WWF rated 47 regional companies and found the majority have no public policies or commitments on sustainable palm oil sourcing
Laura Paddison The Guardian 21 Sep 17;
A new scorecard rating companies headquartered in Singapore and Malaysia on their palm oil sustainability commitments has found that the majority do not disclose any information on their sourcing practices.
The WWF Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard surveyed 47 companies, all household brands in Malaysia and Singapore, asking how far along the path they were to sourcing 100% certified sustainable palm oil. Only 16 disclosed any information.
“We were disappointed at the number of non responses,” said Denise Westerhout, the lead for WWF Malaysia’s sustainable markets programme, “because it doesn’t enable us to gauge how well the market is moving along and how much help it needs in raising awareness and understanding what we need to do”.
Two companies emerged as regional leaders in the scorecard, providing, according to WWF, “a clear indication that sourcing sustainable palm oil is possible”. Out of a total of 12 points, Denis Asia Pacific and Wildlife Reserves Singapore Group (WRS) scored 10 and nine respectively. Both have committed to sourcing 100% certified sustainable palm oil by 2018 and 2022 respectively.
The aim behind WRS’ decision to focus on palm oil sourcing was “guaranteeing the protection of habitat for wildlife threatened by unsustainable palm oil production”, said Sonja Luz, director of conservation, research and veterinary at WRS.
For Denis Asia Pacific, it was about “employee satisfaction, brand value and business opportunities in Europe, US and Australia where sustainable palm oil has become a market entry criteria,” according to Roy Teo, managing director of Ayam Brand at Denis Asia Pacific.
Market drivers are a key pressure point when it comes to engaging companies with sustainable palm oil sourcing, said Westerhout, “for example consumer pressure or regulatory demands from export markets.”
However, the majority of companies surveyed – 70% – either refused or ignored WWF’s request for information and do not publicly disclose their palm oil policies. And of the 15 which responded, half admitted to taking no action to source sustainable palm oil.
Benjamin Loh, WWF Malaysia’s sustainable palm oil manager, said some companies they talked to lacked internal capacity and expertise on sustainable palm oil. “So they don’t even have the infrastructure, or the facility, or the resources to comment on the scorecard,” he said.
Palm oil is an ingredient in a huge number of consumer goods, from biscuits to infant formula, which accounts for the much cited statistic that the oil is in 50% of all supermarket food products. It’s also a huge driver of deforestation, and can have negative consequences on the people and animals that live in areas of palm production.
While WWF has been ranking international companies on their palm oil commitments since 2009, this marks the first time the non-profit has focused solely on Malaysia and Singapore. The decision was made to take a regional view, said Westerhout, because local companies have a very low level of awareness about sustainable palm oil: “It would be unfair for us to compare them against the larger [international] companies that were far further down the road of sustainability.”
Palm oil accounts for 5-6% of the GDP of Malaysia, which is the world’s second largest producer of palm oil after Indonesia. Singapore is a base for the regional operations of major palm oil growers and traders and is also a financial hub for investment into these companies.
Both countries were affected by the choking haze pollution blown their way from neighbouring Indonesia, which experiences widespread forest fires every year thanks to illegal forest clearance, linked to the palm oil industry among others.
The fires were particularly devastating in 2015 when the noxious smoke settled across swaths of south-east Asia, leading to regional shut downs in Malaysia and Singapore and forcing tens of thousands of residents to seek help for respiratory problems.
In response, WWF last year launched a new alliance in south east Asia aimed at boosting demand for sustainable palm oil and tackling haze pollution. Members include Unilever, Ayam Brand, Danone, Ikea and WRS. “The alliance sends a clear signal to consumers about which companies are committed to sustainability and which are not”, said Elaine Tan, CEO of WWF-Singapore.
However, there is still much work to be done on raising consumer awareness. In Malaysia, “there is very low to zero awareness on palm oil”, said Westerhout. “We need to help consumers better understand that their choices make a difference”
Most Singapore brands not transparent about palm oil use: WWF
Channel NewsAsia 21 Sep 17;
SINGAPORE: Two out of three Singapore brands contacted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) did not respond to a request to disclose their palm oil usage, the non-governmental organisation said on Thursday (Sep 21).
