SINGAPORE: Wilmar International Limited (Wilmar) achieved the highest scores in Asia and is ranked top ten globally in the 2020 Benchmark Findings Report1 on the Food & Beverage sector published by KnowTheChain.
The independent report evaluates and scores 43 of the world’s largest food and beverage companies based on policies and practices to address forced labour and human trafficking risks within supply chains. Wilmar scored 45 points out of 100, which was well above the global industry average of 28, while the highest global score was 65.
The report notes the key milestones attained by Wilmar, which include disclosing regional reports and summary of audit findings related to labour practices in its own operations and its wider supply chain.
Wilmar is among the six companies that have in place a grievance mechanism accessible to workers beyond their first-tier suppliers, while being the only one that presented evidence of lower tier workers having access to and utilised the mechanism.
Wilmar is also among seven companies that have socialised the grievance mechanism to its suppliers’ workers, while being among five companies to have publicly disclosed the data on the mechanism. Only six companies, including Wilmar, disclose grievance logs with details of the cases and measures to address them.
Further to that, Wilmar is among the top three companies globally that is able to demonstrate the various initiatives and efforts to respect the rights of workers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, while continuing to protect the well-being of workers and their families.
Jeremy Goon, Chief Sustainability Officer for Wilmar, said, “We employ about 90,000 workers globally who form the backbone of our operations, which is why it is of utmost importance to us that our workers’ rights are upheld and protected. We have a responsibility for the safety and well-being of our workers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Equally important however is that we are able to demonstrate our progress in improving labour practices by embracing transparency through better reporting and public disclosures”.
He added, “There remain opportunities for improvement and we are encouraged to forge ahead, think out of the box about how we can operate at the highest level of sustainability across all our business operations”.
The report also analyses disclosures by companies in identifying and mitigating risks related to forced labour in their supply chains, while detailing remediation measures to address incidences or allegations related to infringement of workers’ rights.
Wilmar was recognised by the ASEAN CSR Network in 2019 as the top Singapore-listed company, and second in the overall ASEAN category, for its human rights disclosure, aside from previously winning the inaugural Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Excellence Award in 2019 in the ‘Human Rights and Labour Initiative’ category.
Wilmar was also assessed by the Global Child Forum to be among the top global achievers in 2019, and ranked top in Southeast Asia in 2018 for protecting children’s rights.
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