- A publication titled “Burning Down the House” by Greenpeace (November 4, 2019)
- Greenpeace made a publication about 30 oil palm companies that allegedly committed deliberate burning in Indonesia.
- In the publication, Greenpeace claimed that Korindo carried out burning, resulting in 11.461 ha of burn scar recorded from 2015 to 2018.
- On September 23, 2019 and November 1, 2019, Korindo gave its clarification to Greenpeace through letters which stated:
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- There have never been any arsons in Korindo’s plantation area from 2016 to 2018 and from early 2019 to the present. The alleged arsons were natural fires (caused by external factors) in 2015 that Korindo neither started nor could control in spite of our utmost endeavours to fight the fires.
- According to the official data published by the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) (https://sipongi.menlhk.go.id/) which Greenpeace cited as the source for their report, there is no mention of Korindo in 2015. In 2016, 7.000 ha is claimed as a burn scar, it is in fact land clearing that took place between 2015 and 2016.
- In December 2017, The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) investigators visited the Korindo concessions, and on-site inspection concluded that the alleged intentional burning was not true.
- According to the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forest site data (https://sipongi.menlhk.go.id/), no burn scars were found in the Korindo concession during 2017-2018. It is not true that the Korindo Group is destroying forests and peatlands through the deliberate use of fire.
- Korindo Group consistently and responsibly implements the Fire Control and Management program in its plantation areas.
- Korindo Group always investigates all reports of fire incidents, takes corrective actions, and promotes zero burning principles at all levels in each division/management.
- In its publication, Greenpeace admitted that the data on Korindo’s burn scar of 11.461 ha was an overestimation. This burn scar calculation was not changed in the publication for reasons of methodological consistency.
- Korindo is committed to the practice of zero burning, meaning Korindo will never burn forests for land clearing. Korindo is always ready to put out the fires that occur in the concession by forming Forest Fire Response Teams equipped with sufficient facilities.
