Shareholders should also note the letter and attached appendices, in which the company provides an explanation of Resolutions 5 and 6 set out in the Notice convening the AGM, which is being submitted to shareholders in connection with the proposed introduction of a new executive incentive structure know as the New Britain Palm Oil Limited Long-Term Incentive Plan.

Notice of AGM 2012 (47)
Letter from the Chair of the Remuneration Committee May 2012 (58)

NBPOL has created these ‘partner reports’ to underline the Group’s commitment to sustainability. The reports cover all of NBPOL’s global operations, including the three plantation sites in Papua New Guinea acquired in 2010, as well as the New Britain Oils palm oil refinery in Liverpool, UK.

Highlights from the reports include:

• Record-breaking financial performance – 110% increase in profits and 69% increase in revenues
• Pioneering development of a fully traceable supply chain for RSPO certified sustainable palm oil
• World’s first carbon footprint report of refined palm oil products
• Successful RSPO certification of four plantations and almost 10,000 smallholders in PNG and Solomon Islands
• Strengthening of the Group’s corporate governance through a new risk management framework
• Phase-out of the herbicide Paraquat by 2012
• Stakeholder commentaries from global brands, investment professionals, NGOs and smallholders

Nick Thompson, Chief Executive of New Britain Palm Oil Limited, commented:

‘This year, New Britain Palm Oil takes a further step in demonstrating how our sustainable business practices continue to create shared value for our investors and customers and wider stakeholders over the longer term.

I am particularly pleased with the successes achieved in supporting smallholders around our plantations, as well as our progress in developing a comprehensive carbon reduction strategy. We know that EU customers increasingly look for such credentials and progress, and I believe that our achievements will drive further the growth of our business, delivering greater volumes of high quality, traceable, sustainable palm oil and stearin for customers in the UK and Europe at truly affordable prices.

By integrating our disclosures, we are strengthening our transparency to all stakeholders and underlining that sustainability and accountability is embedded in our business.’

Download the reports:

NBPOL Annual Report 2011

NBPOL Sustainability Report 2010-11

Antonio Monteiro De Castro, Chairman of New Britain Palm Oil Limited, commented:

“The Group has enjoyed continued success over the past year with record palm oil production and profitability. We have continued to invest in and expand our downstream refining and fractionation capacity and we are now seeing these investments deliver operational as well as financial benefits to the Group.

Production of crude palm oil rose by 24% to a record 551,657 tonnes at an extraction rate of 22.8% versus 22.4% last year. Overall, the Group processed 2.42 million tonnes of oil palm fruit in 2011, representing a 22% increment over 2010.

The Board is pleased with the continued expansion and strengthening of New Britain Palm Oil Limited’s operations and we remain well positioned to deliver further profitable growth. The robust fundamentals of the industry, together with the increasing demand for high quality, traceable and certified sustainable palm oil provide confidence for a strong future for the Group.”

For a recording of the announcement presentation, click on image:

Download Investor Presentation February 2009 (258)

Go to full announcement

The data and methodology presented forms the basis towards delivering on its ‘zero net carbon emissions’ commitment. This commitment is an extension of NBPOL’s significant efforts towards reducing its impact on climate change and global warming. Previous initiatives go back to 1969, where NBPOL adopted a “no burn policy” for new developments, and includes a 2002 commitment to reducing all emissions, including greenhouse gases, as well as a “no planting on peat” policy in 2010.

Work on this report was initiated in 2009. It is based on data from the Group’s largest site in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea as well as its New Britain Oils Refinery in Liverpool, UK (New Britain Oils). The report is the first phase of NBPOL’s target to account for the Group’s carbon footprint in its entirety by 2013.

Download the full report here NBPOL Carbon Footprint Report 2011 (795)

NBPOL believes that it is possible for global business to operate in a manner which grows a healthy global business based on accountability, transparency and ethics. This document sets out these business values and practices as a matter of Company policy to be followed by all directors and employees.

Download policy: NBPOL Business Ethics Policy 2011 (121)

Download Circular January 9 (211)

The WEF said it showed that global “green” businesses were not the only ones with sustainability credentials.

Describing NBPOL, the report says that “the company has developed new ways to engage small farmers, who provide one-third of the company’s supply. These close ties have not only helped to reduce poverty, but also enabled the company to develop one of the world’s first fully traceable palm oil supply chains.”

NBPOL’s Global Sustainability Director, Dr Simon Lord is quoted in report: “Traceability is the biggest issue now,” explains Lord. “You want to be able to trace your supply to a particular plantation and know that there are assurances in place that the plantation is a sustainable operation.”

