Hap Seng Plantations Holdings Bhd

1.1.. Is the company an RSPO member?

Yes, Hap Seng Plantation Holdings Berhad has been an RSPO member since 2005.

1.2.. Has the company submitted its most recent Annual Communication of Progress (ACOP) report to the RSPO?

Yes.

1.3.1.. In the company's most recent and up-to-date RSPO ACOP report, does the company refer to itself as an oil palm grower?

Yes, Hap Seng refers to itself as an oil palm grower.

1.3.2.. In the company's most recent and up-to-date RSPO ACOP report, does the company state all the countries and regions in which it operates?

Yes. Hap Seng Plantations states all the countries and regions in which the company operates: Malaysia (Sabah).

1.4.1.. Has the company RSPO-certified its first plantation estate: a) By November 2010, for companies joining prior to finalisation of the RSPO certification systems in November 2007? b) Within three years of joining the RSPO or of acquiring plantation operations as an RSPO member?

No. Hap Seng joined the RSPO in 2005 and certified its first plantation estate in 2012. Hap Seng Plantations has a time-bound plan to complete certification by 2017.

1.4.2.. Has the company missed any of its public targets to be 100% RSPO-certified?

Yes, a target to certify all estates by 2012 was missed and then was extended to 2013, 2015 and then to 2017.

1.5.. What percentage of the company's total plantation estates is RSPO-certified?

92.4 - 92.4% of Hap Seng's plantation estates are RSPO-certified.

Calculation: 32,816.61 ha (total area RSPO-certified) divided by 35,531.03 ha (stated planted area) x 100.

1.6.. Are the company's RSPO Principles and Criteria certification assessments publicly available?

Yes.

1.7.1.. Have the first of the company's independent FFB suppliers achieved RSPO certification?

Hap Seng certified its first plantation estate in 2012 and has yet to certify its first independent FFB supplier. Hap Seng has a time-bound plan to complete certification of its independent FFB suppliers by 2022.

1.7.2.. Has the company missed any public targets for 100% of its independent FFB suppliers to be RSPO-certified?

Yes, a target to certify all independent FFB suppliers by 2012 was missed and then was extended to 2022.

1.8.1.. Has the company RSPO-certified its first scheme smallholders?

This indicator has been disabled as Hap Seng does not have scheme smallholders.

1.8.2.. Has the company missed any public targets for 100% of its scheme smallholders to be RSPO-certified?

This indicator has been disabled as Hap Seng does not have scheme smallholders.

1.9.. What percentage of the company's scheme smallholder plantations is RSPO-certified?

This indicator has been disabled as Hap Seng does not have scheme smallholders.

1.10.. Does the company have any open complaints filed through the RSPO complaints system?

Yes, Hap Seng has the following open complaint filed through the RSPO complaints system: November 2015: Hap Seng has been accused of illegally occupying the complainant's land.

2.1.1.. Does the company have a publicly available statement detailing its land acquisition criteria?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

2.1.2.. Does this statement apply to all of the company's scheme smallholders and independent FFB suppliers?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

2.2.1.. Has the company publicly disclosed its total landbank area for oil palm cultivation?

35531.03 - Yes, landbank for oil palm cultivation is 35,531.03 ha.

2.2.2.. Has the company publicly disclosed its total planted area?

35531.03 - Yes, planted area is 35,531.03 ha.

2.2.3.. Has the company publicly disclosed its total scheme smallholder area?

This indicator has been disabled as Hap Seng does not have scheme smallholders.

2.2.4.. Has the company publicly disclosed its total area of land managed for conservation that is set aside (i.e. including areas of High Conservation Value)?

1401.98 - Yes, landbank for conservation is 1,401.98 ha.

2.3.1.. Are all of the company's concession maps publicly available for all countries in which it operates?

Concession boundaries have been made available to the RSPO, but not all are publicly available due to ongoing legal issues.

2.3.2.. Are all of the company's scheme smallholders' concession maps publicly available for all countries in which it operates?

This indicator is disabled as Hap Seng does not have scheme smallholders.

3.1.1.. Does the company have a publicly available statement to address deforestation resulting from its operations?

Yes, Hap Seng states it retains designated High Conservation Value (HCV) areas in its group estates and has not cleared primary forest.

3.1.2.. Does this statement apply to all its scheme smallholders and independent FFB suppliers?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

3.2.1.. Does the company have a publicly available commitment to undertake Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) prior to any new planting taking place?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

3.2.2.. Does the company make its Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process publicly available?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

3.3.1.. Does the company have a publicly available commitment to conduct SEIA (Social and Environmental Impact Assessments) assessments prior to any new planting taking place?

