Sustainability Report 2015

RNS Number : 6962G

Equatorial Palm Oil plc

24 November 2015

 



24 November 2015

EQUATORIAL PALM OIL plc

("EPO" or the "Company")

Equatorial Palm Oil Sustainability Report 2015 Outlines Company's Community Relations and CSR Work to Show Value to Host Communities

Equatorial Palm Oil's first sustainability report published today

Equatorial Palm Oil today publishes its first ever sustainability report, outlining the Company's community work in Liberia, illustrating its corporate social responsibility ("CSR") projects to date and detailing how the Company is addressing land rights issues in Liberia, its country of operation.

The report can be found at:

http://www.epoil.co.uk/Sustainability%20Report%202015.aspx

The report also outlines EPO's involvement with an international study¹ to define clearly what constitutes a high carbon stock ("HCS") forest and establish HCS thresholds for oil palm cultivation that balance environmental concerns with socio-economic and political factors in developing and emerging economies where oil palm is cultivated. This study is a key commitment in the Sustainable Palm Oil Manifesto², to which EPO is committed, and the Company has suspended all new land development activity until its results are published in December 2015.

The report also addresses:

·      EPO's commitment to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), including the key principle of FPIC - free, prior informed consent - from communities as essential for land development

·      The Company's plans to help make the certified sustainable palm oil industry the basis of stable, long term economic development in Liberia

·      Profiles of EPO's community engagement activities and the community liaison team in Liberia

·      2013-15 land issues, the Jogbahn clan, and land rights issues and resolutions

·      The Company's environmental measures

·      EPO's tax and royalty regime, employment and training policy

·      The Company's work on gender equality and empowerment

·      EPO's response to the 2013-15 West African outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease

·      Data outlining all EPO CSR initiatives for an illustrative time period.

EPO's General Manager - Commercial, Sandy Barblett commented: 

"We are delighted to be launching this sustainability report, relevant for all stakeholders, which highlights all the benefits of the work that EPO is doing in Liberia for its host communities."

"EPO has a long term commitment to Liberia and its people, and this report details what we have done well and where we can add more value."

EPO's on-going progress on CSR and sustainability can be monitored via the Company's dedicated microsite, which can be found at:

www.csr21.org/company/equatorial-palm-oil

Contact:

Sandy Barblett, EPO

[e-mail]

Laurence Read, CSR21

[e-mail]

¹ http://www.carbonstockstudy.com/HCS-Study/About-HCS-Study

² http://www.carbonstockstudy.com/HCS-Study/About-HCS-Study

 

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