Partnership & Collaboration

Partnership and Collaboration

We believe that market transformation and the conversion to a fully sustainable palm supply chain can only be achieved through partnership and collaboration with all stakeholders, including customers, governments, suppliers, civil society groups and NGOs.

Without broader stakeholder action, there are limits to the progress we can make as one company. By working together through public/private partnerships, our goal is to create a sustainable palm oil industry that will provide for smallholder farmers today and for generations to come. Each part of the supply chain must work together to transform the industry to supply the world’s needs for palm oil today and tomorrow.

We work with a number of organizations on the ground and around the world as part of our efforts to create a sustainable palm oil supply chain.

Decent Rural Living Initiative

In March 2018, Cargill, Golden-Agri Resources, Musim Mas, Sime Darby, and Wilmar teamed up with Forum for the Future to launch the Decent Rural Living Initiative to address human and labor rights. The Decent Rural Living Initiative will initially focus on Indonesia, and the first consultative workshop will take place in May 2018. The action plans to emerge from engaging with diverse points of view will be announced before the end of 2018. Learn more.

RSPO Human Rights Working Group

At Cargill, respecting and protecting human rights includes the elimination of discrimination in employment and the promotion of equal rights. As co-chair of RSPO’s Human Rights Working Group, Cargill aims to help make the fundamental premise of human rights a hallmark of the global palm oil supply chain. Working consultatively with esteemed members of the working group, each representing a different segment of the global palm oil supply chain, Cargill strives to eliminate the use of illegal, abusive or enforced labor across supply chains.

IDH Working Group

Cargill is a founding member of the Palm Oil Traceability Working Group (TWG). The TWG is convened by IDH Sustainable Trade Initiative and was formed early 2014 after many companies committed to produce and source sustainable palm oil from no deforestation areas.

The TWG recognises that unless the industry aligns and articulates clearly what traceability means and how it can be achieved. The Palm Oil Traceability Working Group was formed to address this challenge. It consists of a committed group of palm oil producers, traders and users that are working together to define traceability and the roadmap to achievement. Verification is part of the topics discussed within the working group.

In 2016, the group will work on operationalising verification, consolidating risk assessment methodology, supporting extension of the RSPO traceability system and implementing projects on the ground.

Sustainable Palm Oil Manifesto

To protect forests, local communities, and direct sustainable development of oil palm, Cargill has been deeply involved in both the HCS Approach (HCSA) and the HCS+ study. At this time, our policy is to utilize the HCSA while the HCS+ methodology is field tested. In addition, we are actively advocating for the convergence of the two methodologies. Cargill, along with the other Sustainable Palm Oil Manifesto signatories, will be running side-by-side field trails of the HCS+ methodology with the HSCA in the near future. As we learn more about both methodologies, we will be reporting our findings.

The HSC+ study can be found at carbonstockstudy.com.

Collaboration with World Resources Institute and Global Forest Watch

In 2015, Cargill’s palm implementation plan set out to conduct a pilot risk assessment with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and its Global Forest Watch (GFW) initiative, a remote satellite monitoring system used for assessing land use change, deforestation and burning. Using GFW’s satellite monitoring system, risk assessments were conducted among 18 palm oil mills within the Cargill supply chain. Our aim was to examine the risk of deforestation-related activity, and non-compliance with Cargill’s sustainable palm oil policy among a sample set of palm oil mills and producers.

The assessment revealed that 17 of the 18 mills were found to exceed a threshold for several risk indicators. Of those 17 mills, 8 mills scored high on both the total radius analysis, and the analysis of concession areas. While the pilot served as an effective way to prioritize mills, it was not a substitute for on the ground assessments and certification. Verifying results with suppliers for high priority mills and collecting additional information from suppliers directly is a critical aspect of the work we must carry out, in particular for mills where follow up is needed to address loss on carbon stock, the presence of protected areas, the use of fire for clearance, RSPO certification, or more.

In 2016, Cargill and WRI have agreed to expand the scope of our collaboration to help advance our progress on high priority supply chains.