Our no deforestation commitment

Natural forests are critical carbon sinks and host the vast majority of the world's terrestrial biodiversity. They also play an important role in supporting the livelihoods of millions of people, particularly Indigenous and local communities.

SIPEF has maintained compliance to a strict no deforestation, no new development on peat, and no exploitation (NDPE) commitment since 2015, which prohibits new developments in High Conservation Value (HCV) areas, High Carbon Stock (HCS) forests, peatlands, and fragile or marginal soils. 

In line with this commitment, SIPEF only acquires land after completing Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes, social and environmental impact assessments, and integrated HCV-HCSA (High Carbon Stock Approach) assessments conducted by independent experts. In accordance with NDPE principles, SIPEF requires the recovery of any non-compliant development in its own and smallholder operations.  

Our banana operations comply with the requirements of the relevant certification standards: Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, and GlobalG.A.P.

Monitoring for a deforestation-free supply base

SIPEF implements a third-party monitoring system to ensure compliance with our no deforestation commitment.

The system covers our own estates, as well as our fresh fruit bunch (FFB) suppliers in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, with a focus on detecting and verifying land use changes within and around concession areas. In total, 157 791 hectares are monitored, of which 84% are located within our own concessions and areas under the SIPEF Biodiversity Indonesia (SBI) programme, and 16% within smallholder supplier areas.

Responsible sourcing

All third-party FFB suppliers must comply with SIPEF’s Responsible Purchasing Policy.

The Responsible Purchasing Policy supports our suppliers, all of whom are oil palm smallholders, on their journey towards certification. The policy ensures that they are, or will become, certified to the RSPO standard, wherever and whenever possible. To achieve this, we actively support smallholders towards certification.

The policy also provides the framework for the procedures used to select, monitor and, where necessary, suspend, exclude, or expel smallholders in our supply base. These procedures are aligned with SIPEF's Responsible Plantations Policy and are based on requirements related to RSPO certification, legality, production location mapping, ethical business conduct, human rights and labour standards, and environmentally responsible production.

Managing supplier compliance

We manage and support supplier compliance through a structured internal control system.

This system includes training and awareness programmes, inspections, and internal audits conducted by our smallholder and sustainability departments.

When non-conformances against critical criteria are identified, we engage with suppliers to address the root cause. These critical criteria include, among others, our commitments to no deforestation and no new developments on peat. If issues are not resolved within the required timeframe, smallholders may be suspended.

Suspensions are only lifted once non-conformances have been remedied. Smallholders are supported throughout the process to ensure compliance can be restored.

More details are available in SIPEF’s smallholder engagement framework.

Traceability

SIPEF is a leader in traceability. All of our commodities are fully traceable to their production location.

Traceability is a fundamental principle for sustainability in agricultural commodity supply chains. It is also essential for ensuring food safety, meeting consumer demands for transparency, complying with regulations, and improving supply chain management and efficiency.

SIPEF invests in cutting-edge technology to improve efficiency, transparency, traceability, and sustainability performance across our operations. All sustainability certifications that SIPEF complies with require full traceability of sourcing in order to substantiate sustainability claims of products.

Further details on SIPEF’s certified palm oil production can be found in RSPO audit summary reports, accessible by searching for "SIPEF group":

• here, with regard to the RSPO Principles and Criteria;
• here, with regard to the RSPO Supply Chain Certification Standard.

Progress towards RSPO certification is reported annually through the RSPO Annual Communication of Progress (ACOP).

Our banana plantations and packing stations are all certified under the IP supply chain model in accordance with the requirements of Rainforest Alliance certification.

GeoSIPEF

GeoSIPEF provides comprehensive traceability insights to our customers.

GeoSIPEF is our digital interactive mapping application using satellites to enhance supply chain transparency. Together with drones, the platform helps digitally map production areas and sustainably certified volumes while monitoring for fire and deforestation. It also provides additional information, including details on production capacity and the proximity of operations to key protected conservation areas and biodiversity-sensitive landscapes.

Since 2024, GeoSIPEF includes a customer portal enabling secure tracking of purchased volumes from plot to mill to shipment, aligning with EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requirements.