Apical Group wins at ESGBusiness Awards 2025 for sustainable supply chain partnership

The company was recognised for advancing supplier engagement, compliance, and smallholder empowerment through Apical2030.

Apical Group won the Sustainable Supply Chain Partnership Award - Singapore in the ESGBusiness Awards 2025. The recognition highlights the company’s work in building a responsible supply chain that aligns with global sustainability standards and contributes to inclusive growth across its value chain.

Guided by its long-term sustainability roadmap, Apical2030, the company focuses on four pillars: transformative partnerships, inclusive progress, climate action, and green innovation. These pillars are supported by ten commitments under its 5Cs philosophy — good for community, country, climate, customer, and company — and are aligned with nine United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As part of its supplier engagement, Apical Group conducts sustainability assessments for the potential suppliers and prioritises those in high-risk categories. Suppliers are expected to comply with the company’s Sustainability Policy, Human Rights Policy, and Sourcing Policy, which are reviewed and updated regularly to reflect evolving industry and sustainability standards. The A-SIMPLE framework, which applies a risk-based approach to environmental, social, and legal issues, also helps the company identify gaps and work closely with the suppliers to develop practical solutions.

The company also implements a set of anchor programmes such as the Mill Prioritisation Programme, Priority Supplier Engagement Programme, Collaborative Action through Remote Engagement, Shared Value Programme, and Traceability Outreach Programme. These initiatives aim to ensure supplier compliance with traceability and deforestation-free commitments whilst meeting the No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) requirements. To strengthen monitoring, Apical Group co-developed the NDPE Implementation Reporting Framework (IRF) reporting tool with industry partners.

Apical Group actively engages with multiple stakeholders, including the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), and the Palm Oil Collaboration Group (POCG). This allows the company to remain aligned with industry best practices and sustainability trends. It also engages customers through regular consultations, annual sustainability reports, and periodic surveys to maintain transparency.

On the climate front, Apical has set ambitious targets, including reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity by 50% by 2030 compared with 2020 levels, with a long-term goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. In 2024, it recorded a 21% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity compared with its 2022 baseline.

Beyond supplier programmes, Apical Group collaborates with partners to empower smallholders. The SMallholder Inclusion for better Livelihood & Empowerment Programme (SMILE), launched in 2020 with Kao Corporation and Asian Agri, aims to train 5,000 independent smallholders managing about 18,000 hectares in North Sumatra, Riau, and Jambi. By promoting sustainable farming and reduced herbicide use, the programme improves productivity whilst fostering environmental stewardship.

Similarly, its Sustainable Living Village (SLV) projects in Aceh Singkil and East Kutai focus on diversified livelihoods through honey and cacao cultivation alongside forest protection. In Aceh, Apical also works with leading global brands and Yayasan Inisiatif Dagang Hijau (YIDH) through the Aceh Sustainable Palm Oil Working Group, a multi-stakeholder collaboration supporting the province’s Sustainable Palm Oil Roadmap to advance deforestation-free and smallholder-inclusive palm oil production.

The ESGBusiness Awards celebrates companies that are leading the way in building a sustainable future. The awards programme honours businesses that demonstrate outstanding commitment and achievement in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.

The ESGBusiness Awards is presented by ESGBusiness. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2026 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding commitment and achievement in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez-Difuntorum at [email protected].