Global deforestation and conversion-free supply chain policy

Palm

Palm oil, palm kernel oil and derivatives 

Deforestation and peat conversion 

Cocoa

Beans, liquor, powder, butter, extracts, absolutes 

Deforestation 

Coffee

Beans, ground, instant coffee, extracts, absolutes, natural caffeine 

Deforestation 

Soy

Directly sourced soy ingredients¹: oils, flours, proteins

Deforestation and conversion 

Sugarcane

Sugar, alcohols, other derivatives 

Deforestation and conversion 

Corn

Maltodextrins, dextrose, corn syrup, starch, caramel, oil, flour 

Deforestation and conversion 

Wood products

Crude Sulphate Turpentines (CST) 

Deforestation 

Soy (indirect) 

Embedded forms of soy²: Soy used in animal feed for livestock and livestock derived materials such as animal proteins and dairy products 

Deforestation and conversion 

Applicable laws and regulations 

National and ratified international laws that apply in a given context or situation.
– National laws include the laws and regulations of all jurisdictions within a nation.
– International laws to which nations have acceded are also considered as applicable law. 

Certification

Process providing the material and derived products with an official document attesting to a status or level of achievement against a given standard. 

Conversion

Loss of a natural ecosystem as a result of its replacement with agriculture or another land use, or due to a profound and sustained change in a natural ecosystem species composition, structure, or function.
– Deforestation is one form of conversion (conversion of natural forests).
– Conversion includes severe and sustained degradation or the introduction of management practices that result in a profound and sustained change in the ecosystem’s species composition, structure, or function.
– Change to natural ecosystems that meets this definition is considered to be conversion regardless of whether or not it is legal.  

Critical agricultural commodities  

Primary agricultural crops produced and traded in global markets and targeted by our DCF commitment as laid out in this Policy because of their link with global conversion of natural ecosystems, including natural forests, and assessed as relevant to our sourcing portfolio: oil palm, cocoa, coffee, soy, sugarcane, corn and timber (herein referred to as wood products).  

Cut-off date  

The date after which deforestation or conversion of a natural ecosystem renders a given area or sourced volume non-compliant with this Policy. We recognise the criticality of the cut-off date to enable the conformity of in-scope materials with our commitments laid out in this Policy.
In line with the AFI, we consider and expect our suppliers to use a general cut-off date of 31 December 2020 at the latest.
For specific commodities and geographies, this cut-off date may be set earlier, when:
– A national legal framework is in place with an earlier cut-off date.
– A sector agreement is in place for the material / geography with a cut-off date prior to 31 December 2020.
– A recognised third-party certification standard is in place.
– The vendor has set an earlier cut-off date.  

Deforestation

Loss of natural forest as a result of i) conversion to agriculture or other non-forest land use; ii) conversion to a tree plantation; or iii) severe and sustained degradation. Severe and sustained degradation (scenario iii in the definition) constitutes deforestation even if the land is not subsequently used for a non-forest land use.
Loss of natural forest that meets this definition is deforestation regardless of whether or not it is legal.  

Deforestation and conversion-free  

Material whose production and sourcing is not linked with deforestation and the conversion of natural ecosystems as per the requirements laid out in this Policy. 

Degradation

Changes within a natural ecosystem that significantly and negatively affect its species composition, structure, and/or function and reduce the ecosystem’s capacity to supply products, support biodiversity, and/or deliver ecosystem services.  

Direct supplier  

A supplier that sells in-scope materials directly to Givaudan or that makes Givaudan-directed sales of in-scope materials to Givaudan’s third party manufacturers or that are third party manufacturers of products supplied to Givaudan containing in-scope materials. 

Ecosystem

A dynamic, complex of plants, animals and microorganisms, and their non-living environment, interacting as a functional unit (e.g. deserts, coral reefs, wetlands, rainforests). 

Forest

Land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10%, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or other land use. Forest includes natural forests and tree plantations. For the purpose of implementing no-deforestation supply chains, the focus is on preventing the conversion of natural forests.
Quantitative thresholds (e.g. for tree height or canopy cover) established in legitimate national or sub-national forest definitions may take precedence over the generic thresholds in this definition.  

Free, Prior, Informed consent (FPIC)  

A collective human right of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to give and withhold their consent prior to the commencement of any activity that may affect their rights, land, resources, territories, livelihoods, and food security. It is a right exercised through representatives of their own choosing and in a manner consistent with their own customs, values, and norms.  

