We support, both, the industry’s physical transformation and the market’s transformation to certified sustainable palm oil products. A multi-stakeholder approach is at the core of our initiative for sustainable management of palm oil and palm kernel oil. Through partnerships, projects and dialog, we engage with key players and we are expanding our contribution to sustainable practices in the palm oil industry.
Henkel is a committed founding member of the Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil (FONAP) in Germany and is a member of various working groups dedicated to palm (kernel) oil sustainable sourcing. Through these engagements with other companies, NGOs, associations and political bodies we advocate for finding ways to increase the proportion of sustainably produced palm (kernel) oil, and improving existing standards and certifications.
Henkel, along with other leading consumer goods manufacturers and companies in the oleochemical industry, is also a founding member of the cross-industry Action for Sustainable Derivatives (ASD) initiative. The primary objective of the initiative is to generate more transparency in the complex value chain for palm derivatives. Activities include assessing identified risks, promotion of the sustainable production and procurement of palm (kernel) oil derivatives and sharing best practices and solutions that can comprehensively transform the complex palm oil derivatives sector. To that end, Henkel also supports the efforts by ASD to develop an enhanced monitoring approach for the proactive detection and tracking of abuses and non-compliance with zero net deforestation requirements. Additionally, we collaborate in the harmonization of requirements, tools and criteria to create fair conditions for competition among companies who produce ingredients and with their direct suppliers. In the framework of our partnership, ASD achieved collective transparency for 1.13 million tons of palm-based materials in 2023. This represents around 1.3 percent of the global palm production,15 percent in terms of volume of the global palm-based oleochemicals market and 31 percent of the palm kernel oil-based oleochemicals market.
We are also actively involved in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The RSPO standard includes compliance with human rights along the entire supply chain, in addition to addressing environmental issues. In May 2023, our Global Supply Chain organization was again successfully certified in line with the RSPO’s supply chain standard.
We have partnered with the development organization Solidaridad on initiatives in Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua and Nigeria since 2013. Our projects’ focus is on improving palm oil smallholders’ livelihoods, incomes and resilience, simultaneously making a positive contribution to the environment and climate. In 2024, we are engaged in projects in Colombia, Indonesia, and Honduras. Building on the very good collaboration with Solidaridad, we have developed specific plans for the next few years to expand the commitment further.