As part of its Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard – Malaysia and Singapore 2017, WWF Singapore contacted 27 local retailers, manufacturers and food service brands with a survey to assess their buying and sourcing of palm oil.
The companies were selected based on criteria such as the use of palm oil, market leadership and crowd-sourced suggestions from members of the public, WWF Singapore said in a press release.
Only 10 companies responded. Companies which did not respond include BreadTalk, Crystal Jade, Bee Cheng Hiang, Dairy Farm, Khong Guan, Paradise Group, Tung Lok and Commonwealth Capital – which has stakes in brands like Soup Spoon, PastaMania and Udders. These companies were not given a score and were classified as "not transparent" in their palm oil usage.
Ayam Brand, which uses only certified sustainable palm oil for its canned food products, and Wildlife Reserves Singapore, which uses palm oil for cooking in its food and beverage outlets, scored highest in the report.
WWF also reached out to 20 Malaysian companies, of which six responded - a similar percentage to Singapore companies contacted.
The level of "non-discosure and lack of action" among brands in Singapore and Malaysia was higher than the global average, WWF said. While 30 per cent of brands in the region responded to the WWF survey and only three had public commitments on palm oil use, 80 per cent of global brands responded to the survey and more than 60 per cent had palm oil commitments.
WWF Singapore CEO Elaine Tan said unsustainable practices in the palm oil industry are at the root of the transboundary haze and deforestation.
"Singapore is at the heart of a region that supplies 85 per cent of the world’s palm oil. Our local brands need to show leadership by being accountable for their palm oil use and take real action to source sustainably,” she said.
According to WWF Singapore, brands cited internal factors such as capacity issues and higher costs as obstacles in the switch to sustainable palm oil, even though the additional cost of sustainable palm oil options start at less than S$0.01 more per litre.
There is also a perceived lack of demand for sustainable palm oil by customers in Singapore, it added.
In response to the findings, WWF-Singapore has launched a campaign to get consumers to pressure local brands on their use of palm oil, by sending emails to the companies via https://palmoil.sg.
Since the launch of the campaign, several companies including Bee Cheng Hiang, Tung Lok and Commonwealth Capital have signed a pledge to commit to sourcing for sustainable palm oil, WWF said.
Most Singapore brands not transparent about palm oil usage, says WWF
Today Online 22 Sep 17;
SINGAPORE — Two-thirds of homegrown Singapore brands are not transparent about their palm oil usage, and almost eight in 10 do not source for sustainable palm oil, said the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) yesterday.
A WWF study, Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard — Malaysia and Singapore 2017 — contacted 27 local retailers, manufacturers and food service brands, as well as 20 Malaysian firms to assess their buying and sourcing of palm oil. Unsustainable palm oil production has been linked to the perennial haze problem in South-east Asia.
Only 10 local and six Malaysian firms responded when contacted.
The level of “non-disclosure and lack of action” among brands in these two countries was higher than the global average, the WWF said.
While 30 per cent of regional brands responded to the WWF survey and only three had public commitments on palm oil use, 80 per cent of global brands responded to the survey and over 60 per cent had palm oil commitments.
The companies surveyed cited internal factors, such as capacity issues and higher costs, as obstacles in the switch to sustainable palm oil.
However, the WWF noted that the additional cost of sustainable palm oil options starts at less than S$0.01 more per litre.
There is also a perceived lack of demand for sustainable palm oil by customers in Singapore, it added.
Among the local brands, Denis Asia Pacific (Ayam Brand) and Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) scored highest in the WWF scorecard. Both are already sourcing sustainable palm and oil and are involved in industry-led platforms, such as the South-east Asia Alliance for Sustainable Palm Oil. WRS, for example, uses palm oil for cooking at its food and beverage outlets.
Dr Sonja Luz, WRS’ director of conservation and research, said: “We knew the shift to using sustainable palm oil would be challenging. The process took months, but it is definitely worthwhile as all of us are convinced that this supports our cause — to protect wildlife and conserve biodiversity.”
In response to the findings, WWF Singapore has launched a campaign to show local brands that consumers care about and support sustainable palm oil, by sending emails to brands via palmoil.sg.
