Dear John
Tomorrow, top execs from Unilever will meet shareholders for their annual general meeting. For the makers of Magnum ice creams and Dove soap, profits are up [1].
But Unilever buys some of its palm oil from Astra Agro Lestari (AAL). Overlooking accusations of AAL’s violent land-grabbing in Indonesia [2]. And the damage to tropical forests and pollution of soil, air and water caused by AAL's operations.
All this is happening in Unilever’s own supply chain.
9 huge companies including Nestlé have already dropped AAL. So we’re going to the AGM to ask Unilever to do the same. Please join us and sign this petition to tell Unilever: stop buying conflict palm oil.
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Unilever says it’s committed to sustainability and social responsibility.
So why is it sourcing raw materials for its products – the everyday items in our homes – from an Indonesian palm oil company accused of human rights abuses by the communities where it operates?
Indigenous communities – alongside Friends of the Earth Indonesia – have been sounding the alarm over AAL’s activities in Sulawesi, Indonesia for years.
Palm oil production has decimated tropical forests in South East Asia, home to precious species like orangutans, elephants and sun bears [3]. And it’s destroying the lives of the communities who depend on those forests.
We’re not asking Unilever to give up palm oil completely. But dropping AAL is essential if it really is committed to ethical sourcing practices. And it would send a strong message to AAL to clean up its practices and resolve the conflict with affected communities.
Add your name to tell Unilever: stop using AAL. You can bring people in the UK the soaps, soups and biscuits they love. But without leaving a trail of environmental destruction and human rights abuse.
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Thank you so much for playing your part in our Planet Over Profit campaign.
And keep an eye on your inbox over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be back in touch with more ways you can speak up against supply chain abuses and hold UK corporations to account.
All the best,
Clare Oxborrow
Senior Sustainability Analyst, Friends of the Earth
NOTES:
[1] Strong sales growth and continued progress against strategy, Unilever
[2] Report: Major Indonesian palm oil supplier linked to illegal deforestation, land rights violations, Friends of the Earth US
[3] How is the UK causing habitat destruction worldwide?, Friends of the Earth
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