Teaming with fellow stakeholders to promote sustainable palm

Developing objective, transparent, measurable standards for responsible production

ADM is working to create a sustainable supply chain for palm oil through our participation in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, an international body composed of stakeholders from throughout the palm supply chain, including oil palm growers, oil processors, food companies, NGOs, retailers of palm oil products and investors.

One of the RSPO’s principal objectives has been to develop objective, transparent, measurable standards for responsible palm production. The organization has identified more than three dozen criteria that producers must meet for their products to be certified as sustainable. These standards seek
to ensure that growers:

• implement and maintain responsible agronomic practices intended to preserve soil quality, conserve natural resources and minimize the use of potentially harmful chemicals;
• take steps to mitigate any potentially negative environmental impacts of their operations;
• respect biodiversity by taking species conservation into account in all management plans and operations;
• adhere to strict labor and workplace standards that prohibit exploitation, discrimination and other unfair, unlawful or unethical practices;
• refrain from planting in high conservation value forest land;
• confirm that use of their land for oil palm does not diminish the legal rights, or customary rights, of other users — particularly indigenous peoples — without their free, prior and informed consent;
• practice transparency in reporting in all matters relevant to Roundtable certification; and
• comply with all applicable local, national and international laws governing their operations.

Today, ADM works with GreenPalm.org to obtain RSPO-certified
sustainable palm oil under the “book-and-claim” system, in which
currently certified growers offer sustainable product for sale
through this online trading portal. In the future, as more RSPO-certified palm oil becomes available, we will make it available to our
customers. We are continually seeking to strengthen the links in our
supply chain to ensure the palm oil we provide to our customers is
sourced from conscientious and responsible growers and cooperatives.