Through these emails, CEOs of local companies are urged to take a pledge to be transparent with their palm oil use and start taking steps to source sustainable palm oil.
WWF Singapore chief executive officer Elaine Tan said: “People want to know what goes into the products they buy and the real impact of it. Through this campaign, we hope to demonstrate to popular local brands that their customers want them to do their part in a preventable environmental problem that every person in Singapore experiences.”
Many Singapore consumer brands do not source for sustainable palm oil, survey finds
Annabeth Leow Straits Times 21 Sep 17;
SINGAPORE - Many Singapore companies do not source for sustainable palm oil, according to a survey on Thursday (Sept 21).
It also found that businesses believe that customers are not clamouring for sustainable palm oil, reducing the incentive to change the way they operate.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) study polled 47 firms with headquarters here and in Malaysia - the first region-specific study.
It rated businesses on a 12-point scale that measured the proportion of certified sustainable palm oil used in their supply chains.
The judging criteria also looked for membership in the international Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) bloc and a commitment to buying only certified sustainable palm oil.
Singapore-based Denis Asia Pacific, which is behind Ayam Brand canned food, rated 10 points to top the leaderboard.
Its products use only certified sustainable palm oil, said Ayam Brand country managing director Roy Teo.
"While our total consumption of palm oil is limited, it is possible to make sustainable choices even when manufacturing in smaller volumes," he added.
"We see this business decision paying off through increased employee satisfaction, higher brand value and new business opportunities in Europe, the United States and Australia, where sustainable palm oil has become a market entry criteria."
Another company that fared well was Wildlife Reserves Singapore, which runs attractions such as the Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park.
At least 75 per cent of the palm oil used in its eateries is sustainably sourced.
"We encourage businesses to take this step and consumers to voice their support," said its conservation and research director, Dr Sonja Luz.
But, in general, regional firms did not seem fazed by how customers would perceive the use of non-sustainable palm oil.
Eight companies of the 16 respondents were given scores of zero, meaning that they were upfront about their use of palm oil but had not yet made any progress on sustainability. The four Singapore companies in this category are Sheng Siong, Tong Seng Produce, Viz Branz Holdings and Yeo Hiap Seng.
Eight firms felt there was a lack of consumer awareness and demand for certified sustainable palm oil, so there was no rush to make changes in the supply chain.
Also, nine of the companies that spoke to the WWF said that cost was an obstacle, especially with profit margins at the top of their minds amid tight economic conditions.
The WWF study put consumer brands under the microscope, even as big commodity companies have recently been pushed to step up their sustainability efforts.
Singapore-listed palm oil supplier Golden Agri-Resources - the target of a Greenpeace campaign against illegal deforestation in 2010 - said on Monday that it had made it to the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index for large listed companies with sustainable business practices.
Another home-grown commodities company, Wilmar International, was a founding member of the Fire Free Alliance in 2016. This body comprises non-governmental organisations as well as forestry and agriculture firms.
The regional WWF study had a response rate of just 34 per cent, and only three companies told the environmental group that they are committing to sustainable sourcing, the report said.
In comparison, the organisation's 2016 ranking exercise of 137 companies across Europe, North America, Australia, India and Japan had an 80 per cent response rate.
That survey also found that 70 per cent had thrown their weight behind the use of certified sustainable palm oil.
Still, some Singapore companies that were marked as having given nil returns on the WWF report said that they do make an effort to ensure that the palm oil they use is sustainable.
TungLok Restaurants (2000) executive chairman Andrew Tjioe, whose restaurant group was listed as a non-respondent, told The Straits Times in an e-mail: "We are all for sustainability, therefore we use only RSPO-certified cooking oil, even though it costs us more."
More than 85 per cent of the world's palm oil is produced in South-east Asia, mostly in Indonesia and Malaysia, with the oil going into a wide range of consumer products, from food items like chocolate to soaps and cosmetics.
But cultivation of oil palm has been linked to ecologically harmful practices such as slash-and-burn deforestation, which can cause problems such as habitat loss, water pollution, transboundary haze and climate change.
