Grievance Procedure
How it works
This Grievance Procedure has been established for Wilmar to address grievances from parties, including individuals, government organizations and non-governmental organizations concerning the implementation of Wilmar’s No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) Policy. We recognise that providing this feedback mechanism for stakeholders is important because it helps in the monitoring of compliance with Wilmar’s NDPE policy throughout our operations and supply chain.
The Grievance Procedure also promotes transparency and accountability, through disclosure of our full list of grievances, with updates on our actions to address them.
Submit Grievance
Grievances can be submitted through any of the following channels:
By email to
grievance_procedure@wilmar.com.sg
By telephone to
+60 3 2119 9000
By fax to
+60 3 2026 2142
By messaging the following local mobile numbers via SMS or WhatsApp
Malaysia: +60 1 3551 6930
Indonesia: +62 812 1378 7839
These hotlines are available during and outside office hours
In writing to
Wilmar Trading Pte Ltd
28 Biopolis Road
Singapore 138568
Attention: Sustainability Department (Grievance Coordinator)
Ineligible Grievance List
As per Wilmar Grievance Procedure, we investigate all cases which are received. Based on the evidence received to date, the cases listed here are those that are classified as ineligible grievances and will not be further investigated.
Updated: November 2024
XX grievances found
Company | Received | Grievance Report | Stakeholders | Subject Matter and Progress | Progress Update | |
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Value Greenworld Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Bunga Group | 2021011414 Jan 2021 | Report can be found here | Mighty Earth |
Status: Case closed
Alleged deforestation by Value Greenworld Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Bunga Group. |
Wilmar immediately initiated engagement with Bunga Group when allegations of deforestation at Value Greenworld was brought to our attention in January 2021.
We were informed by Bunga Group that they acquired Value Greenworld in late 2016, where the purchase agreement categorised the land as ‘shrubs’ and suitable for immediate planting. Due to this, Bunga Group proceeded with land clearing without conducting any HCV-HCS assessments. An immediate moratorium was imposed by Bunga Group on the Value Greenworld concession and all other plantations under Bunga Group in December 2020 when the non-compliance to NDPE was brought to Bunga Group’s attention prior to our engagement with them. Since then, Bunga Group has released their Sustainable Palm Oil Policy in January 2021. Based on the concession maps shared by Bunga Group with Wilmar, we have confirmed that the deforestation has indeed happened inside their concession area. As there was no HCS/HCV assessment conducted prior to land clearing, we considered this act of land clearing at Value Greenworld as non-compliant to our NDPE policy. Wilmar’s last purchase from this supplier was in March 2021 As of July 2021, Bunga Group has met all the requirements stipulated in our re-entry criteria. This includes their commitment to the development of a Recovery Plan for Non-Compliant Land Clearing to the NDPE policy at group level, for activity that has taken place from January 2016 onwards. Based on the detailed review of documentation, reports and a letter of commitment from Bunga Group, the Wilmar Suspension Committee has given due consideration of this progress and lifted the suspension of Bunga Group in July 2021. |
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YP Plantation Holdings Sdn Bhd (YPPH) | 2020080606 Aug 2020 | Report can be found here | Mighty Earth |
Status: Case closed Non-compliant palm products from YP Plantation Holdings Sdn Bhd (YPPH) allegedly enter Wilmar's supply chain through its suppliers. |
Wilmar does not source from YP Plantation Holdings Sdn Bhd (YPPH). However, several Wilmar’s suppliers are sourcing directly from YPPH.
Prior to publication of the Mighty Earth 30 Rapid Response Report on 6 August 2020, our suppliers had already initiated engagement with YPPH since June 2020 when the alleged deforestation in YPPH was brought to their attention. YPPH clarified that they have received approval from the local authorities and have adhered to the state regulations before developing the area. EIA has also been conducted prior to land development and received approval from Department of Environment. YP Plantation has committed to adopt NDPE and imposed a moratorium on land clearing with effective from 17th August 2020. A copy of the NDPE policy is available here. |
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Sime Darby Plantation Berhad | 2020070606 Jul 2020 | Report can be found here | Liberty Shared |
Status: Case closed Alleged labour rights violation in Sime Darby Plantation Berhad’s operation |
On 6 July 2020, Liberty Shared (LS) published a summary of their petition to the United States Customs and Border Protection (US CBP) to “exclude palm oil and palm oil products produced wholly or in part by forced labour and child labour by Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (SDP) owned and affiliated companies.” The petition was submitted to the US CBP on 20 April 2020. SDP clarified that the petition was submitted to US CBP without solicitation of feedback from the organization, and that it had access only to the petition summary, which does not contain details of issues raised by LS. SDP has since engaged with Duncan Jepson, the author of the petition, to better understand and expeditiously resolve the concerns raised. SDP has published the following statements in response to LS based on the limited information that was available to it. The statements reiterate SDP’s commitment to uphold human rights and good labour practices, as well as implement appropriate corrective actions to eradicate any human rights violations.
