BASF advances sustainable Indonesian palm oil for beauty production with local non-profit

18 Sep 2023 --- BASF has partnered with Indonesian non-profit organization Kaleka to support the sustainable management of palm and palm kernel oil production in the country.

The smallholder project will be implemented by Kaleka and will follow a jurisdictional approach.

“This partnership is an important step forward on our journey towards sustainable palm,” said Jutta Stute, sustainability manager for personal care at BASF. “If palm oil is produced in a sustainable and future-proof way, it can actually help solve serious challenges for farmers and the environment.” 

Over the next one and a half years, the partners aim to promote sustainable land use in Selunuk village in the Seruyan district in Central Kalimantan and involve local authorities in the active management of the project.

Regenerative agriculture in smallholder farms
The project partners support the creation of policies and regulations to replicate, while scaling up regenerative agriculture and ensuring living wages through legal certification.

Over the next one and a half years, the partners aim to promote sustainable land use in Selunuk village in the Seruyan district in Central Kalimantan.The aim is to certify 200 hectares of land to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RPSO) Smallholder Standard in the first and second years of the project, thereby supporting 100 farmers in the long-term.

These farmers will benefit not only from the technical know-how and improved framework conditions, but also from the social and economic benefits through ongoing training in the implementation and maintenance of sustainable palm oil practices.

“We are delighted to be part of this unique partnership where BASF and its partner directly support smallholder farmers in the Seruyan District of Central Kalimantan to achieve sustainability,” says Venticia Hukom, managing director of Kaleka. 

“For Kaleka, this partnership is an acknowledgment of the efforts that are put together by the district government of Seruyan to achieve sustainable palm oil.” 

BASF claims partnership with Kaleka is just one recent example of how the company’s Care Chemicals Division is addressing future challenges. 

Sustainability, digitalization, innovation and new approaches to working together are the “key cornerstones” outlined in the specialty chemicals supplier’s “Care 360°– Solutions for Sustainable Life” program.

Eye on palm production
Palm oil derivatives are used in cosmetics such as liquid eyeliners, cream foundations, shampoo and lip products. There are at least 200 names of ingredients derived from palm oil.

However, the commodity has come under heightened scrutiny over this past year, for reasons other than its ecological footprint. A recent report by World Vision found that children as young as five work on palm plantations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Ecuador, Sierra Leone, Guatemala and Colombia.

Just as the EU tightened its deforestation rules in January, Beiersdorf and World Wildlife Fund For Nature strengthened their partnership aimed at conserving natural forests in Borneo until 2026. Evonik, Beiersdorf’s supplier of palm (kernel) oil derivatives, also joined the project.

In recent product developments, Palmless unveiled a multi-purpose and bio-designed oil earlier this year dubbed Save the F***ing Rainforest Nourishing Oil, which it positions as the first consumer product outwardly protesting the beauty industry’s climate impact.

Edited by Benjamin Ferrer