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Search On 29th September 2021, The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Forest Positive Coalition hosted the third and final day of the Sustainable Palm Oil Dialogue (SPOD) – Europe. SPOD – Europe is a joint venture by IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative, and the European Palm Oil Alliance, and the FPC joined the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil as event sponsors.
CGF Sustainability Director, Didier Bergeret, who oversees the Forest Positive Coalition, served as event moderator for the day’s plenary session, entitled “Accelerating Forest Positive Action in the Palm Oil Sector.” Didier was joined by Yazreen Sabri, Internal Affairs Manager, Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council; Fitrian Ardiansyrah, Chairman of the Executive Board at IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative, Indonesia; and Rizal Algamar, Regional Director Southeast Asia, Tropical Forest Alliance. Each provided insights from their experience working in the palm oil sector.
David Pendlington of Mars, Incorporated, co-lead of the Coalition’s Palm Oil Working Group, joined Didier as the final panellist, providing a deep dive into the Coalition’s Palm Oil Roadmap and Theory of Change.
The plenary session was followed by five breakout sessions, each focused on one of the Coalition’s key areas of action:
- Engagement in key production landscapes, featuring Natasha Schwartzbach of PepsiCo, co-lead of Coalition’s Landscape Engagement Working Group, and Fitrian Ardiansyrah of IDH
- Protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, featuring Barbara Wettstein of Nestlé, co-lead of the Coalition’s Communications & Engagement Working Group, and Bryan Ogden of the Rights and Resources Initiative
- Building credibility through transparency and accountability, featuring Hugo Chambers of Sainsbury’s, co-lead of the Coalition’s Transparency & Accountability Working Group
- Developing a monitoring and response framework, featuring Martin Huxtable of Unilever and Niels Wielaard of Satelligence
- Involving governments in forest positive action, featuring Roisin Mortimer of the Tropical Forest Alliance; Winneke Vuillings of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Rachel Kretsis of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
After these sessions concluded, Didier moderated a feedback session in plenary, providing a chance for all participants to hear key takeaways from all of the breakout sessions.
The Forest Positive Coalition would like to thank the European Palm Oil Alliance and IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative for the opportunity to sponsor this year’s Sustainable Palm Oil Dialogue and provide an introduction to the Coalition’s approach to forest positive palm oil. For more information about the Forest Positive Coalition, visit www.tcgfforestpositive.com.
