Olam International

No leading practices were identified for the company in the governance and strategy measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the environment measurement area.

Workforce nutrition
Olam has set a target to offer access to nutrition programmes to 100% of its workforce by 2030. This means that employees will have access to at least two of the following: nutrition training, nutrition-focused health check-ups, access to nutritious food at the worksite and breastfeeding support. However, the company does not provide quantitative evidence on the current availability of healthy food offerings in the workplace.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the social inclusion measurement area.

Sustainable development strategy
Through a materiality review process, Olam identified ten material areas within its sustainability framework. These are grouped into three ‘purpose outcomes’: prosperous farmer and food systems, thriving communities and re-generation of the living world. The company sets targets in each material area and reports on progress. Although the current sustainability framework includes some long-term targets, aiming for 2030 and beyond, Olam has an opportunity to set long-term targets for all its priority topics.

Stakeholder engagement
Olam demonstrates that it engages with key stakeholder groups on sustainable development issues and integrates outcomes from this engagement into its sustainability strategy. While the company states that its board identifies key stakeholder groups, the company does not outline its process for identifying stakeholders across its value chain.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
Olam’s governance system includes board-level responsibility and accountability for the company’s sustainable development strategy. However, it is not clear that remuneration for the board or executives is linked to the execution of its sustainable development strategy.

Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions
Olam has set a 2030 target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50% and reports on progress annually. While the target is already aligned with a well-below 2-degree trajectory, there is an opportunity for Olam to strengthen its commitment by disclosing a target aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Protection of terrestrial natural ecosystems
Olam is committed to achieve deforestation and conversion-free (DCF) supply chains for its high-risk commodities, which are coffee, palm oil, cocoa, and soy. While the company sets DCF targets for coffee, palm oil and cocoa, Olam has an opportunity to also set a DCF target for its soy supply chain and report against this by disclosing the proportion of soy that is DCF.

Plastic use and packaging waste
Olam does not provide evidence of reducing its plastic use and transitioning to more sustainable forms of packaging. As such, the company does not demonstrate that it contributes to a more sustainable packaging system. The company can improve performance on this topic by setting a time-bound target to reduce plastic use.

Soil health and agrobiodiversity
Olam provides evidence of activities to improve soil health and agrobiodiversity, such as training smallholders on good soil practices and good agricultural practices. While the company demonstrates that it monitors metrics such as ‘hectares benefitting from integrated soil fertility management’, it is yet to disclose data on this publicly.

Water use
While Olam has set targets to reduce water use in its coffee and cocoa supply chain, no water use reduction targets covering the company’s full operations were found. In 2020, Olam reported that water use decreased in its processing operations and increased in its plantations and supply chain. However, the company does not provide quantitative information on the latter.

Accessibility and affordability of healthy foods
Olam demonstrates a commitment to contribute to increased accessibility and affordability of healthy foods. However, the company does not provide evidence of strategic commercial activities designed to improve the accessibility and affordability of healthy foods.

Clear and transparent labelling
While the company demonstrates that it complies with national regulations regarding the labelling of its products, it does not disclose a clear commitment towards making nutritional information available to consumers in an intuitive and accurate way. In addition, no reporting was found on the share of products for which front-of-pack or back-of-pack nutritional labelling has been implemented.

Food safety
To guarantee safe food for consumers, Olam has implemented quality and food safety systems such as GMP and HACCP across its operations and requires its suppliers to meet its standards. However, the company does not demonstrate that 100% of its relevant operations are certified to a food safety scheme recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative.

Land rights
Olam commits to respecting the legal tenure and access rights of indigenous peoples and other communities and requires a free, prior and informed consent process for new land developments in its operations and supply chain. External individuals and communities can raise issues and complaints via Olam’s grievance mechanism. While the company sets out its grievance resolution timeline and the roles of various parties in the process, it does not describe how land rights issues are remediated.

Farmer and fisher productivity and resilience
In its living landscapes policy, Olam commits to support to economic resilience of farmers. The company reports on different support activities and has set a target to ensure that 150,000 farmers in Olam’s cocoa supply chain earn a living income by 2030. While Olam reports on the impact of some of its support activities, it has an opportunity to demonstrate it is measuring the impact of all activities and report these externally.

Child labour
Olam prohibits the use of child labour in its operations and requires suppliers to adhere to the same standard. While the company states that suppliers who sell products through its AtSource+ programme must demonstrate that they carry out age verification, no such requirement for the company’s other suppliers was found.

Forced labour
Olam forbids the use of forced labour and requires all suppliers to adhere to the same standard. Suppliers who sell Olam’s products through its AtSource+ programme are further required to demonstrate that they do not withhold workers’ personal documents or restrict workers’ freedom of movement. However, not all of Olam’s suppliers participate in the AtSource+ programme, and no such requirements for the company’s other suppliers were found.

Living wage
Olam has conducted a living wage pilot assessment on one of its plantations in Vietnam, which demonstrated that all workers on the plantation receive a living wage. However, the company does not demonstrate that a living wage is paid across all its operations, nor does it include living wage requirements in its contracts with suppliers. Olam can improve its performance on the topic by, for example, setting targets to pay living wages across its operations and supply chain.

Olam commits to respecting human rights and ILO core labour rights in its operations and expects suppliers to respect ILO core labour rights. The company also has in place grievance mechanisms for workers and third parties and discloses how it engages with affected and potentially affected stakeholders. There remains room for improvement in Olam’s disclosure on its human rights due diligence process. Particularly on what it considers its salient human rights risks as well as its process for assessing these.

Olam commits to respecting the health and safety of its workers, places similar expectations on its supply chain partners and monitors their performance. However, it lacks disclosure on metrics such as the number of high-consequence injuries in the workplace. The company describes how it supports the payment of a living wage in its supply chain through sector-level collaboration. However, no target to pay a living wage in the company’s own operations was found. Although some commitments have been made, there is an opportunity for Olam to further improve its quantitative disclosure related to gender equality and workforce diversity. While committing to comply with local legislation, no policy regulating excessive working hours and overtime was found.

Olam commits to protect personal data and discloses a privacy statement on its use. The company prohibits bribery and corruption in its operations and relations with business partners and can further improve by disclosing its processes to identify bribery and corruption risks. Olam demonstrates it refrains from making political contributions but does not disclose a policy setting out its lobbying and political engagement approach nor its lobbying expenses. Although the company provides a tax strategy for its operations in the United Kingdom, no globally applicable tax strategy was found. Neither does Olam disclose information on tax payments per jurisdiction.