October 04, 2018

Consumer Group Responds Demanding PepsiCo and the Roundtable on Sustainable Action follow Nestlé’s lead

Yesterday, Nestlé announced that they would stop sourcing palm oil, either directly or indirectly from Indofood, one of Indonesia’s largest palm oil companies, citing commercial reasons. Last week, PepsiCo announced that they would also be severing ties with Indofood, but explicitly called out the ongoing human rights abuses by the company. Earlier this year, PepsiCo suspended direct sourcing of palm oil from one of Indofood’s subsidiaries, IndoAgri after complaints of labor abuses surfaced from plantations and were investigated by Rainforest Action Network, the International Labor Rights Forum and Indonesian labor rights group OPPUK.

In reaction to the news Fatah Sadaoui, Campaigns Manager at SumOfUs, an international consumer watchdog that urged Nestlé to sever ties with Indofood, issued the following statement:

“Nestlé made the right decision in ending its joint venture partnership with Indofood.  The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil now has to send a strong message to Indofood and other palm oil suppliers clearing rainforests, abusing workers, and destroying orangutan habitat by suspending Indofood.”

“Nestlé’s decision is also a reminder for PepsiCo that it’s time put its money where its mouth is and either bring Indofood in line with its ‘No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation’ commitment or put an end to their joint venture partnership.”

Links to the SumOfUs petitions:

• Targeting Nestlé: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/nestle-is-breaking-its-own-palm-oil-promises
• Targeting Pepsi: https://actions.sumofus.org/pages/pepsi-ceo-indra-nooyi-fix-palm-oil-policy/
• Targeting the RSPO: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/tell-rspo-to-sanction-nestle-and-pepsi-business-partner-indofood