Traceability
Traceability
Ensuring traceability is essential to REA’s commitment to sustainable palm oil production. By mapping every stage of the supply chain, from plantation to mill, we ensure that our operations align with our sustainability policies, No Deforestation, No Peat, and No Exploitation (NDPE) and global standards like the EUDR. This approach ultimately promotes transparency and effective risk management throughout our supply chain.
Our traceability efforts are periodically reviewed and externally verified, ensuring that data integrity and compliance with international standards are maintained.
Establishing traceability to mill is crucial for tracing each Fresh Fruit Bunch (FFB) we process back to one of our 3 REA mills where it was refined. This includes collecting data such as the mill’s name, parent company, geographic coordinates, and operational details. For REA, Traceability to mill is critical as it allows us to assess the sustainability practices of our suppliers, verify their compliance against our policies, and local and global sustainability standards, for ethical and environmentally responsible palm oil production. By maintaining 100% traceability to mill, we can manage supply chain risks effectively, enhance transparency, and strengthen the trust of our stakeholders.
We take a comprehensive and inclusive approach to traceability, aiming to create a transparent and deforestation-free supply chain. We work closely with smallholders, cooperatives, and third-party suppliers to ensure compliance with our sustainability policies and international standards such as RSPO, ISCC and the EUDR. Our strategy involves:
Building relationships with direct and indirect suppliers to encourage sustainable good agricultural practices and enhance traceability to plantations.
REA employs a systematic methodology to achieve full traceability, encompassing both direct and indirect suppliers. Our process includes:
- Collection of geolocation coordinates and polygon maps from suppliers as part of the due diligence process, in alignment with RSPO and EUDR.
- Verification of geolocation coordinates and polygon maps for all current and future smallholders and their plantations to ensure adherence to RSPO and EUDR standards.
REA ensures that all suppliers meet legal and sustainability requirements through the following measures:
- All new suppliers must undergo a due diligence process and commit to adhering to REA's policies. This requirement will take effect for all contracts related to sourcing FFB by December 2024.
- Conducting due diligence for all of our suppliers to verify compliance with NDPE, RSPO standards and the EUDR, ensuring that FFB is not sourced from deforestation and peat conservation areas.
- Suppliers are required to submit traceability information or polygon maps of their plantations, which will be verified by REA's field team for accuracy. Additionally, all current suppliers must have their polygon maps validated by an independent organisation by December 2025.
To ensure transparency and accountability, through the following traceability and monitoring efforts:
- Mill and Plantation Traceability:
100% traceability to mills and an extensive database of plantation-level geolocation coordinates. - Supplier Due Diligence:
In 2024, 100% of REA’s 3,743 smallholders had been assessed for compliance with REA’s policies and legal requirements. - Spatial Monitoring:
Biweekly updates and risk analysis using satellite technology to identify and mitigate deforestation risks.