Golden-Agri Resources (GAR) is a Singaporean palm oil company, listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange since 1999.Helena Varkkey, The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia (Abingdon: Routledge, 2015), p. 101 In May 2015, its market capitalization was $4.1 billion. Franky Widjaja, of the Sinar Mas family is its CEO. Alnoor is a subsidiary of GAR. Lew Syn Pau used to serve as a member of the Singaporean Parliament for 13 years and is a member of the board of directors of the firm.
Criticism of environmental record
Helena Varkkey, The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia (Abingdon: Routledge, 2015), p. 90 According to Greenpeace, GAR has six concessions on peatlands in Riau, with an estimated total area of 20,000 hectares.Helena Varkkey, The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia (Abingdon: Routledge, 2015), p. 131 GAR was reported to have 1,880 hectares of peat in Central Kalimantan and 1,330 hectares in West Kalimantan, while claiming a zero-deforestation footprint.Helena Varkkey, The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia (Abingdon: Routledge, 2015), p. 132 Greenpeace also discovered 322 hotspots on five to GAR's concessions in Central Kalimantan. Helena Varkkey, The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia (Abingdon: Routledge, 2015), p. 143 GAR denied these accusations and said to have a zero-burning policy since 1997.Helena Varkkey, The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia (Abingdon: Routledge, 2015), p. 143 Interviews with senior officers revealed evidence to the contrary.Helena Varkkey, The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia (Abingdon: Routledge, 2015), p. 143 In about 2010, companies such as Burger King, Unilever and Nestlé cancelled their supplier contracts with Singapore-listed GAR subsidiaries due to unsustainable farming practices. Helena Varkkey, The Haze Problem in Southeast Asia (Abingdon: Routledge, 2015), p. 97 Golden owns a subsidiary in Liberia called Golden Veroleum, which in 2018 was removed from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil for alleged land acquisition violations.
References
External links Official Website