Social indicators
| Indicator | Disclosure |
|---|---|
No modern slavery; no forced labour or trafficking |
The Group implements and enforces systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place in the Group or in any of its suppliers or business partners (see the Group’s policy on sustainable and ethical business). |
Payment of a living wage |
The Group intends to pay its employees a living wage, measured in relation to the country where they are employed (see the Group’s policy on sustainable and ethical business). The Group provides substantial in-kind contributions, including high-quality housing to all workers and employees who require it and access to quality childcare or school for the children of workers and employees. |
No child labour |
The Group prohibits the use of child labour in all its own operations and by its suppliers. The minimum age of employment in the Group is 18 years, with the exception of work that is part of school curriculum (see the Group’s policy on sustainable and ethical business). |
Temporary workers |
The Group’s objective is for its core activities to be performed by permanent, full-time employees. The Group will limit casual, temporary and day labour to jobs that are temporary or seasonal, or during initial development or replanting. The number of fixed term (temporary) workers has reduced from 26% in 2021 to 10% in 2024. All basic benefits and prohibitions that are applicable to permanent workers apply to temporary workers, as well as additional national laws and regulations pertaining to casual and temporary employees (see the Group’s policy on sustainable and ethical business). |
Equal opportunities and anti-discrimination |
The Group’s commitments to providing equal opportunities and prohibiting discrimination are defined in the Group’s policy on sustainable and ethical business. The Group provides equal opportunities for all workers to obtain work and a decent income and to develop their careers, without discriminating on the basis of ethnic origin, caste, national origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, union membership, political affiliation, or age. The Group will at all times comply with the law on discrimination in the process of dismissal, employment terms and conditions, pay and benefits, promotion and transfer opportunities, training, recruitment and redundancy. The Group will not tolerate any gender-based discrimination, such as limitation of roles, labelling, violence, intimidation, and excessive workload. |
Inclusion of women |
Women represent 25% of our workforce. We will progressively address gender-based constraints faced by female workers and employees as recommended in the RSPO Practical Guidance on Gender Inclusion and Compliance 2021. |
Freedom of association |
The Group provides the opportunity for all workers to establish free, open, independent, democratic, and responsible workers’ unions and to register the union with the relevant statutory authority. All workers have the choice to be members of a workers’ union or not, without any coercion from any party whatsoever. |
Health and Safety |
The Group is committed to creating a healthy and safe work environment for all employees, contractors, consultants, smallholders, vendors, suppliers, and guests of the company as defined in the Group’s policy on sustainable and ethical business. Plantation operations carry some intrinsic risks, which we identify and prioritise, using the widely known Hazard Identification Risk Assessment and Determining Control (HIRADC) method. Whilst not certified with ISO 45001, the Group is guided by this standard to adopt a systematic and structured approach to safety management. Key safety metrics, including total recordable incident frequency rate and lost time injury frequency rate, are routinely monitored. |
All information is for year ended December 2024
Workforce
| Units | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of employees and workers | Number | 12,602 | 12,719 |
| Fixed term (temporary) employees or workers | Percent | 10 | 12 |
| Women in the workforce (fixed term and permanent) | Percent | 25 | 25 |
Salary by gender1
| Units | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade C | Percent | 50 | 46 |
| Grade D | Percent | 86 | 84 |
| Grade E | Percent | 106 | 101 |
| Grade F | Percent | 102 | 107 |
| Grade G | Percent | 108 | 112 |
| Grade H | Percent | 97 | 112 |
1Female pay as a percentage of male pay for each employee category (there are no women in Grades A and B)
Safety performance
| Units | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fatalities | Number | 0 | 0 |
| Total recordable incident rate | Annual rate calculated per 100 workers, using a multiplier of 200,000 | 7.12 | 7.45 |
| Lost time injury frequency rate | Annual rate calculated per 100 workers, using a multiplier of 200,000 | 2.22 | 1.60 |
Further information:
- the Group’s policy on sustainable and ethical business
| Indicator | Disclosure |
|---|---|
Medical services |
The Group is committed to ensure that all workers and employees have access to adequate health care and emergency medical services. On the plantations, we make sure everybody who works for us has access to medical care, either in a local hospital or in clinics and medical centres we build and staff. There are 15 medical facilities at Group estates, and the doctors and medical staff employed by the Group are able to offer support and care on a wide range of issues. During 2024, Group clinics completed almost 50,000 consultations. |
Housing |
The Group provides high-quality housing to all workers and employees who require it. We are committed to provide housing with electricity and clean water, meeting national legislation and International Labor Organisation (ILO) standards. Houses have vegetable plots attached to them for which the Group freely provides seeds, advice and encouragement to grow fruits and vegetables for the households’ consumption. Approximately 18,000 people live on the Group’s oil-palm estates and during 2024, the Group built 10 new housing units. |
Schools and pre-schools |
