Wilmar International : Ranks Top in Children's Rights Protection in Global Child Forum Report

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News Release

Wilmar Ranks Top in Children's Rights Protection in Global Child Forum Report

Sandakan, 8 November 2018 - An independent report, published by the Global Child Forum, on the protection of children's rights in South East Asia has assessed Wilmar International Limited

(Wilmar) as the best performing company in the region for its corporate responses in three impact areas; Workplace, Marketplace as well as Community and Environment.

Wilmar scored 8.74 out of a maximum of 10 points in the report titled"Corporate Responses toProtecting Children's Rights in Southeast Asia" published in September 2018. Wilmar was commended for itsChild Protection Policy which it launched in November 2017 that goes beyond a conventional policy against child labour, with the Global Child Forum noting that the policy includes a remediation plan should incidences of child labour surface in Wilmar's or its suppliers' operations. The report further highlights Wilmar's efforts in providing various facilities and other benefits for their workers' children, including establishing schools at many of their production sites.

The Global Child Forum is a non-profit foundation initiated in 2009 by the Swedish royal family as an independent platform for informed dialogues on children's rights. It gathers leaders from governments, private sector, academia and civil societies to promote cross-sector partnerships as well as to promote the sharing of knowledge and best practices in its efforts to achieve and strengthen children's rights.

According to Perpetua George, Group Sustainability General Manager for Wilmar, "We are honoured that our work in safeguarding the rights of children was highlighted in this report. More importantly, the report acknowledges our journey towards transparency, with Wilmar being among the very few companies to report transparently on grievances against us, provide progress updates for each case and publish this information on our website."

"The report also highlights the steps Wilmar has taken to review and improve our labour practices, having identified and prevented exploitative practices apart from establishing areas of improvement.

As the world's largest palm oil processor and merchandiser, Wilmar continues to be committed to sustainability, which includes protecting the rights of our workers as well as that of their children."

"We are fully aware that we are far from perfect and that our sustainability endeavours are an ongoing process with much room for improvement, especially in protecting children's rights. However, acknowledgements like this are encouraging and reaffirming that we are on the right track. We will persevere with our efforts, despite the many challenges we often face," Perpetua said.

Wilmar has been closely engaging with its workers and external parties over the years to gain a better understanding on the needs of women and children at its operations in order to formulate specific policies to protect their rights. Apart from the Child Protection Policy, Wilmar also has in place policies relating to equal opportunities and sexual harassment, in line with its objectives of respecting and empowering its workforce. These policies form a critical component of Wilmar's overall sustainability commitments and efforts.

These policies by Wilmar are aligned with and guided by international standards such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, International Labour Organization conventions, the United Nations Global Compact, the UK Modern Slavery Act as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its covenants.

Wilmar also formed the Women and Children Committee in 2008, which has been instrumental in developing action policies on women and children while ensuring that these are understood and internalised among its workers.

Perpetua further added, "The Women and Children Committee acts as a platform for honest, open and transparent discussion on issues involving women and children at its Malaysian operations, with health and safety being the key aspects that are advocated, apart from childcare and education."

"Neglecting a child by not meeting his or her education, health and nutrition needs is also a form of abuse. We have raised awareness on this among our workers to ensure they do not unintentionally violate the rights of their own children," she continued.

Wilmar's Women and Children Committee is stepping up its efforts to improve crèche health and safety conditions while also overseeing and ensuring that the 45 crèches located in Sabah and Sarawak are up to standard on health and safety and caregivers are well-trained and aware of their roles and responsibilities.

Primary school children in Wilmar funded school within our North Sumatra Plantations.

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CAPTIONS:

Report1: Wilmar International Limited (Wilmar) Group Sustainability General Manager Perpetua George said acknowledgements such as the one in the Global Child Forum report reaffirms the company is on the right track in terms of its sustainability work which includes protecting the rights of workers and their children.

Report2 and Report3: Wilmar's Child Protection Policy ensures that the needs of children of workers, such as schooling, are given priority and for grievances to be addressed.

Report4: Wilmar's Women and Children Committee set up in 2008 is instrumental in ensuring the needs of children such as education, health and nutrition are met.

ABOUT WILMAR'S SUSTAINABILITY

As a leading agribusiness group, Wilmar recognizes that we have a fundamental role to play in developing quality products required by the world while ensuring we have a responsible and sustainable manner of production. We adopt a holistic approach to sustainability that is fully integrated with our business model.

Guided by the philosophy that our business must enhance stakeholder value while minimizing our environmental footprint, our business practices are aligned with universally acceptable social and environmental standards. Wilmar'sNo Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) Policy underpins our aspiration to make a positive impact and drive transformation across the palm oil industry.

For more information, please visitwww.wilmar-international.com/sustainability.

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