KARLSHAMN, Sweden, Sept. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AAK has entered a
partnership with Nestlé, the world's largest food and beverage
company, and palm oil corporation Musim Mas to address
deforestation outside of palm oil concession areas in Aceh, Indonesia. The five-year program will
positively impact some 1,000 independent smallholders. Aceh is a priority landscape as 87 percent of
the Leuser Ecosystem - a protected area important for both
biodiversity and carbon storage - lies within the province.
"This partnership is an important part of AAK's sustainable
sourcing approach," says Anne Mette
Olesen, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer at AAK.
"Engaging with partners and other stakeholders in the supply chain
is fundamental, and only together can we make the global palm oil
industry fully transparent and sustainable."
AAK and Nestlé will initially provide funding for the first two
years of the program in which smallholders will be enrolled into
Musim Mas' smallholder program. In a "train the trainer" approach,
government extension officers will be trained in good agricultural
practices and NDPE (No Deforestation, No Peat, and No
Exploitation). The extension officers will in turn train oil palm
smallholders.
Expected outcomes of the program are increased yields and
earnings for the smallholders, reducing the incentive to encroach
into protected areas as a way of increasing their income. As the
majority of deforestation in Aceh
occurs outside plantation concession areas, these types of programs
are vital.
"Engaging with stakeholders in the most sensitive landscapes and
focusing on deforestation outside concession areas is crucial,"
says Caroline Westerik-Sikking,
Global Manager Sustainable Oils at AAK. "We believe that this
partnership can significantly contribute to the protection and
preservation of an important landscape and have a positive impact
on the livelihoods of the smallholders involved."
This is AAK's third significant initiative supporting
smallholders within palm. The other two are Forever Sabah in
Malaysia, which seeks to apply
RSPO jurisdictional certification to all smallholders in the state
of Sabah, and a program in
Mexico run together with
Solidaridad supporting implementation of good agricultural
practices as well as smallholders on their journey towards RSPO
certification. AAK recognizes the importance of smallholders to
palm oil production and the role they play in the supply chain.
Supporting them to achieve better livelihoods through palm helps
AAK realize its societal, environmental, and commercial
ambitions.
For more information, please contact:
Caroline Westerik-Sikking
Global Manager Sustainable Oils
E-mail: caroline.westerik@aak.com
Tel.: +31 75 627 84 00
The information was submitted for publication at 9:00 a.m. CET on September
22, 2021.
About AAK
Everything AAK does is about Making Better Happen™. We specialize
in plant-based oils that are the value-adding ingredients in many
of the products people love to consume. We make these products
better tasting, healthier, and more sustainable. At the heart of
AAK's offer is Customer Co-Development, combining our desire to
understand what better means for each customer, with the unique
flexibility of our production assets, and a deep knowledge of many
products and industries, including Chocolate & Confectionery,
Bakery, Dairy, Plant-based Foods, Special Nutrition, Foodservice
and Personal Care. Our 3,900 employees support our close
collaboration with customers through 25 regional sales offices, 15
dedicated Customer Innovation Centers, and with the support of more
than 20 production facilities. Listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and with
our headquarters in Malmö, Sweden,
AAK has been Making Better Happen for 150 years.
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SOURCE AAK AB