Wilmar readies for the MSPO
Published on: Wednesday, June 06, 2018
Sandakan: Wilmar International Limited (Wilmar) has developed and rolled out an online reporting tool to assess the readiness of its suppliers in Malaysia, in view of the MSPO (Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil) national certification becoming mandatory at end of 2019.Adapted from an original questionnaire developed by The Forest Trust (TFT) for the palm oil sector, by responding to questions about sustainability practices, the Supplier Reporting Tool (SRT) allows mill suppliers to measure their existing performance against MSPO requirements and additionally to Wilmar's own No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) policy. The SRT asks a range of questions pertaining to policy, supply chain, transparency and environmental safeguards such as forest conservation. ADVERTISEMENT The score a supplier receives after inputting information into the SRT determines its readiness for MSPO, ranging from low, medium to high, and provides guidance on actions needed to assist suppliers in meeting both MSPO and NDPE requirements. Each individual company's SRT report is their own, and they are free to share the report with any stakeholder that needs sustainability compliance information, for example other buyers, auditors or banks. Since launching the SRT in March 2018, Wilmar has conducted six training workshops nationwide which have been attended by about half of the company's over 260 suppliers in Malaysia.Wilmar is collaborating with the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC), the organisation charged with developing and implementing the MSPO certification scheme, for the latter to also provide support to suppliers. ADVERTISEMENT Wilmar's Group Sustainability General Manager, Perpetua George, said as the world's largest palm oil processor and merchandiser, Wilmar is committed to meet demand from consumers for certified sustainable palm oil by ensuring all suppliers become sustainable. "The SRT allows us to determine the compliance level of our suppliers and to assist those with lower scores to overcome setbacks that they may have in becoming compliant to sustainability requirements.
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This effort was conceptualised to allow us to engage our suppliers, share knowledge and lend support to them in preparing for MSPO certification."It will allow Wilmar and MPOCC to identify gaps and deploy resources such as trainings and audit assistance in a more effective manner. It also serves as an internal reporting tool that helps with gap analysis of our own NDPE policy," she elaborated.Kim Loong Resources Berhad which has mill operations in Sabah and Johor finds the SRT useful in keeping track of its operations in relation to identifying aspects it is doing well in and those that need to be addressed.Its Deputy Plantation Director, Gooi Chuen Kang, who described the tool as user-friendly, said it was a good start in getting suppliers ready for MSPO certification."We are finding this reporting tool helpful in identifying gaps that we need to address. We do not have a specific unit that handles sustainability and this tool is providing us the information we need. I believe as this tool is further developed, it will become more useful."We are also keen to see if we can in future use this tool to engage with our own suppliers as well," Gooi said.For Wilmar's suppliers outside Malaysia, the SRT will include the relevant national standards apart from the NDPE policy requirements. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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Wilmar has also implemented a customised version of the SRT focusing on smallholders in Latin America. Another version for Indonesia is expected to be ready in July 2018.