People & Communities

Partnership With People

Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are two of the most ethnically diverse countries on the planet and are home to thousands of communities and over 900 living languages (14% of the world’s languages). The Indigenous population is almost entirely Melanesian. Since the 1970s, NBPOL’s philosophy has been to introduce palm oil cultivation in Papua New Guinea to help drive local economic development.

Support Smallholders

About 20% of our FFB is sourced from independent smallholders belonging to collective production schemes – or smallholder blocks (or more commonly known as farms). Over time, we have increased our support to over 17,000 blocks. These smallholders retain legal authority over their land and farming system choices without mandatory or contractual mill obligations. However, these smallholders are functionally tied to our mills due to their geographical location. NBPOL is cognisant of this and places tremendous importance on supporting their livelihoods.

Our strategy encourages the adoption of sustainability certification. We consider RSPO compliance as the minimum purchasing requirement. Since 2012, NBPOL has supported all smallholders with certification to RSPO Principles and Criteria and has since sourced 100% certified FFB from the blocks. NBPOL absorbs any certification costs; these are not charged back to the growers. We also support growers through interest-free loans for tools and fertilisers and provide training and awareness sessions on topics such as agronomy, financial management, health and safety and no-burning techniques.

All our smallholders receive a substantial premium for supplying RSPO-certified fruit because of the increased value of selling fully segregated oil to our markets. We strive to ensure significant premiums that are used to benefit the smallholder community. Smallholder compensation is based on production and is not subject to administrative charges or other deductions.

We always operate a segregated and traceable palm oil low-risk supply chain with all certified smallholders. This means that all existing and newly established smallholder suppliers are compliant with NBPOL and RSPO requirements.

Upholding Land Rights

NBPOL is heavily dependent on communities that control a significant portion of land in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Because most of our land bank is leased to us, we ensure that due process is established and representative of the rightful customary landowners. We do this by:

Harnessing the principles of free, prior and informed consent
Working closely with community members and specifically Incorporated Land Groups (ILGs) to determine how the land is used so they can benefit from our activities.
Keeping communities fully informed and consulting widely, with meaningful discussions on proposed initiatives and potential impacts.
Adopting a participatory approach to determine an integrated land-use plan for any proposed development.
Involving community members in the process of defining boundaries, land use, living space, food security, and conservation.
Having a dedicated lands department at each NBPOL site with officers specialising in landowner requests and queries and resolving disputes.
Assisting the registration of community ILGs.
Supporting landowners with our training programmes. Through a train-the-trainer model, we teach smallholders and landowner groups practical issues such as intercropping, good agricultural practices, and financial literacy.
Having a dedicated procedure to manage landowner grievances.

Community Programmes

Customary rights mean local communities own most of the land we plant on, and we work in close partnership to ensure that the community as a whole benefit from our activities

Loose Fruit Mamas Initiative

The Loose Fruit Mamas (‘Lus Frut Meri’) scheme began in 1997 with an objective that women benefit from their families’ oil-palm blocks. The project involved the introduction of the Mama Card, which enables women (workers, including smallholders and dependants) to be paid directly for their work. Initially trialled with a group of ten females, the scheme has grown to more than 6,000 Mama cardholders benefitting from additional income and directly contributing to their families' welfare. As part of the initiative, trainers organise female empowerment programmes throughout the community. We have made it a mandatory requirement for all participants to complete one day of financial literacy training for each income-generating course they participate in. Related initiatives include the Chicken Revolving Fund, which enables Mama cardholders to raise and sell chickens as an additional income source. The group also raises money through grants and donations that go towards facilities to help women generate income.

Women Empowering Women in West New Britain

Established in 2011, Women Empowering Women (WEW) is an association of like-minded females to encourage robust family settings to empower women and young girls in eliminating all forms of violence against women, children and men. The WEW team conducts long-term impact projects, and programmes focused on community engagement through economic empowerment activities. These include life-skills training and workshops for cooking, flower arrangements, draping, and sewing. Interested women and men are provided with hands-on training, which gives them the ability to earn additional income and supplement their fortnightly pay.

WEW also works with the West New Britain Health Authority to extend female healthcare initiatives. The association also frequently supports the Kimbe Urban Clinic’s general maintenance and refurbishment. The association also produces a bi-monthly newsletter and annual report featuring the latest developments and progress within the WEW community.

WEW began in West New Britain but has since expanded to other sites.

