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About NDPE Sugar

Launched in 2021, NDPE Sugar builds upon the success of our NDPE Palm initiative and represents a strategic commitment by Wilmar, as one of the largest sugar traders in the world, to promote environmental sustainability and improved livelihoods in sugarcane production.

By engaging directly with Wilmar’s network of supplying mills, we work collaboratively with suppliers and buyers to advance the principles of No Deforestation, No People Exploitation (NDPE) throughout the supply chain.

As such NDPE Sugar is a functional tool to help supply chain actors implementing their Deforestation and Conversion-Free (DCF) commitments. It strengthens their cane sugar purchases against reputational risks, investor pressures, and emerging environmental regulations.

Unlike NDPE Palm, NDPE Sugar does not focus on peat as it is not a material sustainability concern in the sugar supply chain.

 

 

NDPE Sugar helps brands ensure that their supply chains are traceable and sustainable, reducing the risk of sourcing sugar from unsustainable mills and minimizing the potential for reputational damage. Benchmarked against SAI Platform's Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) Gold Level Equivalent, it provides a practical and credible way for brands to align with industry-leading sustainability practices and demonstrate their commitment to responsible sourcing.


In the context of rising consumer awareness and increasing regulatory requirements, many fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have adopted DCF commitments to ensure the sustainability of their agricultural supply chains. When FMCG companies adopt NDPE Sugar, they will obtain a functional tool based on traceability and risk assessment to help future-proof their sugar purchases against reputational risks, investor pressures, and emerging environmental regulations such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

For a full clarification of NDPE sugar and its role in deforestation and conversion-free supply chains, read this document.

Sustainability Initiative

Cost-free

Includes Mills and Full Supply Base

Progress is Acknowledged

 

 

Our Principles

Principle 1 and 2 are mandatory principles – they outline the minimum expected sustainability requirements for Wilmar's full supply base.

Principle 3 is the continuous improvement principle – it recognises the importance of continuously enhancing operational practices through a progressive and ongoing implementation approach.

(Click on the principles for more information)

  • Respect and support internationally recognised human rights
  • Respect and recognise the rights of all workers
  • Respect and protect the rights of children and their welfare
  • Respect land tenure rights
  • Respect the rights of indigenous and local communities to give or withhold their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) to operations on lands to which they hold legal, communal, or customary rights
  • Identify measures to provide remediation where the company has caused or contributed to negative human rights impacts

  • No conversion of legally protected areas or HCV areas
  • GHG emissions are measured, with reduction targets in place

  • Improving overall efficiency of operations
  • Effective management of water
  • Progressive implementation of agricultural best practices
  • Preserve and enhance relevant biodiversity and ecosystem services

Principle 1

Protecting and Respecting People and Communities

  • Respect and support internationally recognised human rights
  • Respect and recognise the rights of all workers
  • Respect and protect the rights of children and their welfare
  • Respect land tenure rights
  • Respect the rights of indigenous and local communities to give or withhold their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) to operations on lands to which they hold legal, communal, or customary rights
  • Identify measures to provide remediation where the company has caused or contributed to negative human rights impacts

Principle 2

Protecting Natural Ecosystems

  • No conversion of legally protected areas or HCV areas
  • GHG emissions are measured, with reduction targets in place

Principle 3

Enhancing Operational Practices

  • Improving overall efficiency of operations
  • Effective management of water
  • Progressive implementation of agricultural best practices
  • Preserve and enhance relevant biodiversity and ecosystem services

Our Approach

 

Traceability to Mill and its Supply Base

Core to our approach is the traceability mapping of our sugar sourcing to understand the full extent of the sugar supply chain and gain visibility of its origin. This includes traceability to the mill and its supply base, as well as mapping all the mills supplying to our refineries.

For a mill to be considered traceable, we require specific information to be available, such as : 

  1. Mill Name
  2. Mill Address
  3. GPS Coordinates
  4. Volumes supplied to the refineries

Therefore, while some quantities may be categorised as untraceable, this does not imply that the origin of the sugar is necessarily unknown but rather that the untraceable volumes do not meet the full criteria for traceability.

ndpe sugar supply chain flow
Tap on image to enlarge

Supplier Compliance

The Supplier Reporting Tool (SRT) is an online supplier questionnaire and a core feature of NDPE Sugar, designed to help suppliers track and report their sustainability performance. The SRT questionnaire is regularly updated to reflect evolving sustainability requirements. Wilmar assists suppliers in completing the SRT questionnaire, which is submitted once a year or once every two years depending on the supplier’s sustainability status. By completing the SRT annually, the sustainability progress of the mill can be monitored and targeted assistance can be provided where needed.

Risk-Based Assessment

The data collected through the SRT is the basis for the Mill Tiering (see below) and risk assessment. In combination with country/region risk factors, grievance information and desktop analyses, we establish a Mill risk prioritization. The prioritization determines the supplier engagement steps which could vary between clarification requests, webinars, workshops or in certain cases an on-site assessment (see FAQ).

Based on the Risk Assessment, Wilmar also provides tailored action plans and offers support in capacity-building to help suppliers improve their sustainability practices.


 

Sustainability Status

Mills will be classified according to their Supplier Reporting Tool (SRT) scoring, and other third-party certification systems already used. The mill tiering is visible in the refinery traceability report, which can be requested at the respective refinery.


"+" indicated that the mill’s supply base (or a proportion of the mill’s supply base) has been verified/certified by a third party.

 

Refinery level is based upon traceability %, Supplier Reporting Tool (SRT) completion and scoring of their supplying mills. The refinery levels are visible on the refinery traceability report, which can be requested at the respective refinery.

 

 

Logo

NDPE Sugar has created a logo for use by the parties involved in NDPE Sugar to communicate their commitment to sustainable sourcing.

This logo provides a clear way for refineries, suppliers, and brands who are part of NDPE Sugar to showcase their participation in NDPE Sugar and their efforts to support responsible, sustainable practices.

The logo can be used across various communication channels, including digital platforms, on-pack and off-pack labelling, and other marketing materials. By using this logo, companies can help increase transparency, build consumer confidence, and clearly demonstrate their role in promoting sustainability within the sugar supply chain.


 

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