Our ambition is to draw the line on deforestation and the practices that contribute to it across the industry. We have updated our approach to working with suppliers through our Draw the Line policy that clearly outlines the NDPE standards as well as our expectation that suppliers adhere to those same standards.
Just Transition aims to ensure that no one is left behind in the shift to low-carbon and environmentally sustainable economies. As part of our approach, we believe in providing a path to re-engagement. Simply suspending non-compliant suppliers does not improve practices and can lead to poor practices being pushed elsewhere in the supply chain. Therefore, if a non-compliant supplier commits to halting clearance immediately and develops a plan to meet our conditions, we are willing to re-engage with them. Our goal is to support their progress towards NDPE standards, ultimately expanding the number of oil palm companies operating under these standards and eliminating deforestation from palm oil production.
In the event a supplier violates our NDPE standards, they are required to:
- stop work immediately on the affected land;
- develop a plan to remediate the damaged forest, including conducting High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA)/HCV assessments, as necessary; and
- develop a programme to improve their ongoing operational practices to meet NDPE standards.
If the supplier concerned is unwilling to make these commitments, we will only then remove them from our supply chain. Once a supplier is no longer in our system, purchases will not resume until they meet the required conditions.
