Putting policy into practice: Musim Mas launches new implementation plan

Musim Mas committed to the responsible sourcing of palm oil in 2014 when it first published its Sustainability Policy in 2014. This policy included commitments to environmental stewardship, human rights, partnership with communities, and smallholder engagement. The new Policy Implementation Plan conveys the company’s approach to implementation of these commitments, focusing on Musim Mas’s own supply base, associated smallholders and third-party suppliers.

Along with many others, Musim Mas has committed to eliminating deforestation from its supply chain by 2020.  With fewer than 1000 days remaining until this deadline, it is widely recognised  that more needs to be done to meet these targets.

Supported by the Consortium of Resource Experts (CORE), comprising Proforest and Daemeter Consulting, the company has made significant progress in the implementation of these commitments.. Musim Mas have now taken the crucial step to communicate more clearly on their strategy to implement their sustainability policy, and the main activities that are being implemented.

Musim Mas’s efforts to report on how they are implementing their commitments is aligned to the case made in Proforest’s latest briefing Accelerating implementation of responsible sourcing commitments: A Framework for Progress to 2020 and Beyond. This briefing proposes that in order to meet targets for responsible sourcing, companies urgently need to move beyond policy commitments and supply chain transparency to demonstrate implementation transparency. This involves reporting on what progress has already been made, what still needs to be done, and what challenges need to be addressed.

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Musim Mas has published annual Progress Reports since 2015, reporting on the company’s progress in implementation of its responsible sourcing commitments. With the launch of their Policy Implementation Plan, published last month, Musim Mas now goes further to achieving implementation transparency by clearly articulating their planned approach to policy implementation for 2020 and beyond.

CORE’s continued support to Musim Mas will ensure that sustainability commitments are effectively translated into on-the-ground action in a way that can be successfully monitored and replicated in other priority areas.

To read Musim Mas’ Policy Implementation Plan, please click here.