Balancing business and societal interests
Dilemma
Contents Foreword Management report Corporate governance Consolidated Financial Statements Company Financial Statements Pillar 3
NGO's such as Milieudefensie ('Environmental Defence')
and Amnesty International aim with concrete action to
protect the rainforest and eradicate child labour. Palm Oil
producers are claimed to cut rainforest to grow palm
oil trees and are said to let children perform the tasks
of producing cheap oil. NGO's are urging Rabobank
to address these issues with clients and they ask us to
take additional actions at a higher pace and with more
effectiveness, including the ultimate consequence being
the ending of the customer relationship.
Following our vision on contribution on sustainable
development we consider it of great importance to be part
of the solution and therefore actively engage with these
clients to understand the complexity and organise change
with all parties in the value chain. However, solving these
complex issues takes considerable amounts of time. In the
meanwhile we invest our retail clients' savings in financing
these firms. How much patience can we have with solving
these complex issues and how much time do we allow
clients to strengthen their policies and practices?
Reaction Amnesty International
The serious labour rights abuses that Amnesty found
on palm oil plantations in Indonesia require immediate
action. We appreciate that Rabobank actively engages
with its clients on these issues, and for Amnesty and the
victims only concrete results count. Though this may not
be easy, but we believe it is necessary and not impossible.
Maximum leverage needs to be built, together with other
investors and buyers. The Banking Agreement on human
rights for instance, also offers opportunities to jointly work
on improving labour conditions in the field.
77
Our output and impact: engaging with stakeholders
