SUBJECT
In March 2025, Mighty Earth published Rapid Response Report 49 that highlighted three entities from the First Borneo Group (PT Borneo International Anugerah, PT Arjuna Utama Sawit and PT Equator Sumber Rezeki) that allegedly conducted large scaled deforestation.
The allegations are as follows:
- PT Borneo International Anugerah – 600 ha between January to June 2022 and integrated deforestation alerts of 2,650 ha between March 2023 to March 2025
- PT Arjuna Utama Sawit (PT AUS) – 750 ha of integrated deforestation alerts between March 2023 to March 2025
- PT Equator Sumber Rezeki (PT ESR) – >250ha of deforestation between August 2024 to February 2025
First Borneo Group and its subsidiaries are not Apical’s direct suppliers.
PROGRESS
September 2025
Mighty Earth claimed that one of Apical’s direct suppliers was sourcing from First Borneo group. Apical logged a grievance tracker on this case. The details and progress can be found here.
Apical verified the claims with our deforestatation monitoring partner. The claims were confirmed.
November 2025
Mighty Earth shared an updated structure of the First Borneo group with Apical which included 6 more entities (4 unverified, presumed plantations and 2 entities at the plantation level). From this updated list, Apical detected another 2 mills which were sourcing from these plantations. Apical immediately requested these 2 mills (Gemilang Sawit Lestari, GSL & Mustika Agung Sawit Gemilang, MASG) to stop sourcing from the First Borneo plantations.
December 2025
GSL confirmed that they ceased sourcing from PT. Bintang Riau Sejahtera in late November 2025. MASG provided a general confirmation that they do not source illegal FFB or FFB from deforested areas and that they have NDPE commitments.
January 2026
MASG confirmed that they have stopped purchasing FFB from PT. Bintang Riau Sejahtera.
Considering the historical deforestation associated with the First Borneo group which includes its entities linked with large scale and continuous deforestation, Apical has decided to suspend the group from our supply chain.
With the above decision made, we will communicate this to our tier 1 suppliers and consider this case closed. As First Borneo is not a direct supplier, any future engagement related to First Borneo plantations will be conducted through associated tier 1 suppliers in accordance with Apical’s grievance procedure, when they are ready.
February 2026
Based on Mighty Earth’s investigation, an additional allegation claimed that despite confirmation provided by MASG in January 2026, there was FFB detected from PT. Bintang Riau Sejahtera within MASG’s supply chain in mid January 2026.
Apical re-opened this case for further investigation and engaged MASG for further clarification.
March 2026
MASG communicated that there was a leakage of PT.Bintang Riau Sejahtera FFB into their supply chain. This was due to a misunderstanding within their operational department. MASG have reaffirmed their commitment to adhere to Apical’s policies and to not receive FFB from PT.BRS and the First Borneo group.
As a part of Apical’s monitoring and grievance management, a field verification will be conducted to confirm that no First Borneo FFB supply enters its supply chain.
April 2026
Apical conducted its field verification at GSL to verify whether there has been any FFB supply originating from First Borneo entities after November 2025.
Verification activities were carried out which include interviews, document review, and field observations with GSL personnel and their FFB suppliers.
Based on the results of the grievance field verification and through examination of the procedures and processes of PT GSL’s FFB suppliers, the Apical verification team confirmed that PT GSL had sourced from PT Bintang Riau Sejahtera (First Borneo group). However, the verification team also confirmed that the last supply from PT BRS was in November 2025 based on the records made available.
June 2026
In June 2026, several stakeholders raised some additional allegations to Apical related to PT.GSL. The assertions were that PT. BRS was still supplying FFB to PT.GSL.
Apical immediately requested PT. GSL to conduct an internal investigation to verify the allegations. Based on the findings of the investigation, PT.GSL detected that one of its suppliers was using deceptive tactics to supply FFB from PT.BRS into the mill. Since the detection, PT. GSL immediately terminated the supplier.
Based on Apical’s recommendations, PT.GSL conducted socialisation to all its FFB suppliers regarding the sourcing restrictions of PT.GSL, which includes specific instructions not to receive FFB from PT.BRS to avoid any future non-compliance.
July 2026
Apical have verified that there was no FFB supply originating from any First Borneo entities for PT. MASG after February 2026.
The Apical verification team confirmed that PT MASG had sourced from PT Bintang Riau Sejahtera, but no other First Borneo’s subsidiaries. The verification team also confirmed that PT MASG’s last sourcing from PT BRS was in February 2026. PT MASG has also conducted socialization with their FFB suppliers regarding the PT BRS restrictions and informed their weighbridge and security system regarding the restrictions. Sign boards have also been installed at the security post to remind suppliers of the restrictions on sourcing from illegal areas.
As a proactive measure, Apical has conducted a spatial analysis for all Apical supplying mills within 150km of First Borneo (FB) entities. To strengthen our approach in ensuring that First Borneo FFB does not enter our supply chain, Apical has communicated to its Tier 1 suppliers within the above-mentioned category to remind them that First Borneo is a part of its No Buy List and to exclude them as restricted entities. This action is to send a clear message regarding Apical’s stance in relation to NDPE non-compliance.
With the abovementioned findings in place, we consider this case closed.
