PT Wirakarya Sakti (WKS), a member of Sinar Mas Forestry, today is honoured with an Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Award 2012 – Southeast Asia for the category of Social Empowerment from Enterprise Asia. Awarding Ceremony was held at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. WKS are the largest pulpwood plantation holder in Jambi, Indonesia and one of the exclusive pulpwood suppliers of Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP).
The Asia Responsible Entrepreneur Award honors businesses that promote empowerment of communities or individuals surrounding its business operation. There are five parameters of assessment to determine the award recipients, which are innovation, integration, solution oriented, sustainability and result. WKS meet those criteria through its community development program in Sei Bayas Village, Tanjung Jabung Barat, Jambi Province, Indonesia. It’s excellent in change illegal loggers into productive and forest friendly farmers.
Previously, many of the Sei Bayas villagers have a poor standard of living with semi nomad way that forces some turns to illegal logging as their source of livelihood. As a local business, WKS started a community development program in 2006. That aimed at providing alternative source of livelihood for the community inside WKS concession area.
Sani Chang, Director of WKS said: “We started this community development together with local NGO and the Department of Agriculture. Three different project transformed illegal loggers into honey bee farmers, fish farmers and bamboo craftsman and we are encouraged to see that current result show the community are able to have income 3 times higher than monthly minimum wages in Jambi Province.”
Sandrawati Wibowo, Director of Corporate Affairs, Sinar Mas Forestry said: “We are pleased that WKS community development program resulted in increasing the surrounding community welfare. WKS adopt the Millenium Development Goals as its basic guidelines and criteria for implementation. We hope this program can serve as a model for other pulpwood concession holder in achieving a balance between social and environment welfare.”
Iskandar, one of the community members in Sei Bayas Village said: “This program was helped us in passing through the difficult times when we were trying to make end meet. We now earn more from fish and honey bee farming, than what we earned during our illegal logging days. Aside from giving us improvement in our living standards, the program also educates us the importance of protecting the forest from illegal logging activities. I sincerely hope the program will continue in the future.”
WKS believe that sustainable development means not only economical gain for the company’s shareholders, but also conserving nature and the well being of the urrounding communities.
Robin Mailoa, CEO of Sinar Mas Forestry said: “As with our other corporate social responsibility programs, this program is aligned with the efforts of the Government of Indonesia in combating illegal logging, through the improvement of living standard and education. As a business that operates in plantation forest, we always encourage our suppliers to implement the sustainable development principles that include conserving nature and the well being of the surrounding communities.”
About Enterprise Asia & Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards
Enterprise Asia is a non-governmental organization in pursuit of entrepreneurship development across the region. Founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, Enterprise Asia has a vision to create an Asia that is rich in entrepreneurship as an engine towards economic and social development that is both progressive and sustainable development within a world of economic equality. Since 2008, Enterprise Asia honors Asian businesses for championing sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship in the following categories: Green Leadership,
Investment in People, Health Promotion, Social Empowerment, SME CSR and Responsible Business Leadership. The ceremony of The Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Award was held in Hotel Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
About Sinar Mas Forestry
Sinar Mas Forestry (SMF) located in Sumatera and Kalimantan islands of Indonesia is the exclusive pulpwood fiber supplier to APP’s pulp mills. As a socially and environmentally responsible company, SMF takes a holistic approach to sustainable forest management ensuring the legality, traceability and the sustainability of their wood supply. “Commitment Beyond Compliance” is SMF’s response to the global challenges and opportunities of sustainable forest management in the 21st century. Commitment Beyond Compliance is a mutually beneficial cooperation that helps to prioritize and implement socially responsible programs in all of the areas where SMF operates.
For more information, please contact:
Cindy Elza, Sinar Mas Forestry
E: cindytia.putri@sinarmasforestry.com
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