One Hundred Investors Call on Palm Oil Certification Group to Uphold Human Rights Standards
Green Century organized investors representing $3.2 trillion in assets under management calling on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to uphold its standards.
Contact: Marissa LaFave, Green Century Capital Management, mlafave@greencentury.com, 617-482-0800
BOSTON, March 27, 2018 – Institutional investors representing over $3.2 trillion in assets under management supported a letter to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) concerning human rights violations in palm oil production earlier this month.
In the last five years, investors have helped transform the palm oil supply chain. Between 2012 and 2017, the percentage of Southeast Asian palm oil refineries covered by zero deforestation agreements jumped from five to nearly 75 percent, reducing carbon pollution, protecting endangered species and improving labor standards for workers around the world.
Many of the companies that have committed to zero deforestation in their supply chains, such as Unilever,* Nestlé* and Kellogg,* rely on the RSPO, the key third-party certification organization for sustainable palm oil, to ensure a sustainable and ethical supply of palm oil.
However, the RSPO is inadequately dealing with complaints pertaining to violations of its standards. Over the past two years, high-profile media stories and NGO reports have exposed serious labor rights violations within the operations of RSPO member companies, such as forced and bonded labor, child labor and systemic gender discrimination.
The investor letter, organized by Green Century Capital Management and Domini Impact Investments, calls on the RSPO to implement a more transparent and responsive complaints mechanism to properly uphold the credibility of the RSPO system and to assure investors, companies and other stakeholders that the RSPO will not certify conflict palm oil.
Read more about Green Century’s efforts to protect the world’s tropical forests here.
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About Green Century Capital Management
Green Century Capital Management is the investment advisor to the Green Century Funds and offers three environmentally and socially responsible funds, the Green Century International Index Fund, the Green Century Equity Fund, and the Green Century Balanced Fund. Green Century works to curb climate change through fossil fuel free investing, reinvestment in sustainable companies, and advocating with companies to improve their environmental policies and supply chains.
*As of December 31, 2017, Unilever NV comprised 1.61%, 0.00%, and 2.31%; Unilever PLC comprised 0.00%, 0.00%, and 1.90%; and Kellogg Company comprised 0.00%, 0.17%, and 0.00% of the Green Century Balanced Fund, Green Century Equity Fund, and Green Century MSCI International Index Fund respectively. No other securities mentioned were held in any of the portfolios of the Green Century Funds as of the same date. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.
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