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A harvested rice field, California, United States
Our Ingredients businesses source agricultural commodities that are linked with potential risks related to deforestation and biodiversity loss, such as palm oil. AB Mauri and ABFI’s purchasing practices are informed by awareness of these risks, and both will be directly and indirectly impacted by the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
AB Mauri has identified palm oil as a high-risk commodity due to its association with deforestation. As part of the Group membership of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the business is committed to sourcing palm oil that is physically certified to RSPO standards. Where possible, AB Mauri will purchase RSPO-certified palm oil from local markets. However, in instances where certified palm oil is unavailable, the company will acquire RSPO credits. These credits are purchased through AB Mauri's sourcing partner AchieveNow which maintains direct relationships with RSPO-certified producers globally and conducts due diligence. More than 95% of the palm oil purchased by AB Mauri UK and Ireland business is physically certified to RSPO standards.
AB Mauri’s UK and Ireland business operates to the standards set out in its responsible soya sourcing policy and is a signatory to the UK Soy Manifesto, an industry commitment to ensuring all soy entering the UK is deforestation and conversion-free by 2025. The policy includes commitments to sourcing deforestation and conversion-free, non-GMO, fully traceable soy, requiring direct suppliers to adopt and cascade the same commitment, and integrating these requirements into supplier contracts. More than 99% of the business’s soy products were sourced from a soy crop grown in Canada for the calendar year 2023, which can be traced and verified as deforestation and conversion-free. The business submits a progress report to the UK Soy Manifesto detailing progress against the Manifesto commitments on an annual basis.
AB Mauri is aligning its operations with the objectives of the upcoming EUDR to minimise the risk of contributing to deforestation or forest degradation. The business is currently mapping its products and inputs against the regulation’s requirements and is engaging with suppliers to address them.
Some of ABFI’s businesses utilise Sphera Risk, an online risk management procurement tool to evaluate the environmental risk associated with the materials they purchase and the locations they source from in their supply chains.
ABFI is aware of the risk of deforestation associated with global palm oil supply chains. To mitigate this risk, AB Enzymes considers alternative materials to eliminate its dependency on palm, while ABITEC, which sources a limited quantity of palm-related raw materials, has been using RSPO-certified palm oil ingredients under a mass balance supply chain model since 2016.
Another ABFI business, PGP International, procures rice and rice flour from California and the southern states of the US. The business participates in the USA Rice Millers’ Association, an organisation advocating for environmental responsibility, biodiversity preservation, and conservation efforts as a part of the USA Rice Group.