On 10 November 2020, SDP announced the appointment of Independent Experts to further strengthen its human rights commitments and compliance. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was appointed on 19 October 2020 to support SDP in establishing effective platforms and channels of communication to address concerns in its Malaysian operations. The other appointment is of an independent international specialist on migrant worker rights to assist SDP in improving its migrant worker recruitment processes (further details below). On 18 November 2020, The Associated Press (AP) published an article titled “Rape, abuses in palm oil fields linked to top beauty brands”, which reported abuse of women in SDP’s plantations. SDP released a public statement in response to the article, reiterating zero tolerance for any forms of sexual or human rights violations, exploitation or any other criminal offenses. SDP stated that it had commenced further internal investigations over the allegation and is committed to take all necessary actions. On 3 December 2020, SDP issued a second statement, identifying the specific case highlighted by AP. SDP explained that the complainant had withdrawn her complaint in April 2019, two months after it was first brought to light. In revisiting the matter, the complainant indicated that she had no intention of reopening the case and denied that offensive statements had been made to her in the first place. SDP thus had no basis to pursue further investigations and have closed the case again. Despite SDP’s efforts, on 30 December 2020, US CBP issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) that all U.S. ports of entry will detain palm oil and products containing palm oil produced by SDP and its subsidiaries, joint ventures, and affiliated entities in Malaysia. The issuance of the WRO was based on information that reasonably indicated the presence of all 11 of the International Labour Organization’s forced labour indicators in SDP’s production process. SDP issued a statement in response to the WRO on 31 December 2020, reiterating its pledge to combat forced labour. The statement also indicated that CBP had still not provided sufficient information to allow SDP to meaningfully address the allegations that triggered the issuance of the WRO. RSPO also issued a statement on the WRO, urging USCBP to share any information that will allow for RSPO to properly investigate this matter and report transparently on the findings. In continuing its efforts to resolve the issue, SDP has announced the establishment of its Experts Stakeholder Human Rights Assessment Commission (the Commission) on 1 March 2021. SDP has appointed Impactt Ltd, an ethical trade consultancy and expert in the detection and remediation of labour issues in supply chains, to the Commission, to conduct an evaluation of SDP’s labour practices across its Malaysian operations. The Commission will also consist of a Stakeholder Consultation Panel (the Stakeholder Panel), who will provide additional views on Impactt’s assessment methodology and review forced labour indicators in SDP’s operations as well as proposed remediation plans. Members of the Stakeholder Panel include Shift, the leading centre of expertise on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and Mr. Andy Hall, a migrant worker rights specialist. SDP expects the independent assessments by Impactt to be completed by May 2021, following which disclosure will be made by to SDP’s key stakeholders and the public, on the Commission’s findings. On 4 June 2021, SDP appointed Professor Justine Nolan, a human rights expert, to its Commission and reported that it was expecting Impactt’s evaluation of its labour practices in Malaysia to be completed in June 2021. On 15 July 2021, SDP dissolved the Commission to provide for more time for the evaluation exercise to be carried out. SDP cited delays due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and that oversight of the evaluation will be undertaken by its Board’s Sustainability Committee. On 28 January 2022, the US CBP determined that certain SDP palm oil products are produced using convict, forced or indentured labour. SDP in its statement reiterated its efforts to undertake a full-scale, independent assessment across its Malaysian operations and reaffirmed that it would fully cooperate with the US CBP in demonstrating full compliance with US import regulations. On 15 February, SDP announced improvements to its governance structures, policies and procedures. This includes the following: On 3 February 2023, the US CBP has modified its forced labor findings against SDP effective immediately, the US CBP will now permit the importation of palm oil from SDP into the United States and has recognized the comprehensive process undertaken by SDP in the last two years to review, revise and upgrade its protocols for recruiting, managing and working with its workers. SDP has also released a press statement to further brief on actions taken. |
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Medco Papua Hijau Selaras, a subsidiary of Capitol Group | 2020030606 Mar 2020 | Reports can be found here and here | Mighty Earth |
Status: Case Closed Alleged deforestation by PT Medco Papua Hijau Selaras, a subsidiary of Capitol Group. |
Wilmar began engaging PT Medco Papua Hijau Selaras (MPHS) immediately after the allegations of deforestation against them were brought to our attention. PT MPHS clarified that both High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) assessments, which were finalised in early 2019, were conducted by ALS registered and recognised assessors. Subsequently, PT MPHS has been using the HCV/HCS map to guide their land development activities.