Yes.

3.3.2.. Are all SEIA assessments conducted after November 2005 publicly available?

No SEIA assessments could be found using the research protocols.

3.4.1.. Does the company have a publicly available commitment to conduct High Conservation Value (HCV) assessments prior to any new planting taking place?

No statement could be found using the research protocols that explicitly states that HCV assessments are undertaken prior to any new planting taking place.

3.4.2.. Has the company publicly committed to only using licensed High Conservation Value (HCV) assessors accredited by the HCV Resource Network's Assessor Licensing Scheme (ALS)?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

3.4.3.. Are all of the company's High Conservation Value (HCV) assessments conducted after November 2005 publicly available?

No HCV assessments could be found using the research protocols.

3.4.4.. Does the company make its High Conservation Value (HCV) management and monitoring plans for all of its estates publicly available?

No HCV management plans could be found using the research protocols.

3.5.. Has the company publicly committed to applying a High Carbon Stock (HCS) methodology to all of its landholdings and not developing on HCS areas?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

3.6.. Does the company have a publicly available Water Management Plan or equivalent for its operations?

Yes.

3.7.. Does the company have a publicly available Integrated Pest Management Plan for its operations?

Yes.

3.8.. Does the company have a publicly available commitment to not use WHO Class 1A and 1B pesticides and paraquat, or time-bound plan for phasing out their use?

No. A statement could only be found relating to the phasing out of paraquat.

3.9.. Has the company been mentioned in any relevant media stories and/or reports that make reference to wildlife conflict or deforestation within the company's plantation estates and/or its scheme smallholders' or independent FFB suppliers' plantations?

Please find the relevant media stories listed in the media monitor below.

4.1.1.. Does the company have a publicly available statement stating that it is committed to a strict 'no new development on peat' policy?

No such statement could be found using the research protocols. However, the company does report in its 2014 sustainability report that there was no development on peat in the years 2011-2014.

4.1.2.. Does this policy apply to all its scheme smallholders and independent FFB suppliers?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

4.2.. What percentage of the company's landbank for oil palm cultivation is located on peat?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

5.1.1.. Does the company have a publicly available statement stating that it is committed to a strict policy of zero burning?

Yes. Hap Seng strictly adheres to its zero burning policy for both new planting and replanting.

5.1.2.. Does this policy apply to all its scheme smallholders and independent FFB suppliers?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

5.2.. Has the company been mentioned in any relevant media stories and/or reports that make reference to fires found within the company's plantation estates and/or its scheme smallholders' or independent FFB suppliers' plantations?

No relevant media stories could be found using the research protocols.

6.1.1.. Does the company have a publicly available time-bound plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

6.1.2.. Does this time-bound plan apply to all its scheme smallholders and independent FFB suppliers?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

6.2.. Does the company publicly report on progress made towards achieving its time-bound plan?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

6.3.. Does the company publicly report its GHG emissions from land use change associated with new planting?

Yes.

6.4.. Has the company made a public commitment to report and to reduce effects from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)?

Yes.

6.5.. Has the company made a public commitment to eliminate methane emissions from all of its palm oil mills?

No such commitment could be found using the research protocols. However, in its 2014 Sustainability Report the company states it is "exploring opportunities for installing biogas facilities which capture methane".

7.1.. Are all of the company's mill locations publicly available for all countries in which it operates?

Mill locations have been made available previously, which are viewable on the SPOTT map. However, ZSL is currently unable to ascertain if the maps disclosed constitute 100% of the company's palm oil mills.

7.2.. What percentage of the company's total palm oil mills is RSPO-certified?

100 - 100% of Hap Seng's palm oil mills are RSPO-certified

Calculation: 4 (stated number of palm oil mills RSPO-certified) divided by 4 palm oil mills (stated number of palm oil mills operated) x 100.

7.3.. What percentage of the company's total fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) purchased from independent suppliers (not including outgrowers and scheme smallholders) is RSPO-certified?

0 - 0% of the company's independently sourced FFB is RSPO-certified

Calculation: 0 (tonnes RSPO-certified) divided by 107,829.79 (total tonnes of independently sourced FFB) x 100.

7.4.. Does the company have a public commitment to move towards Segregated and/or Identity Preserved certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO)?

No information could be found using the research protocols.

7.5.. Does the company prioritize certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) from Segregated or Identity Preserved supply chain models over Mass Balance or GreenPalm?

Mass Balance, Identity Preserved.