05 Oct 2016 --- Olam International is making strides in Africa’s palm oil sector by becoming the first company to receive verifications from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), including the first-ever African working plantation to become certified. Olam Palm Gabon has been embedding sustainability in its palm oil operations and wants to be recognized as ambassadors for sustainability in Africa in order to keep pace with the growing demand for sustainable palm oil around the world.

based in Gabon, the Awala plantation is breaking new ground by becoming the first palm plantation to get RSPO new planting procedure verification, and in turn is boosting Africa’s RSPO-certified production hectares by 30 percent. 

The 6,700 hectare plantation lies within a 20,000 hectare lease, the remainder of which is actively managed by Olam for conservation of biodiversity and forest carbon, and protection of water catchments, fulfilling RSPO’s requirements. 

Another key development for Olam Palm Gabon (OPG) is the Moulia plantation located south of Awala. Around 31,000 hectares have already been planted, in full compliance with RSPO guidelines and it looks highly likely this area will also progress towards official certification in 2017. As in Awala, Mouila will also have significant area set aside for conservation requirements, as per the RSPO recommendation. 

By 2023 the two plantations will reach full production capacity with production forecasts of up to 22 metric tons of fresh fruit bunches and 5.2 metric tons of oil per hectare. This represents a major complement to the existing stock of sustainable palm production in the country. 

“Of all vegetable oils, palm oil produces the highest yields per hectare. Currently, about 17 percent of the world’s supply of palm oil is certified as sustainable,” says Ranveer Chauhan, Managing Director and CEO of Palm Oil and Natural Rubber at Olam International.

“However, customer demand for sustainable palm oil is rapidly increasing and RSPO is targeting 100 percent uptake of certified oil in Europe alone by 2020. Ensuring we are certified is therefore not just the right thing to do but makes sound business sense. Africa is the home of oil palm and many think it does not have the necessary infrastructure or governance to support high international standards.  

“This certification shows what can be achieved for any new or old palm plantation development on the continent.” 

These sentiments are echoed by CEO of RSPO, Datuk Darrel Webber, who praises OPG for its dedication to sustainability. 

“We commend Olam for embedding sustainability at the very start of their operations, it’s a good step to avoid any negative impacts to people, planet and profit. It is critical for all companies, especially those operating in a new frontier like Gabon, to plan and account for sustainability practices in land development processes from the start. We rely on all of our members in Africa to be outstanding ambassadors for sustainability, hopefully as models for sustainable transformation in Africa,” he says. 

The Awala plantation employs 1,200 staff, the majority are Gabonese nationals. The land for the plantation ventures in Gabon was acquired on leasehold from the government and the Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process was followed. The social management plan was developed through active consultations and as per these plans, OPG has also supplied infrastructure and amenities to surrounding communities such as roads, lighting, water pumps, schools and medical facilities. 

“Our teams have worked hard to ensure that the development has brought social and economic benefits. With our partner, the Republic of Gabon, we are conscious of the environmental responsibility that we carry which is why across our palm plantations we have set aside a total of 61,000 hectares for biodiversity,” adds Gagan Gupta, country head, Gabon at Olam International.

“We were also the first to publish a fully independent High Carbon Stock analysis of our plantation footprint. We recognize that plantations can only remain sustainable if we maintain those high levels of commitment every day.”

For its continual efforts in ensuring positive social impact through its core business strategy, Olam was recently recognized in Fortune’s 2016 Top 50 Change the World list.