Desktop monitoring by Wilmar identified 26 small sporadic patches of land clearing, totalling between 20 to 30 hectares, may have occurred inside HCV/HCS areas. Field verification by PT MPHS to investigate the allegations, initially scheduled for March 2020, was postponed to June 2020 following movement restrictions imposed by the authorities due to the COVID-19 situation. Further investigation revealed that the land clearance was a result of pressure from the community to develop areas for plasma smallholders programme. Several field assessments have been conducted thereafter to determine the details or the affected areas and location. The full field details were finally completed in September 2020. PT MPHS has agreed to rehabilitate the pockets of land clearing that were identified in the HCV/HCS assessment reports. Working together with Balai Pengawas Daerah Aliran Sungai (BPDAS, Indonesian Watershed Monitoring Agency) since November 2020, PT MPHS also committed to plant 30,000 trees as part of their rehabilitation plan. Engagement with the communities on alternative plasma plans are ongoing, as the communities want the area to be cleared for plasma. PT MPHS also committed to appoint a registered and recognised assessor to integrate the individual HCV and HCS assessment reports following the HCV-HCS Integrated Manual, and submit the integrated report to be peer reviewed by HCVRN while observing a strict moratorium on further land clearance, which has been put place from September 2020. There were some delays in the finalisation of integrated reports due to worsening of COVID-19 pandemic, where it was finally been submitted to the HCVRN on 11 July 2021. In the meantime, they have also prepared management plans for HCV/HCS areas, therefore protecting these areas while preventing similar incidences from reoccurring. Wilmar's last purchase from Capitol Group was in March 2022. |
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Mopoli Raya | 2020021818 Feb 2020 | Report can be found here | Rainforest Action Network (RAN) |
Status: Case closed Alleged involvement in labour right issues by PT Mopoli Raya |
Engagement was immediately initiated with PT Mopoli Raya (MR) when the allegation of non-payment of worker’s wages at PT MR and PT Alue Kuyun was brought to Wilmar's attention. The withholding of workers’ wages led to a strike on 30 January 2020, where the Bupati (local regent) of West Aceh had also publicly urged PT MR to resolve the issues. PT MR clarified that due to their financial situation, they were unable to process all the wage payments. They reiterated that they are committed to continue engagement with their workers and the union, to address the issue amicably. The Wilmar team conducted a field visit from 9 – 13 March 2020 to further investigate the case, in order to understand the root cause of the incident and assist PT MR to develop an action plan to address the issues. During the field visit, our team met with PT MR’s management team, visited Alue Kuyun palm oil mill, PT MR's plantations, and interviewed several concerned parties, including workers from the mill/plantation and union representatives from Serikat Pekerja Aneka Industri - Federasi Serikat Pekerja Metal Indonesia (SPAI-FSPMI). Due to a financial crisis, PT MR has already ceased most of its non-essential activities including manuring and spraying for several years. Many workers had left PT MR to work for other companies, and those who remained with the company are mainly community members living near the company premises. During our interviews with workers, we were informed that in general, their working relationship with the company has been conducive. The company had also paid them bonuses up to two months in the past, when the company was making profit. In addition, the company has adopted several policies in protecting worker’s rights and freedom of association. The workers are able to freely join the union, and approximately 50% of the workers there are unionised. However, due to continued financial constraints, PT MR was not been able to pay November 2019 and December 2019 wages in full to the workers. Only 50% of the wages were paid. On 11 January 2020, the unions and workers demanded for PT MR to settle all outstanding wages by 15 January 2020, which PT MR was unable to do. This hence triggered the strike on 30 January 2020, with over 600 workers joining the strike. On 17 February 2020, a multi-stakeholder meeting was held in West Aceh Bupati’s office, which was attended by representatives from the Regional Secretary, 0105 Military District Comander, West Aceh Police Department, West Aceh Transmigration and Manpower Agency, West Aceh Regency Plantation and Livestock Department, Union representative FSPMI of PT MR, and PT MR’s management team. A wage payment schedule was successfully developed and agreed upon by all parties during the meeting. During our visit, we confirmed that PT MR has followed the payment schedule and in fact has advanced the February 2020 payment earlier than the agreed schedule. In 2021 however, Wilmar was informed that due to the continued financial situation of PT MR, the company had been declared bankrupt. Workers' wages were settled by PT MR up to March 2021. Wilmar has therefore ceased sourcing from PT MR since April 2021. |
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Putra Lirik Domas, a subsidiary of KPN Corporation | 2021060202 Jun 2021 | Report can be found here | Lembaga Bentang Alam Hijau (LemBAH) |
Status: Case closed Alleged land rights, labour rights violations and environmental pollution by PT Putra Lirik Domas, a subsidiary of KPN Corporation |
Wilmar immediately initiated engagement with KPN when the allegation was brought to our attention in June 2021. KPN has since published an initial response on the case, clarifying their investigation approach and action plans in resolving the issues highlighted. We understand that PT Putra Lirik Domas (PT PLD) has initiated site verification on 4 June 2021 and identified that the community facilities are within their land use permit (HGU) of PT PLD, in which PT PLD will apply for a permit change of the area with Badan Pertanahan Nasional (BPN), the national land agency. On 2 July 2021, PT PLD engaged directly with LemBAH for further discussion of the case. On 14 October 2021, PT PLD met with LemBAH, AMAN Bengsibas and representatives of the local communities, cooperative and the the local government to discuss the allegations raised and steps towards resolution of the issues identified.
