Legality & Sustainability
Since the formation of Batavia in 1999 we have always made social ethics, mutual respect, legality of wood and sustainability a core principle of our company.
This we learned from our many years spent abroad in developing countries.
Our company in Indonesia is an SVLK Registered and audited company. A copy of our new licence is attached at the end and can be verified on-line.
What this means is that we are a legally certified company that can export timber products to Europe and all other countries around the world and comply with the FLEGT requirements.
The FLEGT requirement is a European Requirement to ensure only legal wood is presented on the European market. We have consistently demonstrated we can meet the standards required since its introduction and then implementation in 2012.
We have completed our latest audit in August 2022. Full approval for continued use of our license was given. This Audit is very thorough and takes three days to complete with our team, our consultant with an externally appointed licenced auditor.
All our Teak (Tectona Grandis) wood comes from a legal plantation source, specifically grown for the use of value-added manufacturing in Indonesia. No raw logs or wood are permitted for export and brings added value to the raw materials at source which aids the local economy.
The wood we use in our furniture comes from plantations grown to produce the wood for Industry. Our Mango timber only cones from trees that are no longer commercially viable for their fruit and require replanting with younger trees.
Each shipment we export has a v-legal certificate to verify the legality and sustainability of the materials we use in our products. This certificate is verified at point of import to assure our buyers as to the legality of our materials used.
While the V-Legal/FLEGT laws have been ratified and put into force only since January 2014, we as a responsible company in Indonesia always worked to, and supported the implementation of these standards, from company conception.
The status of our products extends way beyond the legality of the wood.
The SVLK requirements encompass, Employee/Employer Legal obligations, social obligations, Nuisance (noise pollution), Health & Safety, waste management and recycling.
Prior to entering a port in Indonesia each consignment is presented for verification and only after the issuance of the V-Legal License number can the shipment be approved for export. This in turn generates an FLEGT document which is presented both to customs and the relevant Irish Authorities for checking and confirming that the consignment complies and is allowed to be placed on the market worldwide.
We are a very proactive company with regards to the use only of legal timber and the support and development of our workforce.
For information, Tectona Grandis is a non-native species of tree that does not grow in the rainforests but was introduced to Java from India as a plantation timber for commercial purposes by the Dutch.
Part of the requirements of the legal source, is that harvested plantation areas must be rehabilitated and replanted. All of this is very positive and moves in the correct direction.
The system we employ is a very onerous and rigid verification of COC (Chain of Custody) and we have full time employees engaged in this process, along with an appointed consultancy firm.
You can rest assured that all our timber only comes from verifiable legal sources and all our employees are engaged on terms above the Ministry of Manpower requirements.
Health, Social Ethics & Respect
Social development and care for our workers is one of the ethical foundations of our company in Indonesia. The cornerstone of our business is mutual respect.
The elimination of TB from our workforce over the past number of years with the use of masks and health education, this made dealing with covid-19 a much easier task.
During the early COVID-19 period we alternated the days of our workforce weekly, to sort out the social distancing. Each of the workforce were given a comprehensive pack on COVID-19 as here in Ireland. They have full access to hand washing and sanitising facilities. All employees were made fully aware of the potential risks of the then unknown new virus.
In the meantime, we maintained full payment beyond the social safety net in Indonesia for such circumstances, as most workers live day to day financially.
We all at Batavia do hope that you will take pride in knowing how your furniture has been made and that is as important to you as it is to us knowing we genuinely do care about our employees and the environment. We do not just pay lip service.
Thank you from all at Batavia for taking the time to take reading, it makes us appreciate that you really do care.
