Building on its commitment to deforestation-free and exploitation-free palm oil
Since January 2019, TFT has become Earthworm Foundation.
We are pleased to announce that global palm oil trader and buyer Cargill has become a TFT member, building on its commitment to deforestation-free and exploitation-free palm oil announced in April this year. Over the past 12 months, TFT and Cargill have worked together to build traceability in Cargill’s supply chain to help the company ensure that all its palm oil is from a traceable, responsible source.
Cargill is the largest importer of palm oil into the US and owns and operates two palm plantations in Indonesia and 12 palm oil refineries worldwide. Over the past year, TFT and Cargill have mapped Cargill’s Malaysian refineries’ supply chains back to mill level.
Work is now underway to map back to plantation and to do the same in Indonesia whilst working with suppliers to embed the commitments that mean conserving High Carbon Stock (HCS) forests, High Conservation Value (HCV) lands, not planting on peat regardless of depth and making sure the rights of workers and communities in and around Cargill’s supply chain are respected. “We are excited to take this important next step with Cargill related to ensuring that all the palm oil they produce, buy, sell and trade globally conforms to their Policy on Sustainable Palm Oil,” says TFT director Robin Barr. “It’s clear from our work together thus far that Cargill takes the implementation of its policy very seriously and this will send a strong message to its suppliers that practices related to deforestation and exploitation must be eliminated from the palm oil industry.”
“As a leading company in palm oil, we realise that we have a real opportunity to drive industry change,” says Cargill’s vice chairman Paul Conway. “TFT has become a trusted partner – their honesty, expertise and innovation in working with us to find solutions to the many complexities we can face will be a great asset to our continued journey.”
In the next few weeks Cargill will publish a detailed, time-bound plan for achieving its commitments. This will be followed by quarterly progress reports. Cargill will also publish the results of a HCS study carried out at its PT Hindoli plantation in Indonesia.
