Raw material 
sourcing

Making further progress towards our palm oil target depends on finding ways to bring to market and verify deforestation-free sources – a challenge that requires substantial change in global industry and supply chains. To this end, we participate in the UK Sustainable Commodities Initiative Oleochemicals Working Group which has been conducting shared research on oleochemical supply chains.

The sourcing of deforestation-free materials more broadly continues to be a challenge due to a lack of availability and difficulty providing evidence to prove the traceability of deforestation-free sources. This is exacerbated by legislative uncertainty in the UK and EU surrounding the requirements of forest-risk commodities laws that necessitate due diligence on sourcing. We strongly support this regulation, although note that mandatory compliance with the EUDR  has been delayed until the end of 2025.

For soya, we have been working to address these challenges via our engagement in the UK Soy Manifesto and Retail Soy Group. Alongside the British Standard Institute, we have also co-funded the scoping of a new supply chain standard for deforestation-free animal feed.

As part of our commitment to responsible palm oil sourcing, we’ve spent the last four years providing funding to indigenous communities in East Kalimantan, Indonesia – money they’ve used to protect forests, maintain customs, build skills in conservation monitoring and develop sustainable income streams.

We believe that sourcing raw materials responsibly also means supporting initiatives that promote sustainable production landscapes and communities in the places they are produced.

One valuable way to do this is to enable indigenous and local people and nature to continue thriving together.

The Mului community has been fighting for the right to own and manage its lands for decades and, in 2018, it finally won that legal right across 7,200 hectares of forest. Over the last four years, Waitrose has provided funding of £84,000 via the Forest Conservation Fund to local NGO PADI, supporting the Mului with their development plan for the area and with government advocacy for the interests of the community and other indigenous groups.

Maintaining a thriving ecosystem for the long-term means ensuring good livelihoods for the forest community, as well as conserving vegetation and wildlife. One aspect of that work has seen the Mului community establish a forest patrol team that checks for signs of illegal encroachment and ensures the community farming activities don’t affect protected forest areas. The team also helps map the territory, using an app developed by PADI Indonesia to log data about the forest, including the variety of animal and plant species present.

As well as this, the support has enabled the creation of an indigenous knowledge and conservation school and curriculum that educates Mului young people about traditional wisdom and customary-based conservation practices – a vital component of the long-term strategy to sustain the cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices that will in-turn, maintain the conservation of customary forests.

The community has also been able to use funds to develop new income streams, such as through the training provided to produce Kelulut honey, using beneficial stingless bees, that is less affected by climate change than the wild-sourced honey they currently collect.

In recognition of their commitment and hard work to care for the forest, the Mului community has been honoured with Indonesia’s most prestigious environmental prize, the Kalpataru Award, and the example they’ve set is now having a wider influence in the region, helping other local and indigenous groups make the case for the benefits of customary forest management and learn from their approach.

Ahmad SJA, Executive Director of PADI Indonesia, “The grant from FCF to NGO PADI in the last three years has strengthened the capacity of the Mului Customary Community (MHA Mului) to continue conserving and affirming the identity of the Mului forest that they have been protecting for hundreds of years and in developing alternative economy which aligns with customary-based forest conservation values.”

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