Palm

Superior performing products require high quality, reliable, and sustainable supply chains. P&G is committed to the responsible sourcing of palm oils within our supply chain and driving the adoption of sustainable practices more widely.

P&G Efforts.

P&G is committed to the responsible sourcing of the palm oils - within our supply chains and by driving the adoption of sustainable practices more widely. We have been a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), since 2011, and are committed to RPSO’s 2018 Principles and Criteria. We work actively at RSPO alongside civil society organizations, growers and smallholders, producers and manufacturers, to support and promote the vision of making sustainable palm oils the “norm”. While we do not own or manage palm estates or smallholdings, we do work with a diverse range of partners to drive responsible production and consumption of palm oils. Our Tier 1 Suppliers are expected to be members of RSPO and comply with RSPO Principles and Criteria. Since 2021 all P&G Brands have used 100% RSPO certified palm oils. 

Our Palm Oil Responsible Sourcing Approach has three pillars of action:

P&G Responsible Palm Oils Sourcing Fundamentals.

P&G Responsible Palm Oils Sourcing Policies
Our policies and expectations create a foundation of shared understanding of the practices we expect our suppliers to follow when conducting business on our behalf. 

For Palm Oils sourcing these include sharing our commitments to No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE). All suppliers are expected to comply with our applicable policies including P&G Forest Commodities PolicyP&G Responsible Sourcing Expectations for External Business PartnersP&G Human Rights Policy Statement which cover both our environmental and social expectations. We expect our direct suppliers to communicate these expectations to their supply chain partners linked to P&G sourcing. Our direct suppliers are expected to be members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and comply with RSPO Principles & Criteria (P&Cs).

 

P&G Palm Oil Supply Chain Traceability and Transparency
We recognize the importance of supply chain traceability and transparency as part of our palm oils responsible sourcing due diligence approach. Together they help inform our supply chain choices, enable us to develop robust compliance monitoring and supports effective grievance investigation and stakeholder engagement. We currently trace 98%+ of our palm oils supplies to Palm Oils Mills. We publish these publicly 2 times per year targeting January / February and August / September via our P&G Investor Portal below:

Due Diligence – Monitoring & Grievance Investigation

Due Diligence is not a one-time action or a linear process but a continuous plan-do-act-check cycle. We apply a consistent approach to Due Diligence for all our sourcing and supply chain choices and decisions. This starts with assessing, identifying and prioritizing potential impacts on people and the environment using a risk-based approach.

For Palm Oils Responsible Sourcing our teams have developed programs and approaches to address actual or potential risks either to prevent adverse impacts occurring, mitigating their likelihood or using our leverage to influence and enable effective remedy. We ensure progress is tracked and monitored so that we can assess effectiveness and address any adverse impacts. Across the process we engage openly with our suppliers, external business partners, customers, and stakeholders to ensure transparency and develop meaningful action plans.

P&G is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) since 2011 and requires all our direct suppliers to also be members and to be committed to RSPO’s Principles & Criteria (P&Cs) which cover both environmental and social impacts.

This provides annual independent third-party verification that stringent requirements are followed, and that proper governance is established and, where not, that action are taken, up-to and including exclusion from RSPO, should there be no prompt remediation. While RSPO membership and certification is an important element of our palm oils supply chain due diligence program, it is not the only element. We know that it is important to go further through supply chain mapping and traceability; environmental satellite enabled monitoring; engagement with suppliers and through active engagement with civil society and cross industry bodies. You can learn more about this work on palm below and throughout the P&G ESG for Investors website.

Proactive Environmental Satellite Monitoring of our Palm Oil Supply Landbanks

Since 2020 P&G has conducted 24-7-365 satellite monitoring of our palm oil supply landbank:

  • Monitoring is conducted with Earthqualizer (EQ), an independent not for profit organization. It provides “real time compliance data” for tracking potential deforestation, development on peat and burning to clear land. 
  • We currently monitor over 18.9+ million hectares of P&G’s suppliers landbanks in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. The methodology uses big data analysis integrating satellite tracking technology; concession mapping* and expert knowledge of high-conservation-value (HCV)/high-carbon-stock (HCS) landscapes.
  • In FY 23-24 we confirmed that 99.95% of supply chain landscapes monitored were “free of deforestation or conversion issues”. Where issues may have occurred, the robust information generated with Earthqualizer has allowed us to engage more effectively in discussions with our suppliers and to provide data to help guide and accelerate remediation and monitor on-going progress.

