Cargill Publishes First Palm Oil Progress Report

18 Nov 2014 --- Cargill released its first progress report on sustainable palm oil. The report lays out the company's action plan to achieve a fully sustainable supply chain.

"Sustainability has long been part of our palm plantation culture, and it has resulted in a business that our employees are very proud of," said Cargill Tropical Palm Chief Executive Officer John Hartmann. "We must account for impacts on the environment and local communities for the sake of future generations. That notion is shared by our smallholders. They, too, have achieved multiple global sustainability certifications, and today they are the pride and joy of their communities."

Cargill committed to sustainable, deforestation-free, socially responsible palm oil in its new palm oil policy, launched in July 2014, and repeated that pledge at the U.N. Climate Summit last September in New York City. Regular progress reports are part of the commitments made in the new policy.

Palm oil is found in everything from candy bars to shampoos. Hundreds of millions of people around the world depend on it for their diets. But the palm oil sector often has been marred by unsustainable practices. In close cooperation with non-governmental organizations, suppliers, workers, local communities, government agencies and other major palm oil producers, Cargill is keeping up its effort to change that and transform the industry.

Cargill is on track to map 80 percent of its palm oil in key markets back to individual mills by the end of this year and 100 percent of all mills by December of next year. Other highlights of the report include:
- Sustainability in action: The report presents a myriad of ways in which we will engage our stakeholders. Among other things, we will formulate action plans with our suppliers and help them apply best practices, continue to help smallholders integrate into responsible supply chain arrangements, and we will focus on getting things right the first time in new plantation developments.
- The Indonesian Palm Oil pledge: Cargill signed the pledge at the 2014 U.N. Climate Summit. It builds on prior commitments, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable palm Oil (RSPO) and the Sustainable Palm Oil Manifesto, and is one more step toward our goal of 100 percent responsibly produced palm oil.
- High Carbon Stock forests: With the NGO The Forest Trust (TFT), we carried out a cutting-edge study to identify High Carbon Stock forest tracts at our PT Hindoli plantation in Indonesia, successfully using the methodology, developed by TFT and Greenpeace. With help from the NGO Proforest we will repeat the study at three suppliers' plantations over the next year.  
- Technology: Cargill will pilot the use of Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAVs) and solar-powered, satellite-connected remote sensor networks to monitor land use in Indonesia.
- Transparency: We are putting in place a formal grievance process to address issues in the supply chain. We will use third party verification where required and report on our progress regularly. Based on what we learn, we will adapt and improve continuously and publish our actions on a regular basis.

"We will build sustainability in all its dimensions," said Cargill President and Chief Executive Officer David MacLennan. "What we have learned, is that there is no such thing as perfection. The job never really ends. There is always room to do better."