Financial Literacy Training for Smallholders and Landowner Groups

NBPOL has established a ‘train the trainer’ programme to empower smallholders and landowner groups across five of our estates. This covers practical issues such as intercropping and good agricultural practices. The programme also focuses on financial literacy such as budgeting, financial planning, sound financial management and banking. We have made financial literacy manuals available in both English and Pidgin. NBPOL also helps open personal bank accounts for interested ILG members.

See NBPOL Stories for More Community Outreach Programmes and Updates

Employee Rights

Our employees predominantly hail from the countries we operate in, with less than 1% foreign nationals. NBPOL endeavours to uphold the highest standards for a fair and safe workplace. We are guided by the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) core labour standards, which we incorporate into our policies and certification standards. As well as wages, almost all our employees are remunerated with housing, utilities, medical care, schooling, and transport. This allows them to live beyond their basic needs. In addition to a permanent workforce, NBPOL employs apprentices under dedicated schemes. This allows them to qualify for specific trades. We also employ seasonal workers in the high season and for specific projects. Seasonal workers are given accommodation and enjoy the same benefits as permanent workers.

Equal Opportunities

We prohibit all forms of discrimination. Despite significant progress, NBPOL understands that more needs to be done by responsible operators in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands to support and promote gender equality. All our employees, regardless of gender – including the lowest-paid – receive the same pay and benefits. Women are hired throughout our operations, including some heads of department. Gender committees have been established across all our sites to ensure that issues of concern are raised and addressed.

As part of our commitment to gender equality, NBPOL fully advocates for women pursuing traditionally male-dominated careers, such as tractor operators. We also support breastfeeding mothers by conducting awareness activities focusing on hygiene, nutrition, immunisation and family planning. NBPOL has continued developing and implementing Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands initiatives that encourage women to contribute to their welfare. At each site, we foster income-generating local programmes to empower women to harness natural resources.

Gender Violence and Sexual Harassment

We adhere to strict domestic violence policies and extensive awareness activities to ensure that employees and dependents understand our zero-tolerance policy and are aware of the process for reporting violations. We also reach out to communities and encourage them to collaborate in violence prevention initiatives.

The NBPOL Women Empowering Women initiative is actively engaged in the Against Violence working group of the Business Coalition for Women (BCFW), which provides insight and recommendations to BCFW regarding its programmes and activities within Papua New Guinea. Two of the most successful working group initiatives have been the Gender Smart Safety Toolkit and the Gender Smart Audit. NBPOL was the first agriculture sector company to participate. The Gender Smart Safety audit is conducted annually in WNB and will be extended to other sites. NBPOL recognises that sexual harassment exists within the workplace and broader society. We strive to create a working environment and have zero tolerance for sexual harassment and abuse. We understand that violence should never be an excuse for mitigating issues or conflict.

Health & Safety

Safeguarding the health and safety of our employees has always been a top NBPOL priority. Our occupational health and safety reporting aligns with the SD Guthrie Berhad group. Employees are given free personal protective equipment and training on how to use it. NBPOL also conducts regular job-related health and safety training and corrective action plans to migrate associated incidents. NBPOL continuously develops and reviews occupational safety and health (OSH) improvement initiatives to minimise accident occurrences, identify root causes and implement corrective measures.

Community Health

NBPOL ensures communities surrounding our operations have access to basic healthcare facilities. Given that there is no functioning public healthcare available throughout much of our operations, our clinics and aid posts are crucial in ensuring that employees, their families and the wider communities have access to a reasonable level of healthcare.

Our clinics provide emergency assistance and a wide range of general services. Every plantation has an on-site clinic, including our mills, where employees and dependents can take advantage of check-ups and receive treatment. Aid posts are supported by the NBPOL Foundation and centrally located in remote areas to ensure access for multiple communities.

HIV/AIDS

Per the Papua New Guinea government’s national HIV/AIDS policy, NBPOL shares the same level of concern over the safety and welfare of our employees and families. Cognisant that HIV/AIDS could impact a healthy workforce, NBPOL has developed and implement measures against a dedicated HIV/AIDS policy to help protect our employees and their families. We also provide counselling and protect infected employees from workplace discrimination.

We strive to ensure a consistent and equitable HIV/AIDS prevention approach for NBPOL employees and their families. We also manage the consequences, including care and support for workers living with HIV/AIDS. NBPOL is also a member of the National Aids Council in Papua New Guinea.

