Meet the Photographers Behind the Winning RGE 2017 Desktop Calendar Photos

2015: The Start of RGE’s Photography Contest

“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed,” said celebrated 20th-century photographer Ansel Adams. Since 2015, RGE has called upon the 50,000 employees across its business groups to do just that through an annual photography contest.

The inaugural edition called upon the RGE family to capture their vision of “Our Sustainable Future,” drawing some 500 entries from employees across the world.

2016: RGE Founder & Chairman Sukanto Tanoto Announces 4th C

At the World Economic Forum in 2016, RGE Chairman announced the addition of the fourth C, Climate, to the company’s business principles, i.e. being Good for the Community, Good for the Country, Good for the Climate, and Good for the Company.

The 2016 photography contest provided employees from Indonesia to China to Brazil to share, through compelling visual stories, how RGE‘s business principles were being applied everyday.

And as with the 2015 edition, 12 winners were selected from the 500 entries and their winning work today graces each month of the RGE 2017 desktop calendar.

Meet the Jan-Mar 2017 Photo-of-the-Month Winners

January Photo-of-the-Month

Fahri Hidayat is a field staff with Tanoto Foundation based in Jambi

F Hidayat is a field staff with Tanoto Foundation based in Jambi

F Hidayat is a field staff with Tanoto Foundation, based in Jambi, located on the east coast of central Sumatra, where he works with the 12 schools in his district to roll out education programmes supported by the foundation founded by Sukanto Tanoto and his wife Tinah Bingei Tanoto.

A teacher passionately shares strategies on encouraging class participation with fellow educators.

A teacher passionately shares strategies on encouraging class participation with fellow educators.

“I took the photo on April 23, 2016, at the event of Kelompok Kerja Guru Session IV. The educators were engaged in a small group discussion, and  sharing with each other exiting ideas to improve teaching,” recalled Hidayat.

“What inspires me in my work at Tanoto Foundation is to help the schools in their journey to transform themselves through better school infrastructure, teaching methods, access to libraries, and more,” he added.

February Photo-of-the-Month

Henry Putra is a wood dispatcher based in the town of Kerinci, Riau

H Putra is a wood dispatcher based in the town of Kerinci, Riau

Capturing a moment of levity was H Putra, whose job as a wood dispatcher based in Kerinci is to ensure smooth operations in the woodyard  and to manage heavy machinery.

The Kampar River is the main source of water for PT RAPP in Kerinci, Indonesia

The Kampar River is the main source of water for PT RAPP in Kerinci, Indonesia

Sharing what was behind-the-scene, Putra offered, “I took the photo on February 28, 2016 at 7 pm at Desa Sering near Kampar River, under the bridge. My caption was: Kampar river – situated near RAPP operations, is the heart of all RAPP operations.

“Why? Because the water from the river supplies RAPP, and the company conducts proper waste water management so that the output back to the river is not contaminated. And this is proven by the possibility for children to play freely in the river. The water is clear and the children look happy.”

“I really love photography because I get to see many scenes beyond my own life,” he said.

March Photo-of-the-Month

Putra Nicaragua is an environment officer with PT RAPP in Kerinci

P Nicaragua is an environment officer with PT RAPP in Kerinci

Making its presence felt is the March 2017 photo featuring an elephant and his trainer.

A splashing good time between an elephant trainer and one of the youngest members of APRIL's Elephant Flying Squad

A splashing good time between an elephant trainer and one of the youngest members of APRIL’s Elephant Flying Squad

The photographer behind this equally compelling visual spectacle is P Nicaragua, an environment officer with PT RAPP, APRIL‘s operations arm in Indonesia.

“I took this photo when the elephant trainers were training a baby elephant, a routine activity in APRIL’s elephant flying squad, which aims to use natural ways to reduce human-animal conflict.

“Elephants are endangered animals mascot for the island of Sumatra and through this picture, I tried to explain that the elephant is an animal that can be friendly and is not dangerous. Through this photo, I want to do my part to preserve the existence of elephants,” he shared.