How is Nestlé sourcing palm oil in Malaysia?
A recent report by NGO, Solidar Suisse, alleges that migrant workers face poor working and living conditions on palm oil plantations in Nestle’s supply chain in Malaysia including poor housing, living wage issues and lack of legal protections. Are they true?
We take these allegations very seriously and are thoroughly investigating them.
The palm oil supply chain is complex and multilayered, with potential risks across a number of areas. We are committed to ensuring the palm oil we source is responsibly sourced.
In Malaysia, we are working with the non-profit organization Winrock International and our partner, the Earthworm Foundation, on their labor transformation program (LTP) that engages mills and plantations to identify and address human rights risks related to labor practices.
Each participating mill and plantation receives a personalized action plan and resources to remedy potential human rights risks, and the Earthworm Foundation monitors and discusses progress made during follow-up visits.
What do you do to prevent labor rights abuses in your palm oil supply chain?
People and respect for human rights are at the heart of our culture and values and one of our Corporate Business Principles. We promote responsible recruitment in our operations and with our direct suppliers to help address forced labor risks.
Engaging with suppliers is a core part of our approach - including in our palm oil supply chain - and we work with our direct suppliers and partners to help them continuously improve, strengthen their sustainability practices and identify opportunities for improvements.
For example, we have developed a specific Palm Oil Human Rights Action Plan (pdf, 373Kb) in 2021 that we are implementing with our direct suppliers and NGOs. This action plan helps us better assess, address and publicly report on labor rights risks in our supply chain.
In Malaysia, we have developed a worker hotline in one of our palm oil supplier’s plantations. Run by a third party, this tool enables workers to confidentially report on working conditions, recruitment and safety.
The Solidar Suisse NGO report claims Nestlé does not pay fair wages to palm oil plantation workers in parts of its supply chain in Malaysia. What’s Nestlé's response?
We strongly believe that palm oil farmers and workers on plantations should earn a sufficient income to maintain a decent standard of living for them and their families.
In Malaysia, we conducted a human rights risk assessment and root cause analysis and in Sabah, our focus remains on addressing child labor risk, a systemic issue with multiple root causes that requires us to look into local wages and working conditions. We also work with our direct suppliers to continuously improve sustainability practices in our upstream supply chain. This helps inform the development of action plans with clear deadlines to act upon risks and identify opportunities for improvement.
