This takes us beyond Responsible Sourcing and Compliance Monitoring to become a catalyst for change achieving positive outcomes for communities, individuals, and the environment. Our current programs include:
Smallholder farmers globally are responsible for growing ~40% of all palm fresh fruit bunches. Enabling the adoption of more sustainable farming practices has the potential to both improve lives and grow sustainable palm production and supply. P&G is committed to working with these farmers to enable them to transform their livelihoods through more efficient and sustainable farming practices.
In 2018, in Johor State Malaysia we created the P&G Smallholder Training Program - working with smallholders at 17 collection centers in the Bingan Jaya Trader Network. We established the Centre for Sustainable Smallholders (CSS) in collaboration with the Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation (MISI) based at University Tun Hussein Onn. It acts as a “one-stop-shop” resource center with researchers, agronomists and field workers collaborating with supply chain teams to drive on the ground (and in the field) capability. The Center for Sustainable Small-Owners aims to reach 8,000 Smallholders Farmers within 5 years.
Positive Progress in our 10 Core Learning Farms:
The new RSPO Independent Smallholder Standard (RISS) is a key way to enable smallholders to boost livelihoods, demonstrate sustainability and ensure they have an RSPO Voice.
In 2020 we supported our Smallholder partners to register PERTANIAGA (Association for Sustainable Commercial Smallholders) and despite COVID-19 to navigate safely through the rigorous RISS certification process. We congratulate the 107 Smallholders who are our first P&G partner smallholders to achieve the RSPO Independent Smallholders Standard certification. TANHNIAH! (that’s congratulations in Malay)
On UN World Wildlife Day 2021 P&G announced a 2-year Sponsor Partnership with WWF- Malaysia as part of our Conserve-Restore-Protect force for good program for communities and environments where palm is cultivated.
The program supports WWF-Malaysia’s efforts to protect endangered Malayan Tigers and their forest landscape homes in the Central Forest Spine of Peninsular Malaysia. Implemented in 4 key Forest Linkages in Belum Temengor, Sungai Yu and 2 forest linkages around the Cameron Highlands it seeks to:
Supporting WWF anti-poaching patrols drawn from local indigenous communities
Enabling WWF-MYCAT degraded forest areas with a long-term goal to create “wildlife corridors”
Developing satellite and stakeholder mapping of sites to understand land use and species mapping
P&G is committed to supporting programs focused on protection and restoration of ecosystems and communities. We recognize that (in addition to projects P&G uniquely establishes with partners) to deliver ambitious results we may need to engage as part of multi-stakeholder programs and foster these programs during the early stage of their development. This is why we became a founding member of the RIMBA Collective.
is a unique palm multi-stakeholder program announced in April 2021 and designed to support long-term, sustainable conservation and restoration of forests and ecosystem services. It aims to provide US$ 1 Billion to protect or restore 500,000 hectares of tropical forest landscapes, supporting 32,000 individuals in forest communities in Southeast Asia over 25 years, starting in Indonesia. The programs identified will be created, managed and led by NGO’s and local communities. Project selection is underway with first project funding and implementation is expected in 2022.
P&G is committed to playing a positive role through our P&G engagement programs, but we recognize that many challenges can only be resolved through partnership. We need to work with a range of stakeholders and experts to make change happen. This is especially true for change that needs to be driven at scale through industry-wide standards or best practices. This is why P&G engages with multiple cross industry, multi-stakeholder, and expert working groups.
P&G is a member of RSPO and actively participates in working groups, standing committees and programs to drive the development and implementation of sustainable palm practices. These include:
HCAS is a methodology and toolkit that sets the standard approach for implementing no deforestation in tropical moist forest landscapes
P&G actively participates in then Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), a group of over 400 leading retailers, manufacturers, and service providers. This includes CGF’s “Forest Positive Coalition of Action” comprised of member companies committed to moving efficiently toward a forest positive future and to work to accelerate systematic efforts to remove deforestation, forest degradation and conversion from key commodity supply chains
The Implementation Reporting Framework (IRF) is being developed within the Palm Oil Collaboration Group (POCG) to provide a tool for companies to monitor, understand and communicate progress with implementation of NDPE policy commitments across the entire production base connected to their supply chain. This will allow targeted action where there are issues and ongoing reporting on progress.