WWF-Malaysia launches the results of the first Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard
WWF-Malaysia 21 Sep 17;
~ In conjunction with the First Anniversary of the 2016 International Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard ~
Kuala Lumpur: While many palm oil buyers are aware of the importance of using sustainable palm oil to the environment, some are still doing little or nothing to help reduce deforestation and other adverse impacts of producing the world’s most popular vegetable oil in some of the most vulnerable tropical habitats around the world.
With this in mind, the Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard (POBS) Malaysia and Singapore 2017 was jointly released by WWF-Malaysia and WWF Singapore, to evaluate which local companies were sourcing and using sustainable palm oil in their supply-chains. The scorecard also aims to encourage companies which have not yet started their journey to sustainability to do so, with guidance from WWF. As with the WWF International Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecards started in 2009, this Scorecard measured how companies perform on basic steps, such as joining the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), committing to and buying sustainable palm oil, and transparency.
“The scorecard in Malaysia and Singapore is the first of its kind and will be the baseline for Malaysian and Singaporean companies in recording their journey and commitment towards using, sourcing and supplying certified sustainable palm oil,” said Dato’ Dr Dionysius Sharma, Executive Director / CEO of WWF-Malaysia.
Malaysia is the second largest palm oil producer with 1,363,518 ha of palm oil plantations certified by RSPO. Dato’ Dr Sharma added, “The demand for sustainably produced palm oil will drive a positive change in Malaysia’s palm oil industry. While the survey only included 20 Malaysian companies, the ease of accessing a ready supply of locally produced certified palm oil should serve as a catalyst towards local champions in this area.”
WWF-Malaysia’s Sustainable Markets Programme (SMP) has worked closely with companies to change their demand patterns towards sustainably produced goods and promote sustainable consumption. “This change requires a long term commitment and is not limited to large international players. Local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should take up this challenge to positively change their sourcing practices towards certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). We would certainly be ready to work hand-in-hand with them to initiate this commitment,” he said.
A total of 47 companies participated in the scorecard, with 27 from Singapore and 20 from Malaysia. The companies, which were required to complete a simple online survey, were selected from sectors known to consume palm oil and are producers of familiar house brands in the region. Survey questions in the POBS follow the requirements for RSPO certified sustainable palm oil.
The results of the scorecard were released in conjunction with the first anniversary of the 2016 International Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard. Denis Asia Pacific, which uses certified sustainable palm oil across all its Ayam Brand food products containing palm oil as an ingredient, emerged as the overall top scorer with a score of 10 over 12 points. They were hailed as one of the companies leading the way in sustainability, and as an example to other companies planning to start the journey. Said Roy Teo, Managing Director of Ayam Brand, “While our total consumption of palm oil is limited, it is possible to make sustainable choices even when manufacturing in smaller volumes. We see this business decision paying off in employee satisfaction, brand value and business opportunities in Europe, US and Australia where sustainable palm oil has become a market entry criteria.”
For Malaysia, the results revealed that the majority of local companies evaluated have yet to start sourcing sustainable palm oil, with a score of either zero or are non-respondents. From the 30% of companies which responded to the scorecard, two companies disclosed their usage of CSPO in their products. Of the two companies, MAMEE-Double Decker (M) Sdn Bhd was the top scorer, with five over 12 points, and a percentage of 1 to 25% of CSPO usage. This was very encouraging to see as MAMEE, which carries well-known household brands, has a prominent and visible presence in the industry. The close contender was Munchy Food Industries Sdn Bhd, with a score of four over 12 points.
Compared to the International POBS, non-disclosure and non-responsiveness was higher among the companies selected from Malaysia and Singapore. Out of the 47 companies evaluated, 31 companies were non-respondents. A majority of the companies cited a lack in internal capacity or expertise in sustainable practices, costs and the lack of demand from consumers for them to switch to using CSPO.
“The world is at a critical stage on the journey to sustainability, especially in palm oil. Although more major brands are now using only CSPO, there are companies which have yet to start. That needs to change. WWF urges companies to visit the Scorecard website and use it as a guide to start their journey to sustainability. For consumers, we all have a role to play in demanding full participation and transparency of all palm oil buyers across the globe in order to halt the threat of deforestation and affect true sector wide transformation,” stated Dato’ Dr Sharma.
The complete performance profile on each company is shared in the published report, which can be accessed from the POBS website, www.mypobs.com
