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Indonesia. Cargill to assess sustainability of palm oil suppliers
14.07.2010 11:28 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
Cargill said it has begun an assessment of its palm oil suppliers in Indonesia in a bid to ensure it backs sustainable palm oil production.
The agricultural giant said collaborating with the World Wildlife Fund-U.S. (WWF) to help gauge current progress among its suppliers. Its stated aim is to implement the principles and criteria established by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
«We are committed to helping lead efforts to move the palm oil industry towards more sustainable palm oil production,» said Paul Conway, senior vice president at Cargill.
«We already have responsible palm production policies on our own plantations and we want to play our part by working with the industry and the Indonesian government to encourage the adoption of sustainable production practices. WWFs extensive experience will help us assess progress amongst our suppliers and will enable us to work with each supplier to implement the standards set out by the RSPO.»
The assessment will begin in August 2010 and the first phase will prioritise estates from Cargills key suppliers with the highest biodiversity concerns. WWF will supervise the overall process including the design and the selection of local environmental experts to do the field work and in-person visits to plantations. The assessment will identify progress on key areas such as land permitting, and environmental and social practices.
Cargill said will release a summary of the overall findings and resulting action steps after the first stage of the assessment, which is expected to be complete in early 2011.
«This project is very important to us because it will help move the palm oil industry to higher levels of performance,» said Jason Clay, senior vice president of markets at WWF. Cargill has set a goal of buying 60% of its total crude palm oil from RSPO members by the end of 2010.
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