InfoSAWIT, BEIJING – Sustainability efforts in western countries happened for the consumers’ urgency while in China, sustainability shifts happened for the policy and investors’ pressure. In 2020, President Xi Jinping promised that the country as the biggest polluter country in the world will hit the emission peak in 2030 and carbon neutralization in 2060. In last year – agreement, China and the United States of America agreed to cooperate and stop the forest losses.
The exchange regulation in the domestic that might a company to reveal about environment, social and governance (ESG) information in 2026, added more pressures for the companies in China. Besides, European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) would also multiply the pressure, as many analysts mentioned.
Mengniu, in 2023 was committed to realize zero deforestation supply chain in 2030 and would join Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) this year. The Yili company targeted the same to get soyoil, crude palm oil, pulp and paper, and plan to escalate palm oil purchase in RSPO certification to be 50 metric tons that starts in 2024 until 650 metric tons in 2030.
One palm oil producer in Indonesia revealed that palm oil trade to China would be in higher standards. “The country now pays attention to sustainability aspects, not like the past when price was the issue,” he said as InfoSAWIT quoted from thepigsite.com.
COFCO also got targets in 2025 to get zero deforestation from soyoil in ecology sensitive – regions in Latin America, including, Amazon. They got the plans to get sustainable palm oil and coffee supply chain. In January, COFCO International signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Shengmu Organic Milk Ltd. To supply 12.000 tons of free deforestation - soyoil from Brazil and the volume in the MoU would be escalating in phase.
Chief of China RSPO, Fang Lifeng said that certified palm oil demands in the country were dominted by multi-national – companies, such as, L'Oreal and Unilever, but now the demands (imports) are from the local companies. The demands just covered up smaller parts of the imports in the country. Last year, the imports reached 4,3 million tons of palm oil and 99,4 million tons of soyoil.
Costs become the main issue. Free deforestation soyoil could be reaching at US$ US$ 2 to US$ 10 or more per ton while RSPO palm oil could be more than US$ 15 per ton.
A trader in Singapore of international scale – company that operates soyoil mill in China said the volume would not be more than 1% of the total imports. “We did not see the increasing volume significantly,” he said and continued that the pressure from trade capital would help to procure sustainable products.
Sustainability shift in China showed the real change to get more environmental purchase. Even though the challenges are ahead, namely about fee, policy and investors’ pressure would significantly play the role to encourage the country heading to more sustainable future. (T2)