We provide crèches to care for workers’ children and make sure that education is accessible, either by building and managing our own estate schools or by providing transportation to the nearest government school. The Group has developed both primary and secondary schools on its estates, and now has approximately 1,300 school places available. Transportation to and from the school is provided by the Group in dedicated school buses. |
Sport and recreation |
The Group supports and encourages a wide range of sport and recreational activities at its estates. Infrastructure is in place to enable participation by both our workforce and the wider community. |
Religious facilities |
Religion plays an important part in community life on Group estates, and this is supported by the Group through the provision of places of worship. |
Co-operative stores |
Plantation co-operative stores are established that sell general provisions at a subsidised price to support food security. |
All information is for year ended December 2024
Further information:
- the communities section of the Group’s 2024 Annual report
- the Community page of the Group’s website
| Indicator | Disclosure |
|---|---|
Free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) |
The Group commits to provide potentially affected landowners and land users with sufficient information about any proposed Group activities to ensure that all individuals giving up rights to land do so only after they fully understand what is being given up, in return for financial compensation offered by the Group. We respect the rights of indigenous peoples, landowners, and land users to reject plans for development or conservation. Consent is sought through consultative and participative processes and any group or individual with landowner or land-user rights shall withhold or give consent to any project freely, without coercion, intimidation or manipulation, prior to the project’s commencement. |
Participatory mapping and stakeholder consultation |
The Group has a department with permanent team members whose role is to lead an intensive programme of communication and participatory mapping. |
Land tenure rights and land compensation |
The Group recognises and respects all legal, communal, and customary rights to land ownership and the rights to use, manage and control land. The same commitment applies to our suppliers.
We seek to ensure both legal and customary rights are fully respected during discussion and agreement of land compensation. When acquiring new land for development, the Group negotiates compensation terms with local people in a fair and transparent manner. Transactions are meticulously recorded and witnessed, including by representatives of local government. |
Employment and business opportunities |
The Group prioritises purchases from local contractors and will hire local people for plantation jobs whenever possible. Our plantations and mills are often the main source of employment and income for local communities. |
Conflict prevention |
The Group has a department with permanent team members whose role is to lead an intensive programme of communication and participatory mapping with local stakeholders. We also work with the University of Indonesia to conduct comprehensive social surveys that objectively document information about the quality of life of people living in and around our estates. Results from these ongoing surveys allow the Group to focus its contributions towards the community according to the needs and aspirations of that community. |
Conflict resolution |
We have a procedure in place to address cases of land conflict or disputes. Where appropriate, this involves consulting a third party to provide a neutral perspective. The Group always tries to resolve a dispute through negotiation. Where this proves unsuccessful, an attempt is next made to reach a resolution through mediation, then arbitration and lastly through adjudication, exhausting the possibilities at each level before moving to the next. |
All information is for year ended December 2024
Summary of FPIC procedure
Summary of land conflict resolution procedure
| Indicator | Disclosure |
|---|---|
Scheme smallholders |
The Group invites members of local communities to join scheme smallholder co-operatives and now more than 11,000 individuals are members of our smallholder schemes. Smallholder co-operative schemes are developed and operated by the Group to the same high standards applied to our own areas. |
Independent smallholders |
The Group facilitates the inclusion of independent smallholders in sustainable palm-oil value chains. For several years, the Group has been providing training and administrative support to help independent smallholders in Bangka to meet the requirements for certification under the RSPO independent-smallholder standard. Over the years, the Group has progressively increased the number of independent smallholders supported by the programme. In 2024, the Group supported 649 independent smallholder farmers, representing approximately 13% of all independent smallholders in the Group’s supply chain. 547 farmers, with an area of 3,311 hectares, have achieved RSPO certification and attain additional revenue for the sale of RSPO-certified ffb. |
All information is for year ended December 2024
Scheme smallholders
| Units | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
Scheme smallholder land |
Hectares | 16,235 | 15,868 |
| Percent of Group concession area | 23 | 21 | |
Number of scheme smallholders |
Number | 11,425 | 11,388 |
Number of scheme smallholder co-operatives |
Number | 33 | 33 |
Independent smallholders
| Units | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
Independent smallholders engaged in support programme |
Number | 649 | 547 |
Area controlled by independent smallholders supported |
Hectares | 4,109 | 3,311 |
RSPO-certified independent smallholder area |
Hectares | 3,311 | 2,288 |
RSPO-certified independent smallholder ffb |
Tonnes | 15,622 | 14,092 |
Further information:
- the communities section of the Group’s 2024 Annual report
- the Community page of the Group’s website
Strategy
The Group is a responsible producer, striving for excellence, with a focus on continuing growth and offering an increasing yield.
Email alerts
If you would like to have email alerts sent to you by M.P. Evans then please register and provide us with the required details.