There’s a bitter truth behind Nestlé’s sweet snacks. Buried deep in its supply chain, Nestlé is tied to palm oil production that threatens rainforests and endangered animals, and exploits workers. Nestlé was an early mover on palm oil, laying out one of the first policies that went beyond industry standards, with special provisions for protecting valuable peatland and High Carbon Stock forest. But thanks to a partnership with Indonesian food giant Indofood, Nestlé is tied to the same bad practices as worst offenders like PepsiCo. Here’s the truth, Indofood can’t afford to lose a partner as big as Nestlé. It’s up to us to make sure Nestlé uses its leverage to force Indofood to change its palm oil practices. Tell Nestlé to put an end to deforestation and human rights abuses by cutting ties with Indofood. Indofood is the same palm oil villain breaking the sustainability promises of global brands like PepsiCo and Unilever. In a recent report by our campaign partners Rainforest Action Network, Indofood has been exposed for child labor, poverty wages, and destruction of orangutan habitat. Indofood pays so little and sets such unrealistic targets that plantation workers often bring kids to help in one of the “worst forms of child labor”. These kids who should be in school are exposed to pesticides, extreme weather, long hours, and carrying heavy loads. If Nestlé wants us to take its sustainability policy seriously, it has no business working with Indofood. In an attempt to greenwash its abuses, Indoagri -- Indofood’s subsidiary -- just released a palm oil policy. But advocates say it’s just “corporate window dressing” with no real provisions for addressing deforestation, conflicts and worker violations, accountability or transparency. Indofood’s new toothless palm oil policy is a perfect opportunity to remind Nestlé of its own commitments. If Nestlé takes a clear stand against Indofood, PepsiCo could join, leaving Indofood cornered and forced to change its destructive and abusive ways. We’ve come together before to push corporations to take a good, hard look at their palm oil policy, like when we got Starbucks to finally update its practices. Last year, we helped people in Oregon, USA block Nestlé’s water-grab attempt. Now, we’re pushing Nestle again. It’s crunch time for Nestlé’s palm oil policy. Urge Nestlé to address deforestation and human rights abuses by cutting ties with bad actor Indofood.
More information
AidEnvironment. 1 September 2015.
Eco-Business. 22 February 2017.