On August 21, 2018, Malaysia-based Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (SDP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China’s COFCO Group Co. Ltd. to cooperate on palm oil projects. Both sides plan to work together to conduct research on sustainable palm oil, and SDP is seeking to further penetrate the growing Chinese market. SDP and COFCO …
A letter sent from investors to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), dated August 1, 2018, highlights growing demand in the investment and financial communities for the palm oil sector to alter its habits and strengthen its sustainability practices. The letter came from 90 institutional investors, which manage some USD 6.7 trillion of assets, …
Despite a stop work order, TH Plantations deforested 127 hectares (ha) of peat forest between March 17 and July 25, 2018 (see maps below). Figure 1: 127 ha deforestation of peat and peat forests at PT Persada Kencana Prima from March to July 2018. Source: Aidenvironment. TH Plantations had placed a stop work order at …
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 …
On July 3, 2018, Wilmar International announced the resignation of Martua Sitorus as Non-Independent Non-Executive Director, with effective date of July 15, 2018. Sitorus is the co-founder of Wilmar and was the company’s Chief Operating Officer from July 2006 until June 2013 and Executive Deputy Chairman from July 2013 until March 2017. The SGX announcement …
Wilmar and GAMA Group appear to be connected via familial and business links, argue Greenpeace International in its June 25 report. Greenpeace claims the links between the two companies make Wilmar complicit in ongoing forest clearance on GAMA-owned plantations in West Papua and West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Wilmar was established in 1991 by Kuok Khoon Hong …
In 1985, 57 percent of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, or 25 million hectares (ha), was covered by natural forest. By 2016, that number decreased to 11 million ha, equaling to a 56 percent loss of the island’s forest cover. Tesso Nilo National Park (TNNP), located in the Sumatran province of Riau, has lost 77 …
Download report here: Shadow Companies Present Palm Oil Investor Risks and Undermine NDPE Efforts Since 2013, companies, governments, investors and civil society have taken steps to stop deforestation, fires, peatland development, and mitigate labor and human rights risks in the palm oil sector. These transformative actions include the adoption of No Deforestation, No Peat, No …
Overseas –Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) stated it would peg Wilmar’s existing USD 200 million revolving credit facility interest rate to sustainability criteria. In designing the step-down facility, the two Singapore-based companies are applying the Association of Banks in Singapore guidelines for responsible investing. Sustainalytics, an independent sustainability ratings firm, will assess Wilmar’s performance during the …
