Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Dharsono Hartono of ‘PT Rimba Makmmur Utama’ Is Helping To Change Our World
When you have a purpose in your life, never give up on it. Stay persistent. For me, it’s about telling the story of our persistence within the past 15 years, which can hopefully inspire others to do things that can change humanity for the next hundred-years. We should be good stewards for the environment; we should look into inclusiveness on what we do. I think that kind of movement is already happening, and we just have to inspire more people to get involved.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dharsono Hartono.
Dharsono Hartono is the founder and CEO of PT Rimba Makmur Utama that manages Katingan Mentaya Project, the world’s largest nature-based solution project in terms of carbon emission reduction, producing more than 7 million tons of carbon credits annually. A graduate from Cornell University with a Master’s Degree in Financial Engineering, he previously worked for multinational giants such as Price Waterhouse Coopers and JPMorgan. Dharsono was named Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018, WEF’s 2020 Sustainability Pioneer, Schwabb Foundation’s 2020 Social Entrepreneur of the Year and more recently the YPO Global Impact Award winner for 2022.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
After graduating from Cornell University in 1998, I worked for multinational giants in the US for 6 years before making the decision to return to Indonesia to start my own business. What brought me to my present path started in late 2007, when I bumped into my business partner-to-be, Rezal Kusumaatmadja, who was also my college mate at Cornell. He introduced me to the idea that we could save the forest, create sustainable economic opportunities for the local communities and simultaneously make money by selling carbon credits. So that’s how I started the Katingan Mentaya Project, which is the business model and flagship project of our Company, PT Rimba Makmur Utama. Katingan Mentaya Project is the biggest VCS approved Nature-Based Solution project in the world, in terms of carbon emission reduction. I was not always an environmentalist, but with time I’ve learned about the importance of changing our paradigm of doing business to operate in a way that protects the environment and makes a positive impact to the community, while making money.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
One very important aspect of our business is to work on changing behavior, which is not easy to do. There was one time where we tried to convince local farmers to change their slash and burn farming method — which is harmful to the environment — to a no burn, no chemical way of farming, which is more sustainable. We spoke to about two hundred farmers, however, only two were willing to join the program at that time. We ran the program nevertheless, and over time managed to prove that sustainable agriculture gave better yields and livelihood. Now, hundreds of farmers are joining the program.
Similarly, we also faced challenges when we tried to shift people’s livelihoods from unsustainable activities such as logging, to more sustainable ones, such as rattan cultivation and palm sugar production. It took us a lot of time and effort to be able to make these changes. When the communities finally started to see the benefits of this scheme, it left me with one of the most satisfying feelings that I have felt throughout this process (over fifteen years). It gives me a lot of hope and conviction for the future that we can save the environment and offer local communities sustainable sources of income, which will contribute to tackling climate change issues, and still be able to make profits for the company.
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
Our company is implementing a sustainable land use model, not only by reducing deforestation and degradation, promoting conservation and enhancing ecological integrity, but also by creating economic opportunities for local communities. Throughout the 15 years of our operation, we have managed to change people’s behavior from exploitative activities such as logging, to more sustainable ones. Now, we can work hand in hand with local communities in restoring and protecting the peat forests. While social impact can be measured by a lot of indicators, for me the most important thing is change of mindset — how we change the way people think about the environment.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
Our company engages the communities in 35 villages surrounding the Katingan Mentaya Project, and our teams in the field run programs to provide sustainable livelihood for the people, improve their quality of life and engage them to restore and protect the forest together with us. There are many examples of how these programs have directly impacted the communities. One example is a coconut sugar farmer in Satiruk village — his name is Iyan — who used to be an illegal logger and had even been arrested twice by the police. Several years ago, Iyan and other loggers were approached by our team who offered them an alternative, more sustainable livelihood, which was to produce coconut sugar for Mentaya Sweet, a brand that RMU develops to absorb coconut-based products from farmers surrounding our concession area. Iyan agreed and after training in our coconut sugar training facilities, he has since become one of the more successful coconut sugar farmers. He makes more money from his coconut sugar making than he ever was as a logger — thus enabling him to better provide his family.
Iyan is just one of the many stories of how we can make a real impact. Our staff now find these stories incredibly inspiring. When I visited our team after the pandemic, one employee — his name was Hadi — was really touched by how the company has made a difference to the lives of the local people. He said that it makes him very proud to be part of a Company with a strong purpose. In turn, this inspires me, as a leader, to do even more.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
The most important thing is for the more influential people to get people to change their mindset on nature. Since the beginning of the industrialization era, we have become used to exploitative practices that eventually degrade the environment and affect the climate. We have become used to the humans ‘rule’ nature mindset and the ecosystem within it, and are free to do what we please with nature, for our own benefits. We have become used to this so-called ego-system. This needs to change. We must change the ego-system mindset into ecosystem mindset, the mindset that humans are a part of nature, not its owner, and we are merely nature’s stewards. Humans are part of the whole ecosystem, and we should change our destructive presence in nature into a more benign and mutually enhancing one.
The good news is that we are proof of a business model that can protect the environment, provide sustainable livelihood for the people, and make profits at the same time, which will be a game changer going forward.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership is about having conviction in what you do, while also being a good listener. A leader should know that there are other people who are better than you, and whom you can learn from. So for me, leadership is about learning over time. Leaders not only have to inspire others, but also have to be inspired by people surrounding them. It is about inspiring and being inspired.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
When you have a purpose in your life, never give up on it. Stay persistent. For me, it’s about telling the story of our persistence within the past 15 years, which can hopefully inspire others to do things that can change humanity for the next hundred-years. We should be good stewards for the environment; we should look into inclusiveness on what we do. I think that kind of movement is already happening, and we just have to inspire more people to get involved.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Never give up” and “Everything happens for a reason”. For me it’s about how the past 15 years have transformed my life, when I came close to giving up — there would always be somebody there to prevent it and help me to keep going. Looking back, I strongly feel that there was some sort of divine intervention that came in each time. I would never have been able to follow through without that kind of intervention — never give up and we all know that everything happens for a reason.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Interesting question, not something that I have thought about before. Perhaps I would like to have breakfast with His Majesty, King Charles. I believe he is a man who cares deeply about the environment and has been very outspoken about it for the past 50 years. We have a goal to inspire the younger generations to take care of the environment, a passing of the torch if you will. King Charles is a man that I’m sure shares that same view and a man of great influence that can inspire.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can follow my LinkedIn account, @dharsono-hartono.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Dharsono Hartono of ‘PT Rimba Makmmur Utama’ Is Helping To Change… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.