Internationally, financial institutions (FIs) continue to be exempt from crucial regulations to raise their efforts and responsibility to halt deforestation and human rights violations linked to supply chains they finance. Recently, however, some initial steps were proposed in Brazil to change this situation, and a report on Rabobank showed that the environmental and social damage …
The European Parliament adopted its negotiating position on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) on June 1, 2023. Under the CSDDD, companies — potentially including those in financial services — will be obligated to demonstrate what action they are taking to protect not only the environment, but also human rights. Due diligence is not …
Although West and Central Africa have been promising regions for large-scale palm oil production, expansion has not gone as planned. Only a handful of companies control industrial palm oil production and will likely drive expansion, but on a smaller scale and at a slower pace than originally anticipated. Nevertheless, these companies have been linked to …
Editor’s note: We hope that you are healthy and productive as we all grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of what is ahead. The CRR team is hard at work to continue bringing you independent sustainability risk analysis. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be working to provide insightful analysis while also …
Sime Darby aims to sell its assets in Liberia by the end of 2019. The company has been considering a possible sale since early 2019. In February 2019, Chain Reaction Research (CRR) reported that a sale of its Liberian plantation was complicated as a result of high operational costs, a limited planted area, and expenses …
On January 22, 2019, Frontpage Africa reported that Sime Darby put its Liberian plantation up for sale. According to the news story, Sime Darby decided on this path as the Liberian government did not meet its obligations. The decision likely relates to the stipulation in Sime Darby’s 2009 concession agreement that states the 220,000 ha …
Progress achieved by many palm oil refiners and some FMCG companies may be weakened by changes in the landscape of the FMCG/downstream industry. Download PDF here: Consolidation Report Final July 23 2018 In 2017, Chain Reaction Research (CRR) calculated that 74 percent of palm oil refinery capacity in SE Asia applied No Deforestation, No Peat, …
CalPERS, the largest U.S. state pension fund with USD 355 billion in assets under management and 1.9 million beneficiaries (as of July 11, 2018), updated its investment policy to include deforestation risk as a material risk to be considered in its investment decisions. CalPERS updated its Total Fund Investment Policy, effective June 18, 2018. This …
Forest Heroes recently released a report, Green Cats: Scoring Palm Oil and Soy Companies on Forest Policies and Transparency, which analyzes the public pledges of 26 companies – 21 in the SE Asian palm oil market and five in the Latin American soy industry. It examines public disclosure on 18 different factors related to zero-deforestation …
Download Report Here (PDF) Summary Financial regulators should address environmental and human rights risks in economic sectors driving deforestation. Financial regulators should address environmental and human rights risks in economic sectors driving deforestation. Binding regulation may be more effective than voluntary initiatives. Chinese, Brazilian, and Bangladeshi experiences may be useful for regulators. As published by …