*A Palm Concession is an area of land where a government or local authority has granted a license or permit, to a private company to establish oil palm plantations on public lands. RSPO publish Members Palm Concession Maps

P&G FORESTRY GRIEVANCE PROCESS & TRACKER – PALM OILS

We apply a combination of proactive monitoring and reactive Grievance Investigation as part of Due Diligence. We publish our Grievance Tracker publicly 3x per year on this site. Grievance investigation is a key part of our reactive due diligence. It helps ensure compliance with our policies and NDPE expectations. We share the outcome of our investigation publicly via our P&G Palm Grievance Tracker.

How can I report a Grievance.
Concerns can be reported to P&G employees or via our independently managed P&G Worldwide Business Conduct Helpline

What Grievance Investigation Process does P&G follow?
We apply a 3 step Grievance Investigation Process and detail can be found at P&G Forestry Grievance Process

Where can I access information on Palm Oils Grievances received by P&G?
Where issues are raised to us, we engage directly with complainants to keep them informed on status of our investigation. We recognize that other stakeholders may have an interest in understanding more about our grievances and outcomes of investigation. We therefore publish a public grievance tracker (updated in April, August, December) which can be found: P&G Palm Grievance Tracker

Progress & Goals.

P&G Forest Commodities Policy holds all suppliers to the same high standards with respect to No Deforestation, No Peat, and No Exploitation (NDPE). Suppliers must comply with our Forest Commodities Policy, Responsible Sourcing Expectations for External Business Partners and RSPO’s P&C’s. This applies to all our palm oils purchases regardless of whether the oils are RSPO certified or not.

2030 Goal for P&G Brands FY 23/24 Progress for P&G Brands
100% of palm oils used in P&G Brands is Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified maintained 100% RSPO certification covering palm oils in our brands

Data & Metrics

FY23-24 Palm Oils Usage and RSPO certification

P&G Brands – 100% RSPO certified Palm Oil used since 2021.

P&G Brands FY 2021-2022 FY 2022-2023 FY 2023-2024
  MT %RSPO Certified MT %RSPO Certified MT %RSPO Certified
Palm Oil 20,219 100%* 18,700 100%** 15,907 100%***
Palm Oil Derivatives 103,402 100% 87,528 100% 92,450 100%
Palm Kernel Oil 155,721 100% 120,229 100% 175,617 100%***
Palm Kernel Oil Derivative 106,957 100% 98,528 100% 72,803 100%
Total 386,299 100% 324,985 100% 356,777 100%
MT - Metric Tones
* FY 2021-2022 - Palm Oil is 100% RSPO Certified - 73% RSPO certified Segregated, 27% RSPO certified Mass Balance
** FY 2022-2023 - Palm Oil is 100% RSPO Certified - 46% RSPO Segregated, 54% Mass Balance, 2% of volume purchased as Independent Smallholder Credits
*** FY 2023-2024 - Palm Oil is RSPO Segregated Certified. 2% of Palm Kernel Oil volume purchased as Independent Smallholder Credits.
 

Toatl P&G Total Purchase and Usage: P&G Brands and P&G Chemicals Merchant Market

P&G Total (P&G Brands & P&G Chemicals) FY 2021-2022 FY 2022-2023 FY 2023-2024
  MT %RSPO Certified MT %RSPO Certified MT %RSPO Certified
Palm Oil 34,219 100% 31,700 100% 21,907 100%
Palm Oil Derivatives 103,402 100% 87,528 100% 95,370 100%
Palm Kernel Oil 259,767 60% 183,329 66% 289,827 62%
Palm Kernel Oil Derivative 106,957 100% 98,528 98% 72,803 100%
Total
504,345 79% 401,285 84% 479,907 77%
MT - Metric Tones
 

For full data, goals and preferences including past three fiscal years please download our P&G Responsible Palm Oil Data Sheet please CLICK HERE

P&G Palm Oil Supply Chain and Grievance Information

*Tier 1 & Mill Lists are updated 2x per year (Jan/Feb and August/September) **Grievance Tracker is published 3x (April, August, December)

Partnerships and Programs

Our Approach to Positive Impact Partnerships & Programs

We believe that partnership holds the key to driving positive and scalable sector wide solutions. This engagement takes us beyond our immediate supply chains to play our part as a catalyst for change. Helping us deliver positive impacts sector wide and for landscapes and the people and communities where we source our palm oils.

Positive Impact Partnerships

P&G purchases and uses less than 1% of the world’s palm oils – making us only one small part of the palm oils supply chain. We know that to achieve wider impacts we need to work with others - shaping common standards and adoption of sustainable practices. Our work with experts, multi-stakeholder and industry groups, NGOs, and scientific experts these include (but are not limited to):

  • Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)

    A member since 2011 we engaged on a range of programs including RSPO Principles and Criteria Taskforce, Jurisdiction Approach pilot programs in Johor, Smallholder Certification and Shared Responsibility Working Group. Since 2015 we have sponsored of the Smallholder Academy and Linking Learning Sessions

  • Palm Oil Collaboration Group (POCG)

    Working with companies across the supply chain to find ways to accelerate effective implementation of No Deforestation, No Peat Expansion, No Exploitation (NDPE) commitments.

