JAKARTA --  The palm oil company PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk. has recorded a new achievement in the environmental governance by winning the Indonesia Green Awards 2011 , which was presented by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan  at a ceremony in Jakarta on Wednesday (September 28, 2011).

The Indonesian Green Awards were given to companies or persons considered to have been successful as the inspirator in saving the earth environmentally. The awards are managed by the Bisnis and CSR Magazine. This year the organizing committee changed its award categories from various categories of business sectors to only one category---earth inspirator—given to any company or person considered successful in saving the earth environmentally. Until last year, the awards given include green CSR, green mining, green manufacturing, green agribusiness, green real estate, green banking, green hotel, green media, green province, green city, and green NGO.

Astra Agro Lestari is considered to have managed to do an environmentally friendly process of production from its efforts of securing lands, preparing lands for seedling and planting, maintaining, and harvesting, transportation, product processing and distribution. The publicly listed company has committed to comply with the sustainable principle of managing palm oil plantation. The company has also implemented the natural conservations in order to protect the biodiversity of the areas where it does its business operations.  (*)