SUBJECT:
In March 2025, Mighty Earth released Rapid Report 49 highlighting that three entities from the First Borneo Group (PT Borneo International Anugerah, PT Arjuna Utama Sawit and PT Equator Sumber Rezeki) were responsible for deforestation. The allegations in the report 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
PROGRESS:
September 2025
Mighty Earth claimed that one of Apical’s suppliers, Permata Subur Lestari was sourcing from the First Borneo group. Based on Apical’s investigation and traceability records, it was detected that Permata Subur Lestari was sourcing FFB from PT Borneo International Anugerah (PT.BIA).
As a precautionary measure, Apical has requested Permata Subur Lestari to stop sourcing FFB from PT.BIA immediately. Engagement with the supplier is ongoing.
October 2025
Permata Subur Lestari has provided written confirmation to Apical that as of 25th September 2025, it has ended its sourcing relationship with PT.BIA.
Apical received further allegations from Mighty Earth that Permata Subur Lestari (PSL) is sourcing from another First Borneo entity, PT Khatulistiwa Agro Abadi (PT. KAA).
Apical engaged further with PSL and requested them to further screen their FFB supply to identify any sources of FFB from PT. KAA. Through the further investigation conducted, PSL identified that one of their cooperatives, Koperasi Sinar Fajar Borneo – KSFB, was sourcing from PT.KAA. PSL requested that KSFB stops sourcing from PT.KAA immediately and they have done so as of 14th October 2025. The written statement from KSFB can be viewed here.
In addition, PSL has conducted socialization with KSFB for awareness to not source from any deforested areas and to ensure compliance. As an added measure, Apical has requested that PSL conducts socialization to all PSL’s direct suppliers to ensure no sourcing from deforested areas, including the First Borneo entities.
January 2026
Apical has decided to suspend First Borneo group and will be communicating this to its Tier 1 suppliers.
For supplier engagement and monitoring purposes and as part of continuous improvement, Apical will conduct a field verification in March 2026 to assess the FFB due diligence and traceability systems of PSL.
March 2026
Apical conducted its field verification on the first week of March 2026 in which the team verified whether there has been supply of FFB originating from any First Borneo entities into PSL’s supply chain after September 2025.
During the verification, the Apical team reviewed PSL’s FFB supply from September 2025 to March 2026. Based on the findings, no FFB from First Borneo entities were detected from October 2025 till the date of verification.
The Apical team also visited KSFB and reviewed their FFB supply records from the period of September 2025 till February 2026. Similar to the findings in PSL, no records of FFB supply from First Borneo entities were detected from October 2025 onwards.
The Apical team also took the opportunity to provide recommendations on improvements to PSL’s sustainability practices. This includes enhancements of their company policy and procedures, more socialization to be conducted both internally and for suppliers and for improvement of their due diligence process for new FFB suppliers.
With the above actions taken, we consider this case closed.
