare
• Committed to providing its entire workforce with access to healthcare, GAR has built healthcare facilities on most of its estates. The facilities are staffed with qualified healthcare professionals, who participate in regular training to improve their skills. At the end of 2015, the company had 150 polyclinics with inpatient facilities, 26 doctors and 291 paramedics, serving on average 1,113 patients every day. The medical care these healthcare facilities provide includes pre-employment medical check-ups for new recruits and special medical check-ups for workers exposed to possible health and safety hazards.

Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?

The GRI indicators/Standards addressed in this case are:

1) G4-LA5: Percentage of total workforce represented in formal joint management–worker health and safety committees that help monitor and advise on occupational health and safety programs – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 403-1 Workers representation in formal joint management–worker health and safety committees

2) G4-SO1: Percentage of operations with implemented local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programs – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 413-1 Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programs

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by GAR, 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) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page

3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx

4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to GAR: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.