  • High Carbon Stock Approach Steering Group (HCSASG)

    We previously served on the executive committee, smallholder working group and other groups that develop and champion the implementation of the HCSA Toolkit.

Positive Impact Programs:

P&G Smallholder Sustainable Livelihoods Program

Established in 2015 in Johor, Malaysia, the P&G Smallholder Program and P&G Centre for Sustainable Small owners (CSS est. 2018) seeks to support our smallholder partners and their communities in their sustainable agriculture journey. This means enabling them with access to training and guidance on good agricultural practices that can lead to increased (but sustainable) palm fruit yields and enables them to boost income and improve livelihoods. We also support their journey to become RSPO smallholder certified – providing them with the opportunity to secure a price premium for their crop and providing them with a path to inclusion and having a voice across the wider palm industry. 


CSS, in collaboration with Asia School of Business, acts as a 1-Stop Shop Resources Centre. Bringing together local experts, agronomists, fertilizer experts, researchers, supply chain and business expertise - in a way that is accessible to our smallholder partners. We learn from them, with them and together which helps them become community knowledge holders, acting as ambassadors to their communities and driving diffusion of meaningful solutions to the widest possible local audience. Our CSS program has:

  • Helped our smallholders establish PERTANIAGA – their own registered Smallholder Association
  • Supported 641 Smallholders to achieve the RSPO Independent Smallholder Standard Certification by end of 2024. 
  • Created 252 learning farms, provided training for up to 2,400 independent smallholders (via CSS, at learning farms and via 30 public trainings with 22 grass roots organization and 18 different organizations). 

In FY23-24 we have:

  • Achieved 31% Yield Improvement and +25% Income Uplift at Check Farms vs. Control Farms.
  • Trained 5 new RSPO Master Trainers at CSS plus 2 new Master Trainers from our smallholder association PERTANIAGA. We now have 9 Master Trainers (40% of all qualified Malaysian Master Trainers) at P&G CSS.
  • Provided guidance, advice and training tools, including books and apps, for use by our CSS smallholder partners.
  • Our experts based at CSS in Johor also share their learnings freely with others – at meetings, congresses and via academic poster and program publications. This includes at RSPO Roundtable Linking and Learnings Sessions for Smallholders – where P&G is a long-term sponsor - at both the RSPO RT 2023 and 2024.

Moving forward the program will continue to look to digital tools to monitor and track supply chains which are becoming more and more important as we continue to work to modernize collection center and RISS data collection.
Want to learn more: P&G CSS 2023 Annual Report or to the ASB Website covering CSS P&G - ASB CSS Website

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Rimba Collective

P&G is a Founding Member of the RIMBA Collective. This groundbreaking 30-year program was established in 2020 by a group of companies* with a shared commitment to support long term community and landscape programs in Indonesia and Malaysia. It aims to support local community and NGO led programs designed to protect and restore 500,000 hectares of forest and support 32,000 people in forest communities. RIMBA Collective Goals include:

  • Protect and Restore Landscapes: forests, carbon-rich peatland, and mangroves across the sourcing footprint.
  • Improve People’s Lives and Strengthen their Rights: engaging proactively with local communities, increase access to healthcare, education, clean water, and sanitation.
  • Protect and Enhance Biodiversity: program includes biodiversity monitoring to measure positive impacts in protecting or restoring critical habitats for rare, threatened, protected or endemic species. In Indonesia & Malaysia this includes orangutan, cloud leopard, Asian elephant, and Tigers.
  • Collaborate: bringing together multiple stakeholders who share our interests to help preserve & restore forests, reduce GHG emissions, enable sustainable palm oil and social and economic development.

In 2022, the first full year of operations, RIMBA supported forest conservation programs reaching 73,000 hectares of land. By 2023 RIMBA Collective is:

  • Fully operational with 16 Active Projects in Malaysia and Indonesia
  • 224,106 committed Hectares of Forest Conservation and Restoration to Date
  • ~9,630 Forest Dependent Households set to benefit.
  • 83 Endangered and Vulnerable Species Habits will benefit from Conservation and Restoration
  • RIMBAs goal is to expand the program to 550,000 Hectares of Conservation and Restoration funded by 2026.

Want to learn more: RIMBA Collective Website

* Founding Partners include P&G, Nestle, PepsiCo, Unilever

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rimba Collective logo