Palm Oil Transparency Coalition releases 2024 Importer Assessment

The Palm Oil Transparency Coalition (POTC) has published its 2024 Importer Assessment, evaluating the progress made by key palm oil importers in meeting No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation (NDPE) commitments across supply chains. The assessment provides insights into how importers are responding to growing regulatory, environmental and social expectations — and highlights areas where further action is needed.

Working with NGO partners

The report ranks importers according to their responses to a set of 219 questions — 70 of which were identified as ‘critical’ by advisory NGO partners, WWF and Forest Peoples Programme. The assessment aims to help importers and coalition members understand what remaining challenges exist to achieving stated NDPE targets and plans.

Persistent challenges in the palm oil sector

This year’s report comes at a critical moment, with most importers assessed having committed to deforestation-free supply chains by 2025. It identifies persistent challenges in the sector. Half of the 16 importers included do not currently report publicly on deforestation- and conversion-free volumes, and levels of transparency and verification remain highly variable across supply chains.

EUDR pressures

The assessment explores the impact of expanding legislative requirements — including the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). These encourage more rigorous approaches to human rights due diligence (HRDD) but the report highlights that alignment on good practice is still lacking, particularly in relation to indirect supply and grievance mechanisms.

Smallholder inclusion is another area of concern. Several importers reported that challenges in mapping and traceability may affect their ability to continue sourcing from smallholders in the context of EUDR compliance. This raises broader questions about the potential unintended consequences of regulation on producer livelihoods and supply chain resilience.

Supporting the Food and Drink sector to meet targets

3Keel conducted the assessment on behalf of the POTC, with the aim of supporting coalition members — predominantly food and drink manufacturers and retailers — in understanding importer performance, reporting on action against commitments, and identifying where engagement may be required to meet sourcing commitments.