According to a blog post on the Greenpeace web site, Cargill has made a pledge to break the link between its palm oil and deforestation, peat destruction and social exploitation, in response to pressure from Greenpeace, the Rainforest Action Network and other NGOs as well as many of its clients.
The blogger, Joao Talocchi, says that Cargill’s commitment adds to the more than 20 similar pledges from companies around the word – palm oil producers, traders and consumers – which are transforming an industry ranked as one the main triggers of forest destruction in Indonesia.
Talocchi says that Cargill’s policy, which is effective immediately, comes on the heels of the Sustainable Palm Oil Manifesto (SPOM) announcement last week and goes on to note that, while a number of the big palm oil producers that are part of SPOM held off on real actions, Cargill’s policy is explicit in its pledge to implement the existing High Carbon Stock Approach. This, he says, is a critical step to ensure that Cargill’s supply chain will break its links to deforestation, as it adds carbon stocks as one of the criteria that must be considered when planning the use of the land.
But while the policy is a step in the right direction, it’s not as strong as the commitments made by the Palm Oil Innovation Group and lacks clearer targets for compliance, along with plans for independent verification, claims Talocchi: additional shortcomings include Cargill’s lack of protection for food security and details on if and how this policy will apply to any future plantations Cargill acquires.
Greenpeace says that it will continue to critically monitor the action plan Cargill is expected to announce at the end of the year, which the organisation says must include details of how it will put this policy into practice worldwide and strict implementation deadlines.
