Intro

Socfin Group has 15 operations (plantations and/or factories) in eight African countries and two in Asia. It specialises in the development and management of palm oil and rubber tree plantations. The company also transforms these raw materials and trades the products.

SOCFIN committed to a Responsible Management Policy in March 2017 and became an Earthworm member in April 2017. Earthworm Foundation and Socfin’s partnership aims to support the implementation of Socfin’s Policy in its operations.

The work is a mix of ground-based approaches and strategic support, covering group-level actions such as grievance mechanism development, stakeholder engagement, process development, and implementation, as well as focusing on some subsidiaries based on their specific challenges.

Relevant links

Annual report

News & Media

Jun 28, 2024

Investigation report for Okomu Oil Palm Company

Key Milestones

January
2023

Deep dive investigation : The investigation of allegations made against Socfin’s operations was a great opportunity to show more evidence related to EF and Socfin’s commitment to transparency and improvement. The investigations were conducted in the following countries and subsidiaries: o Liberia / LAC and SRC o Sierra Leone/SAC o Cameroon/SAFACAM and SOCAPALM Dibombari o Nigeria/Okomu ▪ Worker rights: The workers' representatives of Brabanta were trained on the following aspects: the roles and responsibilities, the qualities of the workers’ representative, and the tools to be used by the workers' representative ▪ Livelihoods: The implementation of income-generating activities done by women with the financial support of Brabanta is ongoing. ▪ Wild FFB: Elaboration of a procedure to improve transparency during the purchasing process of wild FFB in Brabanta ▪ HCV Management: High Conservation Value (HCV) working instructions were drafted during the working session done in LAC.

January
2022

Workers’ rights: The gender committee members of SOCAPALM and Brabanta have been trained, and their roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. An action plan has been developed for each gender committee. Health and safety: The training was conducted on accident investigation in SAC and LAC. Forest restoration: The approval by RSPO of the compensation plan (Annex 8) for the restoration project of SOCAPALM Mbambou, SOCAPALM Edéa and SAC. Child Labour: The profiling process for the Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System has started in LAC with 70% of workers camps already covered. Livelihood: A training session on entrepreneurship was done in Brabanta for the benefit of communities’ members and the company has committed to fund the implementation of some relevant projects.

January
2021

Stakeholder engagement strategy developed for SOCAPALM, LAC, SAC and BRABANTA. The approval by RSPO of the concept note (Annex 7) for the restoration project for SOCAPALM. Training conducted in SOCAPALM and BRABANTA on participatory mapping. Two CSE trainees completed internships which contributed to sustainability efficiency in LAC and SOCAPALM Kienké

Key impacts

Engaging Socfin in Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and DR Congo: 6 plantations, 6 mills. 1568 ha forest restoration in Cameroon with EF. RSPO-approved remediation plan. Two students graduated as Social Practitioners via CSE training, UK-funded.

Engaged Socfin teams in five countries: Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Liberia, DR Congo, and Nigeria. Supported six plantations, six mills, and 2,303 ha forest restoration. Trained 30 women in entrepreneurship, 172 workers on gender, child labour, audits, and safety.

Engaged Socfin teams in six countries: Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Liberia, DR Congo, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria. Supported 8 plantations, 7 mills, 4 rubber factories. Trained 24 workers on audits, environmental management, child labour, and stakeholder engagement.

Palm oil

Palm oil is a highly versatile and inexpensive vegetable oil used in many consumer goods products. It is also an extremely efficient crop, producing as much as 10 times per hectare as other vegetable oils. But its role as a major driver of economic growth is also associated with the loss of tropical forest habitats.