Singapore – We share the concern with our stakeholders that our third-party suppliers need to adhere to the commitments laid down in our Sustainability Policy, especially on maintaining transparent milestones to drive change. We actively monitor the progress of our third-party suppliers to ensure that the suppliers are keeping within their NDPE commitments.
In November 2017, the RSPO Complaints Panel announced that an independent verification would be carried out to determine the veracity of the allegations. This independent verification has since been completed on 8 June 2018. The RSPO Complaints Panel is now reviewing the report by the independent verification team; a decision on Indoagri’s certification status from the RSPO Complaints Panel is pending.
Additionally, the Certifying Body, SAI Global, who conducted a special audit on Indofood, have not reported back to the Accreditation Services International (ASI) on whether the ‘Non-Conformities’ have been corrected. ASI is the sole Accreditation body for RSPO since 2014.
Given that the resolution of this complaint has taken much longer than expected and the uncertainties over the outcome, as a precautionary measure, Musim Mas has temporarily ceased to have an active business relationship with the supplier since 1 August 2018.
Nonetheless, we will continue to engage the supplier in encouraging active communication around the reports, as a temporary stop-purchase does not mean that we have concluded the grievance case on IndoAgri’s compliance with the RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&Cs). As a committed member of the RSPO, we think that any RSPO member should be given a chance to go through the grievance process. Our temporary cessation in business relation is because the resolution of the case is taking too long to meet the stakeholders’ expectations.
Finally, we are calling upon all the stakeholders in the industry to have a joint action regarding the grievance case, especially the companies who have a business relationship with the larger Salim Group. Ultimately, our influence on the larger Salim Group is limited, as we purchase only from IndoAgri; we need an industry effort to push for transformation on the ground.
For more details on the grievance, please click here.
For more information, please contact:
Carolyn Lim
Corporate Communications
media@musimmas.com
+65 6576 4770
