How about your deforestation policy?

Our vision is to produce all of our products in a responsible and sustainable way. Running a pilot of the Starling platform in our palm oil supply chain in Northwest Ecuador, in combination with our ground teams’ drone technology, provided the tools and information to make this a reality. Receiving quarterly reports of forest cover change continues to support our transformation work on the ground by guiding our action to the areas where it is most needed.

Innovation and technology like Starling is accelerating our journey towards zero deforestation. This is transforming the way we manage deforestation risks in our palm oil supply chain – we are using this tool to hold our suppliers and ourselves accountable. We are satisfied with our progress, but there is much more to do. The last miles to go are always the hardest.

Nestlé has always been committed to source the raw materials we need to manufacture our products responsibly. In 2010, we made a No Deforestation commitment stating that none of our products globally will be associated with deforestation by 2020.
Starling satellite monitoring is a game changer to achieve transparency in our supply chain. Today, we cover 100% of Nestlé’s global palm oil supply chains and we will extend this collaboration to cover other commodities. Data and analytics provided by Starling enable us to manage risks and perform field intervention strategies together with our suppliers to drive changes better and faster.

“Colgate-Palmolive is committed to sourcing responsible palm oil that is free from deforestation. To assist us in delivering this pledge we have been testing Starling, running a pilot on a section of our palm oil supply chain. By mapping our suppliers, we aim to strengthen our supplier engagement policy and develop stronger relationships based around our NDPE policy.”  

Starling is a sign of hope in achieving the objectives of rebuilding the Ivorian forest cover. I look forward and hope that satellite monitoring combined with field missions in the Cavally Forest can be extended to other forests in the country.

Providing assurance to the users of our products like Nestlé and others that our pulp and paper are free from deforestation is important to us. That’s why, alongside Nestlé, we have undertaken a pilot of Starling in Arkhangelsk, Russia, to monitor 300,000 hectares of Intact Forest Landscape, which we and other stakeholders have set aside to become a forest reserve. Starling’s monitoring of the area has proven invaluable in demonstrating our commitments to the protection of this forest that is part of developing a robust long term land use plan.