Japanese food manufacturer Fuji Oil Holding Inc has become a TFT palm oil member, committing to buy only responsibly produced palm oil from suppliers who respect the environment and the people working and living in it. Its Responsible Palm Oil Sourcing Policy outlines how it plans to work towards that commitment. This applies to all of its suppliers, representing all the palm, palm oil kernel (PKO) and palm-based ingredients Fuji buys, trades, processes and sells across the world.

Global palm oil production is often associated with deforestation and exploitation, where forests are cleared for palm oil plantations. Sometimes these plantations encroach on local community lands, while the rights of workers at plantations can be abused. This is why Fuji has first committed to tracing its palm oil supply back to the palm oil mill. This will identify what issues needs to be addressed and where. This is the second part of TFT’s VTTV (Values, Transparency, Transformation Verification) model we work on with all our members. The values stage was used to create Fuji’s palm oil policy, now the focus is on transparency by mapping its supply chain.

The objective of this traceability work is not to identify suppliers with bad practices in order to remove them from Fuji’s supply chain. By becoming a TFT member Fuji has committed to influence change across the industry. Because of this, it will engage with these suppliers to support them to improve practices.

Fuji will then begin the transformation phase of their palm oil commitment by conducting an ART (Aggregator Refinery Transformation) plan within Peninsula Malaysia. ART is an approach designed to empower each node in the supply chain to take ownership of transformation. It also provides a framework for palm oil refiners, millers and growers to work together to overcome challenges. Again, this work is designed to support Fuji suppliers to improve practices. We will support Fuji to implement its palm oil policy, while Fuji will post updates on the progress it is making in implementing its policy on the TFT Transparency Hub.