BUSINESS
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Cargill, the largest privately-held company in the United States, has proven to be unable to clean up its supply chain from ongoing deforestation and peat drainage in Indonesia, including the removal of the habitat of the Bornean orangutan, as of January this year.
One piece of evidence backing up this conclusion is the continuing linkage of Cargill’s supply chain, albeit indirectly, to the ongoing devastation of the Bornean orangutan’s habitat in PT SAE, a subsidiary of the Saraswanti group.
In late November 2018, FORESTHINTS.NEWS exposed the clearing of peat forests which are home to the Bornean orangutan in the Saraswanti concession which lies in West Kalimantan’s Landak regency.
However, in late January this year, it was revealed once again by FORESTHINTS.NEWS that the Saraswanti company is still bulldozing the Bornean orangutan-inhabited peat forests in its concession.
The two Planet Explorer images below show how the Bornean orangutan’s habitat in the Saraswanti concession is continuing to be destroyed even at the end of January this year.
Cargill reacts
In response to an inquiry from FORESTHINTS.NEWS, Cargill, a member of Earthworm/TFT as well as the RSPO, asserted that its supply chain is linked to Saraswanti’s palm oil through indirect sourcing from its direct supplier Sime Darby.
“Cargill has reached out to Sime Darby to communicate its concerns regarding the matter and has asked for steps Sime Darby has and will be taking moving forward,” the Cargill spokesperson explained in writing to FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Jan 31).
These concerns on the part of Cargill, despite being very belatedly conveyed to Sime Darby - given that significant parts of the Bornean orangutan-inhabited peat forests in question have already been drained - are still relevant in terms of the impact they will have.
The following two photos depict the Bornean orangutan-inhabited peat forests which are being subjected to ongoing clearing and draining on the ground by the Saraswanti palm oil company.
PONGO Alliance members involved
Sime Darby, as a member of the PONGO Alliance, is unquestionably behaving very controversially by continuing to source palm oil from a company, in this case the Saraswanti group, which persists in clearing the Bornean orangutan-inhabited peat forests in its concession.
Meanwhile, Wilmar International, which recently introduced new measures claimed to be ‘beyond NDPE’, is also undoubtedly tied to the ongoing razing of the Bornean orangutan’s habitat in the Saraswanti concession, considering that Sime Darby is one of its key suppliers too.
Along with Sime Darby, Wilmar is also a member of the PONGO Alliance. As such, as of late January this year, the supply chains of these two alliance members remain tainted by the eradication of precious Bornean orangutan-inhabited peat forests.
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BUSINESS
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Cargill, the largest privately-held company in the United States, has proven to be unable to clean up its supply chain from ongoing deforestation and peat drainage in Indonesia, including the removal of the habitat of the Bornean orangutan, as of January this year.
One piece of evidence backing up this conclusion is the continuing linkage of Cargill’s supply chain, albeit indirectly, to the ongoing devastation of the Bornean orangutan’s habitat in PT SAE, a subsidiary of the Saraswanti group.
In late November 2018, FORESTHINTS.NEWS exposed the clearing of peat forests which are home to the Bornean orangutan in the Saraswanti concession which lies in West Kalimantan’s Landak regency.
However, in late January this year, it was revealed once again by FORESTHINTS.NEWS that the Saraswanti company is still bulldozing the Bornean orangutan-inhabited peat forests in its concession.
The two Planet Explorer images below show how the Bornean orangutan’s habitat in the Saraswanti concession is continuing to be destroyed even at the end of January this year.
Cargill reacts
In response to an inquiry from FORESTHINTS.NEWS, Cargill, a member of Earthworm/TFT as well as the RSPO, asserted that its supply chain is linked to Saraswanti’s palm oil through indirect sourcing from its direct supplier Sime Darby.
“Cargill has reached out to Sime Darby to communicate its concerns regarding the matter and has asked for steps Sime Darby has and will be taking moving forward,” the Cargill spokesperson explained in writing to FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Jan 31).
These concerns on the part of Cargill, despite being very belatedly conveyed to Sime Darby - given that significant parts of the Bornean orangutan-inhabited peat forests in question have already been drained - are still relevant in terms of the impact they will have.
The following two photos depict the Bornean orangutan-inhabited peat forests which are being subjected to ongoing clearing and draining on the ground by the Saraswanti palm oil company.
PONGO Alliance members involved
Sime Darby, as a member of the PONGO Alliance, is unquestionably behaving very controversially by continuing to source palm oil from a company, in this case the Saraswanti group, which persists in clearing the Bornean orangutan-inhabited peat forests in its concession.
Meanwhile, Wilmar International, which recently introduced new measures claimed to be ‘beyond NDPE’, is also undoubtedly tied to the ongoing razing of the Bornean orangutan’s habitat in the Saraswanti concession, considering that Sime Darby is one of its key suppliers too.
Along with Sime Darby, Wilmar is also a member of the PONGO Alliance. As such, as of late January this year, the supply chains of these two alliance members remain tainted by the eradication of precious Bornean orangutan-inhabited peat forests.
RELATED STORIES
