NBPOL tops global production

NEW Britain Palm Oil Ltd (NBPOL) has topped global rankings on sustainable and transparent oil palm production from the sustainable palm oil transparency toolkit (Spott) assessment.
After being in the top three since 2014, NBPOL scored 94.4 per cent out of 100 companies from more than 100 specific criteria to make the number one spot this year.
According to a statement from the company, despite palm oil’s huge contribution to alleviating rural poverty, providing livelihoods and employment for millions of people, its reputation globally was not great.
It said negative press and anti-palm oil campaigns abound.
The socially and environmentally irresponsible practices of some “bad actors” in the palm oil industry tarnished the reputation of all.
In order to supply palm oil into many markets around the world, especially sensitive ones such as Europe and the US, it was essential that producers of palm oil gave strong assurances that their business practices were both socially and environmentally sustainable.
Strict certification schemes such as the roundtable on sustainable palm oil and rainforest alliance’s sustainable agriculture standard were great ways to provide assurance that production practices met these market demands.
New Britain Palm Oil Limited’s palm oil was certified to both standards.
Other tools were available for buyers to assess and compare the sustainability credentials of the palm oil producers they do business with.
A key one is the zoological society of London’s (ZSL) spott assessment.
Every year ZSL conducted detailed assessment of 100 of the world’s largest palm oil companies.
Spott compared the companies against more than 100 specific criteria regarding the public disclosure of their policies and practices related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) best practice.
Each company received a percentage score as a measure of its transparency in relation to ESG risks.
Transparency in supporting claims of sustainability was increasingly important to the palm oil marke and in particular to the European market where most of Papua New Guinea’s palm oil is sold.
The latest Spott ranking puts NBPOL in a strong position in competing with others in these challenging markets.