COVID Support

At NBPOL, we continuously implement measures and proactive steps to protect employees well being. Although we hope that the relatively low impact to our employees continues, we are taking extreme care to prevent community outbreaks by following strict safety measures and actively testing close contacts of any confirmed positive cases. Since the pandemic began, NBPOL has:

Established dedicated teams at Group and site-level.
Issued and implemented procedural documents.
Conducted awareness programmes for all employees.
Provided financial support for clinics and health authorities.
Provided infrastructure support.

Stakeholder & Partnership

Memberships & Associations

NBPOL has served several terms as a member of the RSPO Board of Governors and remains deeply committed. We are members of numerous leading collaborations and associations in the palm oil sector and national sectoral policy, sharing best practices with leading and promising organisations. Due to our long-standing presence in Papua New Guinea, we have representation across multiple industry-specific associations and platforms in the country.

Employers Federation of Papua New Guinea (EFPNG)

Institute of National Affairs (INA)

Papua New Guinea Palm Oil Platform (PNG POP)

Papua New Guinea Oil Palm Research Association (PNGOPRA)

RSPO

Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholder Group	Theme	NBPOL's Engagement	Frequency
Employees	Health and safety	Conducting safety campaigns and training	Weekly
	Social Welfare	Social awareness programmes, gender-based violence awareness and support programmes, child labour awareness programmes, social impact registers	At least annually
	Supporting livelihoods	Providing gardening space and tools to resident workers, constructing marketplaces, providing facilities for fishponds and chicken farms; engaging with the government in food security programmes	At least annually
	Financial literacy and empowerment	Providing financial literacy and income management training, savings and superannuation accounts for smallholders; providing a Mama Card system for smallholders	At least annually
	Environmental restoration (protecting buffer zones, enhancing mangroves, shoreline rehabilitation)	Conducting awareness drives and outreach programmes; monitoring and enforcement	Monthly
Customers	Market standards and customer policies	Conducting briefings and site visits	At least annually
Customers	Market standards and customer policies	Maintaining ongoing dialogue	At least annually
NGOs	Collaborations on best practice sharing, certification standards	Conducting briefings and site visits	At least annually
NGOs		Maintaining ongoing dialogue	Monthly
Smallholders, landowners, and communities	Socialisation of standards and best practice	Implementation of farm field days; briefings and site visits; auditing against standards	At least annually
	Environmental restoration (protecting buffer zones, enhancing mangroves, shoreline rehabilitation)	Conducting awareness drives and outreach programmes	At least annually
	Safeguard community lands and ownership	Ensuring free, prior and informed consent (FPIC); undertaking community needs assessments and participatory processes	At least annually
		Assisting registration of Incorporated Landowner Groups (ILGs)	When required
		Ensuring the presence of special lands officers dedicated to communities' land matters	When required
		Supporting customary landowners to comply with the Papua New Guinea government on customary land laws	When required
		Developing and implementing land usage agreements	When required
	Female empowerment and financial literacy	Providing support services for victims of domestic violence and child abuse	At least annually
		Delivering gender-oriented programmes and workshops	At least annually
		Providing financial literacy and income management training	At least annually
		Assisting in women's leadership training	At least annually
		Providing a Mama Card system	When required
	Supporting livelihoods	Implementing programmes on the best management of oil palm blocks for smallholders	Monthly
		Providing credit to and sharing sustainability premiums with smallholders	Once a year
		Providing loans for chicken farming	When required
	Education and literacy	Managing book donation programmes; building classrooms	When required
	Community health	Providing access to clinics and free medical care, coordinating family planning programmes, coordinating workshops on food and personal hygiene	When required
Government and regulators	Collaborations on empowering outgrowers and community welfare, certification standards	Maintaining close cooperation with the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), Department of Labour and Industrial Relations, Climate Change and Development Authority and Department of Lands and Physical Planning	Monthly
Government and regulators	Land and legality issues	Participating in land forums	Biannually
Industry associations	Collaborations on best practice sharing, certification standards, and national sectoral policy	Conducting briefings and site visits	When required
Industry associations		Membership of the Papua New Guinea Oil Palm Research Association, the Papua New Guinea Palm Oil Platform, the Palm Oil Producers Association, and the Rural Industries Council	When required
Media	Sharing events, responding to media queries	Conducting briefings and site visits	When required
Universities	Collaborations on best practice sharing and certification standards	Conducting briefings and site visits	When required
Multi-stakeholder organisations	Sustainable palm oil production	RSPO membership	As and when required
Multi-stakeholder organisations	Sustainability performance	Palm Oil Network Switzerland	As and when required