Responsible Sourcing: Strengthening Child Protection in the Palm Oil Supply Chain
20/08/2021, Responsible Sourcing


IOI Corporation Berhad (IOI) and Earthworm Foundation (EF) jointly organised and hosted a webinar titled Strengthening Child Protection in the Palm Oil Supply Chain on 9 August 2021, as part of our Sustainable Palm Oil commitments to meeting No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation (NDPE) requirements.

The webinar, which consisted of training, breakout sessions and group activities, was organised and facilitated by Earthworm Foundation (EF) and supported by IOI. It was attended by over 40 participants from senior and middle management, operations and sustainability teams, from both plantations and mills across Sabah and Sarawak.

The focus of the webinar was on ‘No Exploitation’ towards women and children on plantations, who are often marginalised, vulnerable to discrimination and abuse, and have poor access to education and healthcare services EF provided the information and moderated discussions on topics such as Protecting Women & Children from Sexual Exploitation, Violence & Abuse; Improving On-site Safety for Children; and Provision of Maternity Protection; and Healthcare and Nutrition. The webinar ended with EF showcasing their Child Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF). The CRAF is a toolkit to identify risks faced by children in plantations and develop solutions to address issues. It also encompasses the protection of women.

We wish to congratulate all participants for demonstrating a high level of awareness and concerns, as well as having shared good practices and solutions during the breakout and group sessions. We also wish to thank Nestlé for sponsoring this event, as well as Prolific Mill, Cepatwawasan Group Berhad for sharing about their child protection initiatives and education centres. The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals unites each of us with a vision to ensure “no one is left behind” which IOI will continue to address through future engagements with all our suppliers.