"Labor Abuses Still Exist at Indofood Plantations: Report", 4 December 2017

…Rainforest Action Network, or RAN…called for reforms at Indonesian food giant Indofood, as a new report details ongoing worker exploitation, poverty-level wages and hazardous work conditions at "sustainable"-certified plantations owned and operated by the company.

The report – entitled "The Human Cost of Conflict Palm Oil Revisited: How PepsiCo, Banks, and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Perpetuate Indofood’s Worker Exploitation"….

RAN…said their research was conducted at three plantations…ocated in North Sumatra and are operated by Indofood subsidiary London Sumatra Indonesia (Lonsum).

"London Sumatra is compliant with labor regulations in Indonesia…." said Endah Madnawidjaja, London Sumatra corporate secretary and head of legal affairs.

These labor abuses are documented on plantations that have been certified as "sustainable" by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)….

Indofood is one of the largest palm oil growers in the world, and the biggest food company in Indonesia.

The food giant has a joint venture partnership with PepsiCo, one of the leading global food and beverage companies….

Eric Gottwald, legal and policy director at ILRF, called on PepsiCo to "do better."

"PepsiCo prides itself on setting high sustainability goals, but can it truly say that labor abuses are ‘sustainable’?" Gottwald said.

PepsiCo has made commitments to source 100 percent physically certified sustainable palm oil by 2020.