SUPPORTING THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Introduction
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) play a critical role in driving positive change for both people and the planet, offering a unified vision and global framework for addressing urgent social, economic and environmental challenges. As a leading player in the agricultural industry, we recognise we have a unique opportunity to contribute meaningfully to sustainable development by supporting the achievement of the SDGs through our business, reinforcing our commitment to responsible growth and long-term value creation.
Our Approach
While our business activities intersect with all 17 SDGs, we have identified six priority goals where we can make the most significant impact. These goals align with our ambition to lead the agri-industry's decarbonisation while advancing sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship and social well-being.
We continuously review our alignment with SDG targets, ensuring that our initiatives drive measurable progress in the communities where we operate. Through strategic action, innovation and collaboration, we can help shape a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future.
SDG 4: QUALITY EDUCATION
12,370 children or 89.8% of children in our plantations are supported in their education. | 38 schools constructed through the Yihai Kerry Education Aid Programme. | 1,366 scholarships awarded to expand access to secondary and higher education. |
Targets:
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.
4.4 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.
Tracking our Contribution to the SDG Targets:
Investing In and Expanding Access to Education
Supported 12,370 children of compulsory school-going age (89.8% of children in our plantations) in their education.
Built schools and crèches at 100% of our plantations.
Operate 154 crèches across oil palm plantation for Wilmar employees' children from newborn to four years old, benefiting 4,205 children as of December 2024.
Refer here for more information about the above activities.
Awarded more than 1,366 scholarships to increase access to secondary and higher education in 2024.
Constructed 38 schools in China and supported more than 17,000 students through Yihai Kerry Arawana's (YKA) Yihai Kerry Education Aid Programme.
Refer here for more information about the above activities.
Target:
By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
Tracking our Contribution to the SDG Target:
Grooming and attracting future talent
Continue to provide internships, graduate programmes, apprenticeships and traineeships to nurture skills and talent pool for youths and adults.
SDG 8: DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
26.6 hours of training per employee on average. | 100+ training sessions on human rights-related topics. | 100% of oil palm plantations have established Women's Working Groups or Gender Committees. |
Target:
8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities and equal pay for work of equal value.
Tracking our Contribution to the SDG Targets:
Promoting Diversity and Inclusion
Continue the implementation of our Board Diversity Policy with targets to increase female representation on the Board to 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030.
Achieved 23.1% female representation on the Board in 2024.
Employ over 100 employees with disabilities across our global operations.
Female employees account for 23.8% of our global headcount. Refer here for more information about the above activities.
Maintaining a Safe and Ethical Work Environment
Appointed Confidential Officers trained to handle reports of inappropriate workplace behaviour in Europe.
Provided training and communication on sexual harassment and discrimination as well as implemented a Workplace Behaviour Policy in our Goodman Fielder operations.
Upskilling and Empowering Our Workforce
Continue to deliver online learning through Litmos, our e-learning management system that covers a wide range of topics.
Provided 26.6 hours of training on average for our employees, translating to a total of around US$4.0 million on employee training and development.
Refer here for more information about the above activities.
Targets:
Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.
Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers,
including migrant workers, in particular women migrants and those in precarious employment.
Tracking our Contribution to the SDG Targets:
Upholding Human and Labour Rights
Our Human Rights Frameworkbrings together all of Wilmar's relevant policies on human rights and provides detailed instructions on the practical implementation of all principles. This includes due-diligence mechanisms for identifying, preventing, mitigating and accounting for our impacts on human rights, including remediating any adverse impacts. Read more here.
Commit to our Child Protection Policy, which outlines Wilmar's zero-tolerance stance on child labour including our efforts to protect children's rights.
Conduct evaluations of human rights and labour practices throughout our upstream and downstream operations. Read more about our activities here.
Continue collaboration with external stakeholders and expert labour organisations to address systemic labour and human rights risks.
Report on our efforts to address issues of modern slavery, in accordance with the United Kingdom and Australian Modern Slavery Acts.
On-going collaboration with Dignity in Work for All on systemic labour and human rights risks.
Promoting Fair Labour Practices
Member of the RSPO Living Wage Task Force since 2021, collaborating with stakeholders to develop living wage benchmarks.
Assessed 100% of our employees and contractors to ensure that they are paid a living wage.
Conducted more than 100 training sessions on human rights-related topics, with more than 1,000 suppliers participating globally since 2015.
Collaborated with Indonesian Palm Oil Association and Indonesian trade unions to create the manual on Protecting the Rights of Women Workers in Palm Oil Plantations.
Implemented the Women's Charter, which outlines our commitment to respecting women's rights and ensuring their welfare.
100% of our oil palm plantations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria and Ghana have implemented Women's Working Groups or Gender Committees to promote and implement our social-related policies to promote and implement our social-related policies.
SDG 12: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
Over 60 R&D projects across our China operations to enhance product quality and nutrition while minimising our impacts on the environment.
17,940 MT of packaging waste reduced against our 15,000 MT reduction target.
Targets:
12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimise their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.
By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.
Tracking our Contribution to the SDG Targets:
Innovation and Technology
Over 60 R&D projects across our China operations to improve agricultural practices, optimise factory processes, enhance product quality and manufacture healthy and nutritious food products.
Our YKA R&D Centre developed an environmentally friendly oil processing method that significantly reduces resource consumption and emissions.
Refer here for more information about the above activities.
Sustainable Resource Use
51.8% of global energy consumption is sourced from renewable sources.
Achieved water consumption intensity targets for palm oil mills in Indonesia (Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and Sumatra) and Nigeria.
Continued our Group-wide water saving awareness campaign, encouraging employees to identify and report water wastage in our operations via a water-saving checklist.
Refer here for more information about the above activities.
Through YKA's "Sustainable Packaging 2025 Plan", YKA targets to reduce the use of packaging materials by 15,000 tonnes from a baseline year of 2020. As of December 2024, YKA reduced its packaging waste by 17,940 tonnes, exceeding its target by over 20.0%.
In 2024, a total of 577,399 MT of materials for packaging (plastic and non-plastic) were used across our business operations, of which 49.7% are made from renewable materials.
Refer here for more information about the above activities.
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