Sustainable and Responsible Palm Oil

Protecting endangered animal species and natural habitats

We are committed to responsible environmental stewardship and are working to preserve and protect the populations and habitat of endangered native species. Our company policy explicitly forbids our employees and contractors from engaging in any type of animal trading.

Protecting orangutans and their natural habitat – We are partnering with Fauna & Flora International to identify and conserve orangutan populations and their important natural habitat in Kalimantan (the Indonesian area on the island of Borneo). Together we have identified two important new populations of orangutans – one between 800 and 1,200 and one between 500 and 800 orangutans – and have created an orangutan conservation action plan to collaborate with other NGOs, the Ministry of Forestry and local authorities to re-designate areas of forest to protect populations. We are working to implement environmental management plans, develop and share best practices and help smallholders understand and comply with the biodiversity elements of the RSPO Principles and Criteria to preserve high value forest and peat lands.

Conserving the world’s largest butterfly – In partnership with Conservation International we are working to protect the only natural habitat for the Queen Alexandra Birdwing Butterfly. The world’s largest butterfly is unique to the Oro Province in Papua New Guinea. We are working with local authorities and communities to protect the butterfly by identifying and establishing butterfly reserves, finding ways to improve its access to food sources and carrying out educational awareness campaigns within villages and local communities. This has resulted in the first recorded sightings of the butterfly for almost 10 years in some areas.

Protecting freshwater systems and marine estuaries – In partnership with Conservation International we are assessing the impact of palm plantations on freshwater systems and the marine estuaries into which they drain. This study is enabling us to assess and improve our existing erosion controls and riparian buffer strips to prevent sediments and nutrients from entering these sensitive waters.

Assessing options for using degraded land – We are currently funding independent, WWF research to explore using degraded land instead of existing forest areas for the development of future oil palm plantations. The research is developing a definition of degraded land, assessing the levels of investment required, and determining best practices for the development of these areas.

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