InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – University of Trisakti re-showed its commitment to encourage sustainability by conducting a seminar with the theme "EUDR: Navigating Multi-Commodity Challenges and Fostering Sustainable Business Practices." It was running at the Hall of Directorate, 12th Floor, Wednesday, 18 September 2024. It also discussed about the vital topic that many concerned about – the implementation of European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR).
More than 100 participants attended the room. They were from many backgrounds, such as, companies, government’s official, corporate social responsibility (CSR) managers, academy, and sustainability practitioners. Everyone gathered for the same goal – getting the answers and sharing experiences about industries in Indonesia, namely from palm oil, wood, rubber, coffee, and cocoa that should prepare themselves to face EUDR that would be implemented in 2025.
Prof. Kadarsah Suryadi, Director of University of Trisakti in the speech emphasized that the university would focus not only in education but also actively play roles in creating a discussion forum for the issues in global – scale, such as, sustainability. “With the vision to be ‘One Stop Learning for Sustainable Development’, University of Trisakti would be ready to support every initiative that has something to do with the goals in sustainable development goals,” Suryadi said, as in the official statement to InfoSAWIT, Wednesday (18/9/2024).
Meanwhile, Expert Staff in Connectivity, Service Development, and Natural Resource, Coordinator Ministry in Economy, Musdhalifah Machmud said that Indonesia, Malaysia, and European Union came to a conclusion to establish Ad Hoc Joint Task Force to deal with every challenge that would come in EUDR implementation. “We would do the best to get the best solution so the regulation would be a burden for our industries,” she emphasized.
On the other hand, Deputy Director of Market Transformation, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), M. Windrawan Inantha sad that it would be significant to discuss supply chain traceability. For he himself, the capability to trace down the origin of palm oil product to every consumer in Europe would be the key to maintain competitiveness from Indonesia to many countries. “This would be not only about regulation but also about how to take advantages on the opportunity,” he said.
Not only from the government and international scale – organization, some companies also delivered their thoughts, Head of Sustainability, PT Wilmar International, Pujuh Kurniawan did share the experiences how the company prepared itself to face some regulations, such as, EUDR. Having transparent supply chain, the company hoped to be the role model for other industries.
But the challenges to face EUDR implementation would be not as simple as many did think. Amalia Zuhra, environmental legal expert of University of Trisakti said that it would be significant to harmonize every regulation between Indonesia and European Union. “We have to confirm that every law would be in harmony in national and international scale, without raising conflicts,” Amalia said.
In the end of the seminar, the participants came to a conclusion that supply chain traceability, policy adaptation, and harmonious regulation would be the main challenges that Indonesia should face. Even though it would be tough, the collaboration among the government, companies, and academy, should be getting the solution. (T2)
