New Britain Palm Oil Ltd

1.1.. Is the company an RSPO member?

New Britain Palm Oil Limited (NBPOL) has been an RSPO member since 2004.

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?

NBPOL correctly refer to themselves 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?

NBPOL correctly states the countries in which the company operates.

1.4.1.. Has the company set any public targets to be 100% RSPO-certified?

2012 - All plantation estates are currently RSPO certified.

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

No.

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

100 - 100% of NBPOL's plantation estates are RSPO certified Calculation: 78,343 ha (total area RSPO certified) divided by 78,343 ha (stated planted area) x 100.

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

Link to NBPOL's RSPO Principles and Criteria certification assessments: http://www.rspo.org/content.php?lang=en&pagename=principles_and_criteria_assessment_progress&member-country=&assessment-status=&member-assessment-type=&member-approved-year=¬ification-year=&member-name=New+Britain+Palm+Oil+Ltd&member-search-submit=Search.

1.7.1.. Has the company set any public targets for its third party suppliers to be 100% RSPO-certified?

2012 - A target to certify full supply base was achieved in the first quarter of 2012.

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

No.

1.8.1.. Has the company set any public targets for scheme smallholders to be 100% RSPO-certified?

2012 - A target to certify full supply base was achieved in the first quarter of 2012.

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

No.

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

100 - 100% of NBPOL's scheme smallholder plantations are RSPO certified Calculation: 42,039 ha of scheme smallholder plantations out of a total of 42,039 ha had been RSPO certified = 42,039 ha divided by 42,039 ha x 100.

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?

78343 - Yes, landbank for oil palm cultivation is 78,343 ha.

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

78343 - Yes, planted area is 78,343 ha.

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

42039 - Yes, scheme smallholder hectarage is 42,039 ha.

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)?

10596 - Yes, landbank for conservation is 10,596 ha.

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

Not yet submitted.

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

Not yet submitted.

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

Yes.

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

Not explicitly, but NBPOL is a signatory to the Palm Oil Innovations Group (POIG) charter which stipulates that 'producers shall independently verify and report on compliance with this charter within 12 months of commitment to the Charter, across their operations, subsidiaries and acquisitions of existing plantation including FFB from 3rd party supplier's'. Note: POIG was initiated after the 2013 review of the RSPO Principles & Criteria, which POIG members believe could have been more innovative, especially on the issues of deforestation, carbon stocks, biodiversity and social relations. All of the POIG members are committed to reinforcing and improving the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principles and Criteria (P&Cs).

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?

Yes.

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

Yes, for NBPOL's West New Britain estates.

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?

There is public availability of some of New Britain Palm Oil's SEIA assessments: Poliamba: Lamendauen plantation, Lamawan Plantation West New Britain: Roka mini estate, Roka estate Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands: No SEIA assessments could be found Ramu Valley: J estate, Lae estate Milne Bay: No SEIA assessments could be found Higaturu: Popondetta No further SEIA assessments could be found.

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?

Yes.

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

There is public availability of some of New Britain Palm Oil's HCV assessments: Poliamba: Lamendauen plantation, Lamawan Plantation West New Britain: Roka mini estate, Roka estate Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands: No HCV assessments could be found Ramu Valley: J estate, Lae estate Milne Bay: No HCV assessments could be found Higaturu: Popondetta No further HCV assessments could be found.

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

There is public availability of some of New Britain Palm Oil's HCV management plans: Poliamba: Lamendauen plantation, Lamawan Plantation West New Britain: Roka mini estate, Roka estate Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands: No HCV management plans could be found Ramu Valley: J estate, Lae estate Milne Bay: No HCV management plans could be found Higaturu: Popondetta No further HCV management plans could be found.

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

No information could be found using the research protocols.

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

No information could be found using the research protocols.

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?

Yes.

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?

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

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?

Yes.

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

Yes.

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

0.11 - West New Britain: 88.3 ha Approximately 0.11% of NBPOL's landbank for oil palm cultivation is located on peat soil Calculation: 88.3 ha (total stated hectarage located on peat soil) divided by 78,343 ha (stated landbank) x 100.

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

Yes.

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

Yes.

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?

Yes.

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

Not explicitly mentioned in NBPOL's carbon footprint report. However, NBPOL is a signatory to the Palm Oil Innovations Group (POIG) charter (of which greenhouse gas accountability is stated as a key performance area) which stipulates that 'producers shall independently verify and report on compliance with this charter within 12 months of commitment to the Charter, across their operations, subsidiaries and acquisitions of existing plantation including FFB from 3rd party supplier's'.

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

Yes.

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

Yes.

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

Not yet submitted.

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

100 - 100% of NBPOL's palm oil mills are RSPO certified Calculation: 12 palm oil mills RSPO certified divided by 12 palm oil mills (total number stated) 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?

100 - 100% of the 684,594 metric tonnes of FFB purchased from sources that were not company, scheme smallholders or contracted outgrowers, were stated as being RSPO certified (data found was more than 1 year old).

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

Yes.

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

Segregated.