POSCO International has issued an eco-friendly declaration five years after a controversy arose over its palm oil farm project in Indonesia destroying rainforests. This means that the company has taken an active measure to cope with the growing emphasis on social responsibility investments such as environmental protection.
POSCO International declared on March 1 its "NDPE (No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation)" policy for the palm oil project. The NDPE policy means to produce palm oil without forest destruction, destruction of peatlands or exploitation of residents.
Wilmar, the world's largest palm oil distributor, adopted it for the first time in 2013. Critics say that palm farms destroy tropical forests on a large scale. They also pointed out that the burning of rainforests and transplanting palms have a negative impact on the lives of indigenous people.
POSCO International is the first Korean company to declare that it will follow the NDPE policy, a company official said, adding that it has taken a step forward from the existing NDPE policy in terms of environmental preservation and management.
POSCO International pledged to develop and implement programs to protect forests corresponding to the area of the farm developed. The company will ban the development of high-preservation value zones, high-carbon, storage areas and peatlands and continue making efforts to reduce greenhouse and pollutant emissions.
“To protect and respect human rights, the protection of the rights of local communities and workers in line with international standards will be the top priority. We will focus on guaranteeing human rights for the elderly and strengthen win-win programs for economic independence of the local community and job creation,” the official said.
POSCO International entered the related business in 2011 when it acquired an oil palm farm.
