SIME Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP) has expressed concern about allegations made against the company in a petition to US Customs and Border Protection on April 20.

The petition, which called for the exclusion of “palm oil and palm oil products produced wholly or in part by forced labour and child labour by SDP-owned and affiliated companies”, was made public by Liberty Shared yesterday.

SDP said the claims go against its publicly declared commitments, as articulated in its Responsible Agriculture Charter and Human Rights Charter.

“We believe that over the years, we have made genuine progress in improving our labour practices through various initiatives and collaborations with multiple partners and civil society organisations.

“Our efforts can be seen in the various disclosures that we have made public, including our latest Sustainability Report 2019, published in May 2020.

“We acknowledge the challenges (faced by) supply chains across the industry in implementing our NDPE (no deforestation, no peat and no exploitation) commitments,” said the palm oil producer in a statement today.

Nevertheless, said SDP, it remains committed to eradicating non-compliance by imposing immediate and appropriate corrective actions if and when such instances occur.

It said the petition to the US agency was submitted without getting the company’s feedback.

SDP said it only has access to the petition summary, and not the details of the interviews conducted.

“In the spirit of openness, transparency and collaboration that SDP has always upheld, we intend to engage Liberty Shared to understand these allegations in detail, to enable us to conduct a thorough and immediate investigation and take corrective action, as the findings may warrant.

“We believe this, in turn, will strengthen our practices globally to ensure we embed the respect for human rights throughout our operations.” – Bernama, July 8, 2020.