01 / UPSTREAM PALM OIL
PT DHARMA SATYA NUSANTARA TBK (DSNG)
With &Green’s financing, DSNG will be working towards meeting international sustainability standards (including IFC PS, RSPO, and full supply chain NDPE) as well as its commitments in terms of the &Green LPP. This includes incorporating third party suppliers in a traceable no-deforestation supply chain.
Project summary
| COUNTRY | Indonesia |
| PROVINCIAL JURISDICTION | 4 provinces in Kalimantan |
| INVESTEE COMPANY | PT Dharma Satya Nusantara Tbk (“DSNG”), jointly and severally with two subsidiaries: PT Dharma Intisawit Nugraha (“DIN”) and PT Karya Prima Agro Sejahtera (“KPAS”) |
| SUPPLY CHAIN | Upstream palm oil |
| TOTAL INVESTMENT SIZE | USD 130 million |
| &GREEN PARTICIPATION | USD 30 million loan |
| EFFECTIVE DATE | 2020 |
| LOAN TERM | 10 year tenor |
| CO-INVESTOR | Debt capital markets institutional investors in Indonesia |
INVESTING IN SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL SOURCING
02 / blended finance
INVESTMENT RATIONALE
&Green’s maiden investment in the palm oil sector establishes a 10-year partnership with a well-regarded, Top-10 Indonesian palm oil company with a strong commitment to sustainable and inclusive production of palm oil. Anchoring this partnership is DSNG’s public commitment to fully implement its NDPE throughout its supply chain by 2025 and to achieve RSPO certification of its remaining 8 CPO mills by 2023. In making itself accountable to &Green and its other stakeholders, DSNG is setting a high standard for transparency, which makes its NDPE unique in the industry.
03 / the action plan
ENVIRONMENTAL RETURN & SOCIAL INCLUSION
Environmental returns below are delineated for East Kalimantan only. However, the NDPE will apply across DSNG’s West, Central and North Kalimantan concessions. Forest conservation and social inclusion outcomes that can be achieved outside East Kalimantan will be assessed and subsequently monitored throughout the loan tenor.
The Landscape Protection Plan (LPP) sets out how the environmental return and social inclusion impact will be generated during the financing period, within the landscape or project area. The LPP for DSNG is defined by the land use plans of seven subsidiaries for their respective estates (including plasma farms), as well as their surrounding landscapes. This is an overall complex and large geography that DSNG will manage under a single cohesive plan at the group level.
For more information refer to the Landscape Protection Plan.
DSNG has already exhibited strong commitment to the deliverables required by &Green, as evidenced from the updates to the Best Practices section of its website and the specific reference to the &Green Fund in the Board of Director’s report in the DSNG 2019 Annual Report.
ENVIRONMENTAL RETURN
On-concession, DSNG is generating its ERs by protecting and maintaining over 4,000 ha of forest in all concessions, including high conservation value (HCV) and riparian buffers, in East Kalimantan. Furthermore, DSNG is restoring small areas of degraded forest.
In the off-concession areas, DSNG is emphasising the protection of the forest left standing outside the concessions through its NDPE implementation strategy. This does not yet take into account the expected reduction of illegal or destructive activities (logging, burning for crops), which threaten the forest conservation areas within the landscape, nor the amount of HCV areas its plantation estate suppliers might report. Quantification of these possible outcomes will further contribute to the ER over time.
FOREST COVER IN AND AROUND KALIMANTAN
SOCIAL INCLUSION
DSNG employs a fully-managed plasma smallholder scheme, which ensures higher yields through the company’s high intensification program, lower environmental impact and improved incomes for smallholders. The project further reflects strong social inclusion, as reflected in the LPP, as smallholders also benefit from support provided by DSNG through access to high quality inputs, training and finance. Such services and resources will be defined specifically for particular farmer groupings and areas to provide the appropriate incentives to drive the adoption of DSNG’s sourcing policies under its NDPE commitment. Striving for an inclusive supply chain is the over-arching goal and DSNG is committed to ensure its full fruit bunch (FFB) suppliers have the tools and resources which they require to understand the trends around sustainable sourcing, and therefore enable them to comply.
The specific social inclusion targets (alongside) are in addition to more typical social outreach programmes, such as schools, scholarships, and healthcare clinics operated or supported by DSNG.
04 / ASSESSING RISKS
ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL RISK ASSESSMENT
This transaction comprises moderate E&S Risk due to the length of time that DSNG has operated in the East Kalimantan landscape – over 30 years. However, the project is dependent on further expansion of the company’s already well-managed sustainability policies and practices. DSNG is committed to RSPO and has been operating successfully and without any major incidents in a socially complex area for more than 30 years.
Results of a gap analysis against the IFC PS by a reputable E&S consultant showed that DSNG is already demonstrating good practices in line with RSPO standards, which provides a strong platform to meet IFC PS. Requirements for DSNG to achieve IFC PS compliance are further set out in the Environmental & Social Action Plan.
The ESAP has been developed based on a gap analysis against IFC Performance Standards, by an independent consultant, together with inputs from the Investment Advisor (SAIL Ventures).
&Green will receive reporting on progress against the LPP and ESAP, initially bi-annually for the first two years of the investment term, and subsequently annually. Progress reporting will be verified through an annual audit by an independent external consultant.
