Satelligence supply chain risk management partners with Oleon palm oil supplier
pic: Satelligence
Palm oil supply chain risk management business, Satelligence, has formed a strategic partnership with industry supplier Oleon, in a bid to enhance its operations aimed at minimising deforestation levels, reports Neill Barston.
The agreement comes in the wake of continued global focus on reducing environmental impact of industrial agricultural activity, which has seen the palm oil industry come under significant criticism for its historic negative environmental damage – with the sector being a prime supplier to confectionery, snacks and bakery sectors.
However, as we have previously reported, the palm oil sector has responded in recent years through improving farming techniques, and engaging in ‘forest positive’ policies that observers claim are gradually having a positive impact.
As members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) since 2007, Oleon has demonstrated a long-term commitment to sustainability. This commitment is reflected by Oleon scoring Ecovadis Platinum Medals for the last three years. Together, Satelligence and Oleon will work towards maintaining their reputations for responsible, sustainable palm oil supply chains.
Satelligence’s service, which has operated with confectionery companies including Mondelez, Cargill and Tony’s Chocolonely, is built around two key deliverables in the form of Proactive Deforestation Monitoring and Verified Deforestation Free (VDF) Monitoring. Approaching sustainable supply chains from these two vectors has a proven track record of success. It means that Oleon will stay ahead of deforestation risk in their supply chain by pinpointing deforestation hotspots and using impact reports to comply with international regulations and measure progress towards VDF.
Approaching sustainable supply chains from these two areas has, claims Satelligence, proven track record of success. It means that Oleon will stay ahead of deforestation risk in their supply chain by pinpointing deforestation hotspots and using impact reports to comply with international regulations and measure progress towards VDF.
The firm’s deforestation monitoring service will cover all of Oleon’s global operations. Historical data from 2016 onwards allows them to verify which suppliers are compliant with their No-deforestation, No-peat, and No-exploitation (NDPE) commitment and identify which areas require special attention. The distinction between true deforestation and forest degradation this enables is vital, as it decreases the risk of false positives and misallocated resources.
Verified Deforestation Free (VDF) Monitoring
As the company explained, its supply chain module on its web app tracks and reports on VDF progress from the mill to group level. Oleon’s VDF rating is drawn from both Satelligence’s continuous monitoring services and their comprehensive ancillary database. They use satellite-based analytics with global coverage to establish trends in forest, peatland, planted oil palm area and other biomes so they can measure deforestation and fire risk. The level of risk that they find contributes to the VDF score.
Its ancillary supply chain data includes 40,000+ concessions and farms, 2500+ mills as well as information on ownership, group structure, supplier linkages, certification status and more. Other layers can be applied for deeper analysis, like parks and reserves, biodiversity areas, smallholder jurisdictions
