Grievances

Grievance process

We hold ourselves and our suppliers accountable to respond to grievances, set time-bound action plans to ensure progress and close the grievance in a timely manner as agreed to by the complainant. Cargill’s Palm Grievance Procedure provides a transparent, open and robust process for dealing with grievances. Listings of supplier grievances are posted in the Palm Sustainability Dashboard.

Cargill’s policy extends to all parts of our palm supply chain and requires plantations, processing and trading operations, and all third-party suppliers to act in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner. Any grievance, complaint or concern from external parties concerning the implementation of our palm supply chain commitments may be submitted in writing, online or by phone through Cargill’s Ethics Open Line.

To support suppliers in addressing and resolving grievances, we have engaged experts from the Global Environment Centre Foundation (GEC), Fair Labor Association (FLA), Proforest and Landesa to develop guidance documents that provide a structured, consistent and transparent approach for determining expected actions and timelines. The guidance includes information about how to verify grievances, identify causes, develop action plans, minimize further noncompliance and communicate progress to stakeholders. The guidance covers key topics, including peat development, deforestation, wages, forced labor, child labor and land rights.

We believe banning producers isn’t a productive first step and prioritize engagement to drive long-term capability and compliance improvements. When a supplier is unable or unwilling to make progress within the agreed upon timeframe, or has repeated non-compliances, we take action to remove them from our supply chain in cooperation with our upstream supply chain partners.