As part of the Wharton Global Modular Course : Sustainable Growth in ASEAN:  Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia that took place from 25 to 31 May 2015, the undergraduates, MBAs, and executive MBA students from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania had the opportunity to learn from prominent business leaders working in the region, and RGE founder & chairman, Sukanto Tanoto, is one of them.

Sukanto Tanoto is the keynote speaker at the welcoming orientation cum reception that took place at Singapore Management University on 25 May. He spoke about his entrepreneurship journey from the time he left school in his teenage years to start a business supplying engine parts to Pertamina, the Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation, followed by the founding of RGE in 1973. He shared about how the guiding philosophy of doing good for the community, the country and the company, helped build RGE into a diversified resources-based business focus in Pulp & Paper, Palm Oil and Energy, which today has more than $15bn in assets and over 50,000 employees globally.

The companies within RGE have become industry leaders in sustainability, all adhering to the 3Çs principles in building sustainable businesses. RGE companies partner with Tanoto Foundation to create shared value with the communities in which the companies operate in. They seek to provide employment opportunities to the communities and building infrastructures, such as roads, schools so that the communities are better equipped and empowered to improve their standards of living.

As part of the 5-day program, the Wharton-SMU students will visit RGE’s pulp and paper facility and palm oil operations in Kerinci, located in Riau, Indonesia and learn first-hand about how the companies practise sustainability operations and how they support the rural communities living near the operations.

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