Medan, 3rd June 2021 – In an effort to support herd immunity and support economic recovery in the oil palm plantation sector, Asian Agri, which is part of the Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) group of companies, organized “Gotong Royong Vaccinations” for all of its employees across several regions in Sumatra.
Director of Sustainability and Stakeholder Relations, Bernard Riedo, said that the implementation of the mass vaccinations represented Asian Agri’s contribution to the broader National Vaccination Program, a government’s priority agenda to fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
“This vaccination is part of company’s effort to provide protection for all our employees across all operational areas, so that they can continue to contribute in the new normal era. We want all employees to feel safe and comfortable at work because for us, employee safety is top priority,” said Bernard, Thursday (3/6/2021).
He added, “We believe our program will be able to bolster government efforts in supporting the national economic recovery, especially in the oil palm plantation industry.”
The COVID-19 vaccine will be simultaneously administered in all of Asian Agri operational areas in Medan, Riau and Jambi.
RGE, which manages a group of resource-based manufacturing companies, has allocated 43,474 doses of Sinopharm’s Covid-19 vaccine to be administered to all RGE group employees across several regions in Indonesia, including Asian Agri. In the first phase starting end May, a total of 6,000 doses will be given to staff.
Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Shinta W. Kamdani expressed appreciation of RGE’s Gotong Royong Vaccination program and hopes that more companies will do the same for their employees.
“We hope the synergy between the government and the private sector, through the successful implementation of the national vaccine, will contribute meaningfully to not only protecting the health of workers but also supporting our national economic recovery,” said Shinta.
Previously, President Joko Widodo said that the Gotong Royong Vaccination for workers initiated by Kadin represented a form of cooperation between the private sector and the government to achieve the dual goal of herd immunity and safeguarding jobs and productivity.
“We hope everyone is protected from COVID-19. We also hope that production areas, industries, factories and companies will be able to work more productively and there will be no spread of COVID-19, “said President Joko Widodo.
Kadin announced that 22,736 companies and 10 million workers have registered for the Gotong Royong Vaccination program and that number is expected to grow.
About Asian Agri:
Asian Agri is one of Indonesia’s largest palm oil producers. Founded in 1979, the company today manages 100,000 hectares of plantation land and employs over 25,000 people. A pioneer of the Indonesian government’s Trans-National Government Migration (PIR-Trans) program, Asian Agri currently works with 30,000 Plasma Scheme smallholders in Riau and Jambi who operate 60,000 hectares of palm oil plantations, and independent smallholders who manage a total 41,000 hectares.
Implementing a strict “no burn” policy since 1994 and best practices in sustainable plantation management, Asian Agri has helped its smallholder partners improve productivity, yield and supply chain traceability, while assisting them obtain certifications. The company’s mills are technologically advanced and energy self-sufficient, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.
Asian Agri (PT Inti Indosawit Subur) is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) since 2006. More than 86% of its owned plantations in North Sumatra, Riau & Jambi provinces and 100% of Plasma Scheme smallholder plantations in Riau & Jambi provinces have been RSPO certified. All its owned plantations and those owned by scheme smallholders ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) certified since 2014. In 2019, the company also achieved 100% ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) certification.
The company’s operations are ISO 14001 certified, while its Learning Institute and nursery research center in Riau province, Indonesia are both ISO 9001 certified. Asian Agri’s laboratory at the Center for Research and Development in Tebing Tinggi is accredited by the National Accreditation Committee under the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ILAC MRA).
About RGE
RGE Pte Ltd manages a group of resource-based manufacturing companies with global operations. Our work ranges from the upstream, comprising sustainable resource development and harvesting, to downstream, where our companies create diverse value-added products for the global market. Our commitment to sustainable development underpins our operations, as we strive towards what is good for the community, good for the country, good for climate, good for customer, and good for company. RGE was founded in 1973. The assets held by RGE companies today exceed US$20 billion. With more than 60,000 employees, we have operations in Indonesia, China, Brazil, Spain and Canada and continue to expand to engage newer markets and communities. www.rgei.com
For further information, please contact:
Lidya Veronica
Media Relations
E-mail: lidya_veronika@www.asianagri.com
