STATEMENT OF INTENT

Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil

This Statement of Intent is a non-legally binding expression of support
for the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a business initiative by
Aarhus United, Golden Hope Plantations Berhad, Malaysian Palm Oil
Association (MPOA), Migros, Sainsbury’s, Unilever and WWF.

Kuala Lumpur, 22 August 2003

A. Preamble

The signatories of this Statement of Intent recognise that:

1. the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is a leading example in the general trend towards sustainable agriculture;

2. due to its intrinsic qualities, palm oil is an important and versatile raw material for both food and non-food industries, which contributes to the economic development of the producing countries and to the diets of millions of people around the world;

3. sustainable production implies legal, economically viable, environmentally appropriate and socially beneficial management and operation;

4. sustainability must result from consultation and informed consent by all stakeholders, that may include residents in areas of production, palm oil plantation companies, smallholders, actors along the entire supply chain, consumers, governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations;

5. most observers, from both the industry and outside, would agree that the best companies and smallholders within the palm oil sector are models of sustainability, in terms of economic performance as well as social and environmental responsibility;

6. not all palm oil is being produced sustainably at present, and there is a risk that expansion of oil palm plantations could be running counter to sustainable development in various parts of the world;

7. progress must be made to produce more palm oil sustainably, to make sure that expansion of oil palm plantations will take place on lands that do not have a high conservation value.

B. The Roundtable

The Roundtable will promote the development of a credible definition of
sustainable palm oil production and implementation of practices that
comply with this definition.

Therefore, signatories to this Statement of Intent will:

1. Actively participate in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, which will be working on the following tasks:

• research and development of definitions and criteria for the sustainable
  production of palm oil;

• undertake practical projects designed to facilitate implementation of sustainable best practices;

• development of solutions to practical problems related to the adoption and
  verification of best practices for plantation establishment and management, procurement, trade and logistics;

• acquisition of financial resources from private and public funds to finance projects under the auspices of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil;

• communication of the Roundtable’s work to all stakeholders and to a broader public.

2. Commit themselves to:

• actively and constructively communicate and support the continuation of the
  Roundtable process and the implementation of Roundtable projects;

• develop and implement plans of action to their best ability within their own
  organisations, in accordance with the framework of the Roundtable process, to promote sustainable palm oil production, procurement and consumption;

• operate transparently and inform the Roundtable regularly on plans, activities and results in promoting sustainable palm oil production, procurement and consumption.