Both Wilmar and IOILC have released policies detailing their commitment to the sourcing of responsibly produced palm oil. The policies detail commitments to the protection of forests and peatland alongside commitments to uphold labor and community rights. In line with these policies both Wilmar and IOILC have undertaken work to visit suppliers to their refineries in Malaysia and Indonesia with the objective of assisting suppliers to produce responsible products i.e. without links to deforestation, peat development or exploitation of labor and communities.

The process has initially been undertaken through key refineries from which buyers are demanding responsible palm oil products.GIS analysis was carried out for the mills supplying each refinery and, together with other relevant non-spatial information, the analysis was used to gauge the potential risk of non-conformities against the companies’ policies of palm oil mills and their supply bases. This analysis was used to prioritize mills for a visit. As a result, 16 mills that supply crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK) to refineries and kernel crushing plants in Sabah, Malaysia were identified as high priority palm oil mills to be visited. This report presents the results from the subsequent visits to those 16 mills.

Field assessments were carried out at the palm oil mills and their Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) supply bases using assessment criteria defined so as to determine conformance with the companies’ policies. Eight field assessments were carried out from July 2014 to December 2014 by teams consisting of representatives from TFT and Wilmar’s Sustainability Department, whilst seven field assessments were carried out between April and September 2016 jointly by Proforest and IOILC. There was 1 joint assessment carried out by TFT and IOILC.

This report presents the overall findings from the visits to the internal and third-party suppliers of the mills to assist Wilmar and IOILC in understanding the prevailing trends and issues of the supply base in Sabah and support efforts to tackle issues on the ground. Bunge announced it has completed its acquisition of a 70% ownership interest in IOILC from IOI Corporation Berhad on March 1, 2018. Bunge Loders Croklaan will still remain active in transforming supplier practices with industry peers.