Question: Does the company provide qualitative evidence towards achieving conversion-free supply chains?
Answer:
No
19796224
World Benchmarking Alliance
Kao Corporation
2024
Verified by Steward check_circle
The company discloses that it is implementing the Smallholder Inclusion for Better Livelihood and Empowerment (SMILE) program) in partnership with Asian Agri (a plantation company) to help oil palm smallholders in Indonesia improve productivity and obtain certification for sustainable palm oil, with the aim of establishing a sustainable palm oil supply chain. Further, it discloses that a plantation manufacturer’s team of education specialists will enhance the living standards of approximately 5,000 farms by providing technical training to increase productivity (doubling the target yield) and education to obtain RSPO certification (RSPO basic principles, safety education, and yield management methods) by 2030. Moreover, it discloses that doubling the oil palm productivity of all small-scale Indonesian farms would have the effect of reducing new deforestation equivalent to the area of existing palm plantations in Borneo (approximately 4 million hectares). Additionally, it reports that 390 plantations have obtained RSPO certification by 2022 as a result of this activity, and it purchases all the certification credits from these certified small oil palm farms. Also, it reports that 34% of its total procured palm oil was RSPO-certified in 2022 by purchasing a mix of RSPO mass balance and RSPO book & claim, however, the RSPO-MB and RSPO book & claim certifications are not equivalent to zero conversion commitment, and no evidence found that the company provides qualitative evidence of achieving zero conversion throughout its supply chain.