Strengthen [Weak] NDPE reporting guideline

By Norman Jiwan
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Why? It lacks some basic and globally acceptable reporting indicators on anti-corruption.

There is nothing wrong with a much-applauded corporate policy commitment on no deforestation, no peat and no exploitation. It is well-known as NDPE commitment.

Having an online reference and publicly accessible reporting platform applicable to corporate wide is not only good but also important to promote zero deforestation, no peat and no exploitation. Newly Released Guidance Aims to Improve Transparency in the Palm Oil Industry as it is available at https://www.ceres.org/…/newly-released-guidance-aims-to-imp….

There is no reasonable doubt that the Government of Indonesia is tirelessly fighting to eradicate all material forms of notorious governmental corruption and unethical business practices. Despite strong and continual governmental efforts in eradicating corruption, the Indonesian palm oil sector is still ripe with corrupt business practices and transactions in palm oil.

It is with regret to say that I am, (possibly many Indonesians are) disappointed by the fact that the spirit of promoting ‘anti-corruption’ in the NDPE stakeholders is sufficiently absent. It is regretful that the NDPE does not address the basic best practice elements of anti-corruption in palm oil production be incorporated a final text of the NDPE reporting guideline!

Concerns with the massive corrupt practices and the expected anti-corruption measurable reporting indicators were raised and proposed in the NGOs workshop in Jakarta yet they were neither clearly spelt out nor integrated in the finally released reporting guideline.

There were documented incidents of vindicated graft and bribery cases in the issuance of permits; notorious governor, central and provincial forestry department scandals involved corruption to release 1-million hectares of tropical rainforest in East Kalimantan; Riau-governor case; and bribery case of Buol district land use right (HGU); concessions are overlapping with forest areas; many oil palm plantation companies are still operating without HGU land title; fires by and inside legal operations of oil palm plantations; etc.

During the NGOs workshop session in Jakarta, some participants did raise and explain why corruption is a material issue in the palm oil sector in Indonesia. The raised concerns on corruption in the palm oil business in Indonesia was supported by and endorsed without objection from other participants of the workshop.

There are three fundamentally compelling and material justification why policy commitment on anti-corruption is very important in the Indonesian palm oil industry.

First, the 2003 United Nations Convention against Anti-Corruption (UNCAC) especially Article 12 on Private Sector’s preventive measures against corruption. Indonesia is state party to the convention and has ratified the convention respectively by a ratification law Number 7 Year 2006.

Second, RSPO Criterion 1.3 requires some voluntary policy commitment indicators on ethical conducts and business transactions where majority of palm oil producers are coming from Indonesia and Malaysia. Unethical business conducts and transactions are unacceptable in both producing countries.

Third, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) lays out guideline on anti-corruption global reporting. They are management approaches; risks specific anti-corruption policies and procedures; capacity building training activities; and confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken.

The recently released NDPE reporting guideline has missed an important best practice and materially justifiable issue on anti-corruption. The current NDPE reporting guideline fails to provide measurable efforts and best practices to prevent the ongoing rampant business sector and potential ripe with corruption as well as future unethical business conducts and transactions in the global palm oil production.

How do we check if the NDPE reporting guideline really does qualify the principles of transparency and accountability of palm oil production without basic elements of anti-corruption reporting?

Jakarta, 13 March 2017

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