REA has committed to ensuring that its environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy can contribute positively to climate action and biodiversity protection and can deliver sustainable growth for the benefit of all stakeholders into the future.

In support of this strategy, REA has developed an implementation roadmap framed by a series of principles and procedures to evaluate and address climate-related risks and opportunities related to the group’s business and the wider community. These principles and procedures aim to deliver regeneration through driving positive change, enhancing biodiversity and environmental protection, and providing opportunities for stakeholder prosperity. REA has developed work programmes and initiatives based on the need to adapt and thrive in the face of risks and opportunities presented by ESG including climate change.

Information regarding REA’s approach to addressing climate related risks is published in further detail below and in REA’s annual report and accounts.

REA has drawn up actions, priorities and timelines that are subject to regular assessment and disclosure in accordance with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The managing director, the REA board, president director and the chief sustainability officer (CSO) together have oversight of REA’s approach and strategies to address the impact of climate change. Climate-related matters are considered in monthly operational management meetings between all department heads in Indonesia (including the CSO), the president director and the managing director to ensure that the identification and evaluation of climate-related risks are given equal priority to the business and are integral to, management of REA’s operations.

REA has signed collaboration agreements with relevant organisations to develop the expertise in recording and evaluating relevant climate-related performance. Data recorded daily includes temperature, rainfall and humidity. In addition, there is regular monitoring of carbon emissions, water levels and water quality and biodiversity indicators across the operational landscape.

REA has made a commitment to achieve a 50% reduction in net GHG emissions (as defined in SECR below) by 2030 and to work towards the longer term objective of net-zero emissions by 2050. To this end, REA has signed up to the SBTi, an international, cross-industry framework aimed at promoting corporate adoption and disclosure of verified, science-based targets concerning decarbonisation. Under this framework, REA will be setting verified short and medium term emission reduction targets which will be published and against which REA must report in accordance with an agreed schedule. REA has been monitoring and reporting its carbon footprint using the RSPO’s mandatory PalmGHG tool for over 10 years. Going forward, REA intends to adopt the now widely accepted international GHG Corporate Standard for calculating and reporting GHG emissions, in addition to applying the PalmGHG tool.

If, as is projected, rainfall becomes increasingly intense during the wet seasons, infrastructure must be less flood-prone and more weather resistant. This requires investment in road-stoning, drainage and water management. If, as is also predicted, weather conditions become increasingly hot during the dry seasons, water stewardship will become increasingly challenging.

Additionally, REA has conducted several initiatives to identify climate-related (physical) risks:

1. Assessments of steep terrain areas: in line with RSPO guidelines, REA is committed to not planting on steep terrain. Through topography mapping and risk analyses of the landscape, REA has developed a strategy for land use, risk management and mitigation plans to minimise environmental impacts such as soil erosion and loss of nutrients, which in turn reduces flooding risk.
2. Independent expert hydrology assessments: these studies, which are due for completion in the first quarter of 2025, assess the impacts of water levels and flooding on the group’s operations, the surrounding community and the landscape.
3. Satellite monitoring to identify encroachments: loss of forest can lead to erosion and flooding due to shallow water stream. Satelligence externally verifies REA’s satellite monitoring data.
4. Preparation of detailed land use plans for each REA concession: these plans are based on the results of field surveys conducted prior to land clearing, in accordance with the RSPO’s New Planting Procedures (NPP) and group policies, and include Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), soil surveys, HCV assessments conducted by RSPO-approved consultants, carbon stock assessments and, as necessary, hydrological assessments.
5. RSPO certification of mills: 100% of REA’s mills are RSPO-certified, which requires comprehensive climate-related risks assessments, including AMDAL, EIAs, and HCV and HCS assessments.
6. Independent third party audits: REA’s operations, including assessments of HCV, HCS and management, are externally audited by a licensed assessor in accordance with the RSPO certification scheme. Click to view the public summary reports on REA’s certified operations, land use, HCV and HCS for CDM, KMS and PU

REA’s conservation department continues to expand its rewilding and enrichment programme and supplies seedlings of endemic forest fruit and timber tree species to local communities and for the group’s restoration projects.

REA also continues to explore project opportunities aimed at increasing the resilience of the estate soils to both absorb and store increasing amounts of water and nutrients to increase the group’s resilience to volatile weather patterns. These projects include collaboration with researchers and commercial interests to develop methodologies for optimising the use of mill organic by-products, such as EFB and other sources of organic matter to substitute inorganic fertiliser, to improve soil health and fertility and the soil’s water-retention capacity, and to reduce carbon emissions. The current replanting programme encompasses improvements to drainage and the water retention capacity of the soils. Rainfall capture for domestic and operational use reduces the need to extract water from nearby rivers.

In furtherance of these initiatives, in 2023 REA signed an initial five year collaborative research agreement with SEARRP, a Malaysian based organisation engaged in programmes to address environmental issues in the tropics, complementing the existing agreement with University of Cambridge signed in 2021. These agreements provide REA with access to world-renowned research networks focused on working in fragmented tropical landscapes in which oil palm cultivation plays a major role. Initial collaboration commenced in 2023 with REA participating in survey work being carried out as part of the SEARRP SEnSOR programme to evaluate the effectiveness of biodiversity management and monitoring programmes. It is intended to develop a comprehensive soil health monitoring and enhancement research programme involving researchers from local universities and the SEARRP network. In addition, REA has submitted a joint proposal with researchers from the University of Mulawarman and BRIN (the Indonesian National Research and Innovation agency) to investigate the potential for converting organic mill by-products into biofertilisers so as to replace imported inorganic fertilisers.

REA is a long-standing member of GAPKI (https://gapki.id/en/gapki-member/) and, in June 2024, also joined the Palm Oil Collaboration Group (POCG) in furtherance of the drive to reduce negative effects and enhance positive effects of palm oil production. REA also works with Abler Nordic Climate Smart Fund and Plan B to support smallholders with financing for replanting, promoting Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), and working towards achieving their RSPO certification.

With REA’s history of sustainable operations and smallholder projects to manage and ensure the traceability to source of its supply chain (as discussed under Smallholders below), REA aims to be well prepared, and is working with certain customers, to meet the requirements for deforestation-free products such as under the EUDR which comes into effect at the end of 2024.