Grievance mechanism  

Givaudan’s defined process through which grievances concerning infringements to business-related negative impacts to human rights or the environment or a non-conformity with our corporate policies can be raised for a remediation to be defined, implemented and reported on. 

Indirect supplier  

Organisation in the supply chain from which Givaudan purchases in-scope materials other than the direct supplier.  

Indigenous people and communities

Distinct groups of people who satisfy any of the more commonly accepted definitions of Indigenous Peoples, which consider (among other factors) whether the collective: 
– has pursued its own concept and way of human development in a given socioeconomic, political,  and historical context;
– has tried to maintain its distinct group identity, languages, traditional beliefs, customs, laws and institutions, worldviews, and ways of life;
– has at one time exercised control and management of the lands, natural resources, and territories that it has historically used and occupied, with which it has a special connection, and upon which its physical and cultural survival typically depends;
– self-identifies as Indigenous Peoples; and/or descends from populations whose existence pre-dates the colonisation of the lands within which it was originally found or of which it was then dispossessed.
Accepted definitions : Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 1989 (ILO Convention No. 169), UN Commission on Human Rights, UN Working Paper on the concept of Indigenous People. 

In-scope materials 

Raw materials and derived products which are targeted and included in the scope of our DCF Policy.  

Landscape and jurisdictional initiatives 

Collaborative programmes with common goals to take collective action while reconciling different interest, and monitor progress towards improving social, environmental, and economic outcomes at landscape/jurisdictional scale. In the context of deforestation and conversion of natural ecosystems, we recognise the importance of partnership beyond supply chains to preserve and monitor natural ecosystems.

Natural ecosystem 

An ecosystem that substantially resembles – in terms of species composition, structure, and ecological function – one that is or would be found in a given area in the absence of major human impacts. This includes human-managed ecosystems where much of the natural species’ composition, structure, and ecological function are present.
Natural ecosystems include:
1. Largely ‘pristine’ natural ecosystems that have not been subject to major human impacts in recent history.
2. Regenerated natural ecosystems that were subject to major impacts in the past (for instance by agriculture, livestock raising, tree plantations, or intensive logging), but where the main causes of impact have ceased or greatly diminished, and the ecosystem has attained species composition, structure, and ecological function similar to prior or other contemporary natural ecosystems.
3. Managed natural ecosystems (including many ecosystems that could be referred to as ‘semi-natural’) where much of the ecosystem’s composition, structure, and ecological function are present; this includes managed natural forests as well as native grasslands or rangelands that are, or have historically been, grazed by livestock. 
4. Natural ecosystems that have been partially degraded by anthropogenic or natural causes (e.g. harvesting, fire, climate change, invasive species, or others), but where the land has not been converted to another use and where much of the ecosystem’s composition, structure, and ecological function remain present or are expected to regenerate naturally or by management for ecological restoration.

Natural forest 

Natural forests possess many or most of the characteristics of a forest native to the given site, including species composition, structure, and ecological function. Natural forests include:
1. Primary forests that have not been subject to major human impacts in recent history.
2. Regenerated (second-growth) forests that were subject to major impacts in the past (for instance by agriculture, livestock raising, tree plantations, or intensive logging), but where the main causes of impact have ceased or greatly diminished and the ecosystem has attained much of the species composition, structure, and ecological function of prior or other contemporary natural ecosystems.
3. Managed natural forests where much of the ecosystem’s composition, structure, and ecological function exist in the presence of activities such as:
• Harvesting of timber or other forest products, including management to promote high-value species.
• Low intensity, small-scale cultivation within the forest, such as less-intensive forms of swidden agriculture in a forest mosaic.
4. Forests that have been partially degraded by anthropogenic or natural causes (e.g. harvesting, fire, climate change, invasive species, or others) but where the land has not been converted to another use and where degradation does not result in the sustained reduction of tree cover below the thresholds that define a forest or sustained loss of other main elements of ecosystem composition, structure, and ecological function.
The categories ‘natural forest’ and ‘tree plantation’ are mutually exclusive, though in some cases the distinction may be nuanced.
For the purpose of no-deforestation supply chains, the focus is on preventing the conversion of natural forests. 

Production unit 

A plantation, farm, ranch, or forest management unit. A production unit can be a contiguous land area (regardless of any internal subdivisions) or a group of plots interspersed with other land units the same area or landscape and under the same management. 

Transparency and traceability 

The process of identifying the actors in a company’s supply chain and the relationships among them. Traceability goes beyond supply chain mapping by allowing to follow a product or its components through stages of the upstream value chain (e.g. production, processing, manufacturing, and distribution).