Sipef Group

"In 2019 SIPEF worked closely with the The Government of Papua New Guinea (GoPNG) through the Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to develop tools which will allow smallholders to comply with no RSPO HCS-HCV identification and conservation requirements in proposed oil palm expansions. The tools are being developed in coordination with RSPO and will allow smallholders to enter deforestation free sustainable palm oil supply chains and contribute to PNG’s National Determined Contributions (NDC) under the UNFCCC. "

"The smallholder confirms that any form of discrimination is prohibited and there is no gender related discrimination with regards to employment or pay. [Reference documents: SIPEF Sexual Harassment Policy, SIPEF Equal Employment Opportunity Policy]"

"Since November 2014 SIPEF has committed to no deforestation or new plantings on peat of any depth for all of our crops. All new developments undergo an integrated High Carbon Stock and High Conservation Value Assessment in line with current relevant standards. For oil palm SIPEF is committed to the restoration of non-compliant land clearing our own operations and that of our third party FFB suppliers through respective compliance to the RSPO Remediation and Compensation Procedure."

" SIPEF believes that a thorough Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process is critical to the long-term success of any new operation, both for the communities and for the Company. The first step of all new projects is a robust FPIC process."

"The smallholder can prove that there is no new planting on peat, regardless of depth, after 15 November 2018, and all already operated peatlands are managed as per the best management practices. The smallholder confirms that land clearing after 15 November 2018 did not and does not cause deforestation or damage any area required to protect or enhance High Conservation Values (HCVs) or High Carbon Stock (HCS) forest. HCVs and HCS forests in the managed area are identified and protected or enhanced."

"In 2019 SIPEF worked closely with the The Government of Papua New Guinea (GoPNG) through the Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to develop tools which will allow smallholders to comply with no RSPO HCS-HCV identification and conservation requirements in proposed oil palm expansions. The tools are being developed in coordination with RSPO and will allow smallholders to enter deforestation free sustainable palm oil supply chains and contribute to PNG’s National Determined Contributions (NDC) under the UNFCCC. "

"SIPEF implements the High Conservation Value (HCV) and the High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA1 ) methodologies to ensure that its plantation expansion does not result in the loss of areas of HCV, forests and ecosystem services. The HCV of all existing plantations has been assessed and recognised by the RSPO at the time of the original assessment. In November 2018, RSPO endorsed the new standard which requires HCS assessments in addition to HCV assessments, to ensure that oil palm expansion does not result in deforestation. New developments, which were assessed before the current RSPO standard was endorsed and on which land clearing is ongoing, are being assessed for HCS to ensure that no forests that are High Carbon Stock, are cleared. All subsequent new development areas are subject to an integrated HCV/HCS assessment, using assessors licensed by the HCV Resources Network2 , as required under the current RSPO standard endorsed in November 2018."

"SIPEF believes that all stakeholders, internal and external, should be confident that their grievances will be heard and handled impartially. When receiving, and dealing with, concerns and grievances, SIPEF is committed: to abide by existing laws and regulations of the country where it operates."

within their 2019 ACOP report the company states "Total FFB volume produced by estates 922264.34 [...] Total certified FFB volume produced by certified estates 847767.46 [...] scheme smallholder total volume 19312.84 tonnes [...] scheme smallholder certified volume 14562.77 tonnes [...] Independent smallholder certified volume 650 tonnes"

"SIPEF believes in the importance of being a ‘good neighbour’. Social-environmental impacts from its operations are controlled to avoid any negative impact on the surrounding population. Communities neighbouring the SIPEF operations, or affected by them, are consulted periodically, and as much as possible provided with opportunities to benefit from its activities. SIPEF provides employment, builds and maintains schools, roads, health centres, bridges and places of worship. Smallholder oil palm projects are developed with and for local communities, beyond legal requirements. "

SIPEF Group report a detailed traceability tool displaying their company owned landholdings, mills, and conservation areas, as well as those of their smallholders.

SIPEF Group report a detailed traceability tool displaying their company owned landholdings, mills, and conservation areas, as well as those of their smallholders.

"SIPEF is committed to no deforestation. All new projects are developed after integrated HCV-HCS assessments . For ongoing projects, and acquired going concerns, HCS assessments are conducted with the results integrated into habitat management plans. "

"SIPEF has developed a mechanism to select, suspend or exclude suppliers based on the sustainability standards it is committed to." "SIPEF does not buy from any (non-certified) third party suppliers, with the exception of its own plasma and associated smallholders. These smallholders must in turn comply with our Responsible Purchasing Policy which ensures that all of our supply base is or will become traceable and certified to the RSPO Standard as soon as possible. It also provides the framework for the procedures required to select, monitor and if necessary expel plasma smallholders from our supply base. As such, while some of our supply base is not yet certified, all of it is traceable. "

"SIPEF has developed a mechanism to select, suspend or exclude suppliers based on the sustainability standards it is committed to." "SIPEF does not buy from any (non-certified) third party suppliers, with the exception of its own plasma and associated smallholders. These smallholders must in turn comply with our Responsible Purchasing Policy which ensures that all of our supply base is or will become traceable and certified to the RSPO Standard as soon as possible. It also provides the framework for the procedures required to select, monitor and if necessary expel plasma smallholders from our supply base. As such, while some of our supply base is not yet certified, all of it is traceable. "