To support the investigation of the case, PT PLD has established an internal task force to look into the allegations and to develop resolutions to address the issues identified. The task force has subsequently developed an action plan to guide PT PLD in implementing corrective measures. During the investigation process, PT PLD has transparently shared all relevant documentations with us for our review, including copies SOPs for grievance handling, water test results, worker’s promotions and training programme, improvement of their environment, health and safety (EHS) practices. In addition, they have also shared with us activities related to plasma programme and engagement with government related to HGU revision. Wilmar continues to engage with PT PLD and monitor the implementation of the remaining action plan, which is primarily related to the revision of the HGU. |
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Astra Agro Lestari | 2021030202 Mar 2021 | Report can be found here | Procter & Gamble |
Status: Case in progress Alleged land grabbing by the following companies, which are subsidiaries of PT Astra Agro Lestari (AAL): I. PT Mamuang II. PT Lestari Tani Telada (LTT) III. PT Agro Nusa Abadi (ANA) |
In October 2020, we received information from Procter & Gamble that WALHI Central Sulawesi submitted a complaint regarding land conflict at PT AAL’s subsidiaries; PT Mamuang, PT LTT and PT ANA.
Wilmar immediately reached out to PT AAL to investigate the above allegations, where AAL has clarified accordingly. In November 2020, Wilmar also held a meeting with AAL for further discussion on the matter.
With regards to the allegation of criminalisation, here is the summary of events that led to the arrest and imprisonment:
PT ALL reiterated that these were decisions made by legal authorities and the courts, with no influence from the company.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) officially lodged the case with Wilmar in March 2021. P&G has played a pivotal role in our repeated attempts to engage with WALHI to better understand the details of the allegations raised. We understand that P&G are also working closely with the international non-profit and land rights advocacy organisation, Landesa. The purpose of this collaboration is to further strengthen P&G's grievance mechanism and resolution approach related to land rights cases, with a specific focus on ongoing concerns raised by WALHI in relation to PT AAL. ENS began the field verification process in late May 2023. A kick off meeting between ENS and WALHI was scheduled; unfortunately, WALHI did not participate at the last minute. Nonetheless, ENS commenced the field visits to affected communities of PT LTT, PT ANA, and PT Mamuang and the needs assessments in Toviora village, as planned. By early June 2023, ENS had completed the field visits and the initial interviews with local government officials and community representatives, with the aim to identify locations of disputed land claims. ENS conducted second phase of on-the-ground interviews starting from late June 2023 to verify findings from the initial interviews and to conduct further interviews with community members. The needs assessment with targeted communities at PT LTT was carried out with support from Tadulako University. ENS completed the field verification process by mid-August 2023 and commenced on the process of data analysis thereafter. In mid-September 2023, ENS highlighted that a government mediation process is taking place in two villages in the PT ANA area. ENS will monitor the outcome of the mediation process to assess the implications for its reporting. PT AAL, together with ENS, released the verification report on 27 November 2023. The report has been shared to the stakeholders and PT AAL has released their response to stakeholders who have raised queries about the report. On 2 January 2024, PT AAL published its response on the alleged intimidation and coercive action by PT AAL security staff against community members in Rio Mukti Village, which was reported by WALHI and FoE on 8 December 2023. PT AAL stated that it will carry out an internal fact-finding to gather all information related to the alleged coercion against two community members on signing a letter regarding land conflicts in PT. LTT. The findings of the internal investigation was published in the statement released on 9 February 2024. PT AAL clarified that the visit to the village by its CSR team was carried out at |