Palm oil production

We believe that palm oil should be produced sustainably. At each of our plantations, we have clear social and environmental policies, and integrate responsible development into our operational plans. In addition, we are making a substantial contribution to local community development.

Since 2004, We are also a member and fully support the efforts of the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and work towards having all of our oil palm oil plantations certified as quickly as possible. Since 2014, Cargill has strengthened its commitments to sustainability through a number of key initiatives, including the following:

• Launching a Sustainable Palm Oil Policy that commits Cargill to building a traceable and transparent palm oil supply chain firmly committed to no deforestation of high conservation value (HCV) lands or high carbon stock (HCS) areas; no development on peat; and no exploitation of the rights of indigenous people and local communities. We collaborate with and seek the support of suppliers, customers, governments, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders to implement this policy.
• Publishing quarterly progress updates on our action plan to achieve a fully traceable and sustainable supply chain. In March 2017, our first progress update of the year included our Palm 2020 Roadmap, which charts our path to achieving a 100-percent transparent, traceable and sustainable palm supply chain by 2020.
• Becoming a signatory to the Sustainable Palm Oil Manifesto in 2014, which further commits Cargill to no deforestation, creating traceable and transparent supply chains, and protecting peat areas, while ensuring economic and social benefits for the local people and communities where oil palm is grown.
• Joining other large companies, governments and civil society groups from around the world in pledging to do our part to slow, halt, and reverse global forest loss, while enhancing food security for all, as part of the New York Declaration on Forests during the 2014 UN Climate Summit.

Supporting local smallholders

Oil palm smallholder farmers contribute significantly to the success of our plantations. Cargill works directly with thousands of farmers to help them increase yields, improve incomes, and raise standards of living.

In Indonesia, Cargill collaborates closely with over 21,000 smallholders in Indonesia to achieve RSPO standards, improve crop quality, maximize yields and build up their brands locally and internationally, while building a better livelihood. As of January 2016, 24,461 hectares of Cargill’s smallholder plantations have been RSPO certified. This equates to about 62 percent of Indonesia’s smallholder certification.

Through a formal contract, Cargill shares premiums from certified sustainable palm oil with its smallholders. In 2011, PT Hindoli smallholders were the first in the world to receive their first premiums from the sale of RSPO-certified fresh fruit bunches which they produced.

Partnership with the local community and farmers

We work with smallholders and local farmers to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural and farming practices. Our aim is to promote sustainability, improve yields and crop quality, and ultimately raise smallholder farmers’ incomes in the communities where we operate.

• Palm Smallholders: Cargill has provided support and training to oil palm smallholders to get RSPO certified. We developed a formal program to share palm oil premiums from the sale of RSPO-certified products. Our smallholders at Hindoli received their first RSPO premiums in 2011 and in 2016 received over US$1,9 million (IDR 25,007,014,082) in combined RSPO/ISCC premiums over US$3 million (IDR 309,606,472,491). Our smallholders at Harapan received their first RSPO/ISCC premiums totaling US$190,000 in December 2015.
• Oil Palm Teaching Farm with Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB): In 2012, Cargill announced a collaboration with IPB, one of Indonesia’s leading agriculture institutes, to build Indonesia’s first oil palm teaching farm. It is the first such collaboration between a commercial oil palm grower and an educational institute. Cargill contributed US$255,000 towards the construction of the teaching farm. The Farm enables and provides research in the plantation sector, high quality training to students in plantation production and management for a sustainable agricultural system, and a platform for reference to other palm oil companies in the application for RSPO and ISPO certification. In May 2015, the teaching farm harvested the first ever oil palm fresh fruit bunches.
• Cargill Tropical Palm Learning Academy: In 2013, Cargill launched our first-ever specialized learning institution to train professionals in sustainable palm oil production. Through the academy, Cargill also extends intern and research opportunities to the students of IPB. It also facilitates a Talent Development Program for fresh graduates, and employees from Cargill’s plantations in Indonesia.