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Nestle plans to cut ties with Astra Agro Lestari over abuse allegations
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The company's logo is seen at a Nestle plant in Konolfingen, Switzerland, on Sept. 28, 2020. (REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann)
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wiss food giant Nestle plans to stop sourcing from subsidiaries of publicly listed palm oil producer PT Astra Agro Lestari as the latter faces accusations of land and human rights abuses by environmental groups.
The move comes as consumer-goods companies face increased reputational and legal pressure from consumers and governments to clean up their global supply chains in the fight against climate change.
A representative from Nestle, the owner of everything from chocolate to coffee and baby food brands, told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the company had instructed its suppliers to ensure palm oil from three subsidiaries of Astra Agro Lestari no longer entered its supply chain.
Nestle did not specify the claims against Astra Agro Lestari other than saying that, following the outcomes of the independent Eco Nusantara assessment that took place in March-June, the global food and beverage giant had been closely monitoring the situation in the region.
“The three Astra Agro Lestari entities in question have been on the company’s grievance list for several months,” Nestle spokesperson said in a written statement to the Post, without elaborating.
Read also: Fresh calls for oil palm moratorium renewal mount after jobs law ruling
Astra Agro Lestari denies the allegations.
Tofan Mahdi, Astra Agro Lestari's senior communications and public affairs officer, said in a statement issued on Sunday that Nestle was not a direct buyer of palm oil from Astra Agro Lestari’s subsidiaries.
He went on to say that human rights violations, land grabbing practices and environmental degradation accusations made by environment pressure group Friends of The Earth (FoE) against Astra Agro Lestari were “baseless” and did not reflect the real conditions on the ground.
“Astra Agro Lestari has reaffirmed its commitment to the sustainable management of oil palm plantations,” Tofan said in the statement, responding to various mass media reports about the Swiss-based company’s plan to cut ties with Astra Agro Lestari over abuse allegations.
Information about Nestle’s plan to block the supply is known from a letter, dated Sept. 28, from Nestle to FoE as seen by Bloomberg.
“The material presented by FoE that is used as the basis for Nestle's plan [is based on] an old issue that was clarified in the years that it happened,” he said.