Click here for the full story on BBC News

See the New Sustainability Champions video here

Download the full report WEF GGC Sustainability Champions 2011 (142)

Download New Britain Palm Oil Human Rights Policy (338)

The palm oil will be available from Wilmar’s refinery in Brake, Germany in a whole range of products in 100% segregated sustainable format from mid-2012. Until that time it will be available in mass balance form and fully segregated for some of the quantity, this is mainly due to existing customer contracts. The refinery in Brake has a full capacity of approximately 700,000 tonnes per annum of which 300,000 will be dedicated to palm oil supplied from NBPOL’s estates.

For the full press release go to http://otp.investis.com/clients/uk/new_britain_palm_oil/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=119&newsid=203177

NBPOL’s operations in West New Britain and Ramu inclusive of smallholders already achieved RSPO certification in September 2008 and August 2010 respectively. NBPOL has also given a firm commitment to have all its remaining units and supply chains at its three plantations acquired in April 2010 with the acquisition of Kula Palm Oil Limited (“KPOL”), up to certification standard and audited by the end of 2012. NBPOL was one of the first companies to be RSPO certified and was the first producer of palm oil to achieve this standard for smallholders.

NBPOL delivers high quality, 100% certified sustainable palm oil fully segregated and traceable from seed to finished product to its customers in the UK and Europe from its UK refinery in Liverpool. Key sales contracts have already been signed with customers including Ferrero Group, United Biscuits, Jordans, Bako, Nortech and Olympic Foods, driven partly by NBPOL’s sustainability and traceability credentials.

NBPOL will also deliver bakery and foodservice products in which the palm oil components only come from certified sustainable sources when its new processing facility at its Liverpool palm oil refinery comes on stream in spring 2012. These products will be made from sustainable palm oil and stearin at competitive prices – tackling head on the claim from some of the existing bakery fats suppliers that these products are too hard to source in an affordable way. The new facility, which recently gained planning permission, will have the capability of meeting a significant percentage of the UK bakery and foodservice sector demand. All of the UK’s major retailers have previously announced their intention to convert all palm based products to segregated, certified sustainable by 2015 and together these facilities will bring that reality significantly closer.

The RSPO’s global sustainability standard defines how sustainable palm oil should be grown and verified and an assurance mechanism for traceability throughout the entire supply chain. NBPOL’s RSPO certification underlines the Company’s full compliance with strict social, environmental and economic criteria. This demonstrates that NBPOL is wholly committed to sustainability and it is a strong endorsement of the quality of the management and operations of the Company.

RSPO certification is important not just for the Company’s own operations but also for the palm oil produced by NBPOL’s smallholders, which account for approximately one third of its total palm oil production.

Nick Thompson, Chief Executive of New Britain Palm Oil Limited, commented:

“RSPO certification of NBPOL’s estates in the Solomon Islands is a significant achievement for the business and places NBPOL at the forefront of providing an even greater volume of high quality, traceable, sustainable palm oil and stearin for our customers in the UK and Europe at truly affordable prices.

NBPOL’s sustainability credentials are increasingly demanded by our European customer base and are also beginning to differentiate our product, trends we believe will continue to grow. The UK market is beginning to recognise that responsible production of palm oil matters and is willing to buy it from known RSPO certified sources.”

For further information contact:

New Britain Palm Oil Limited

Nick Thompson

Alan Chaytor

 
 Tel: +44 (0)20 7074 1800
 
Kreab Gavin Anderson (PR Adviser)

James Benjamin

Helen MacBain

Anthony Hughes

 
 Tel: +44 (0)20 7074 1800
Email: nbpol@kreabgavinanderson.com   
 

Website: www.nbpol.com.pg

Notes to editors

NBPOL is a large scale integrated industrial producer of sustainable palm oil in Australasia, headquartered in Papua New Guinea (PNG). It now has over 75,000 hectares of planted oil palm plantations, a further 5,000 hectares under preparation for oil palm, over 8,000 hectares of sugar cane and a further 9,500 hectares of grazing pasture, (some of which will be converted to oil palm); eleven oil mills; two refineries, one in PNG, and one in Liverpool, UK; and a seed production and plant breeding facility.  The Company is quoted on both the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and on the Port Moresby Stock Exchange in PNG.

NBPOL is fully vertically integrated, producing its own seed (which it also sells globally) and planting, cultivating and harvesting its own land and processing and refining palm oil (both in PNG and the UK). It also contracts directly with its end customers in the EU and arranges shipping of its products.

NBPOL has high regard for the importance of its sustainability credentials and is active in proving its performance through its certification to ISO 14001 and its close involvement and support of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The Company is a certified supplier of sustainable palm oil from the entire production base in West New Britain Province, and at Ramu in  PNG and , under the RSPO guidelines.

Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil

The multi-stakeholder Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil was formally established in 2003 to promote the production, procurement and use of sustainable palm oil. To meet this vision, the RSPO has developed a global sustainability standard which defines how sustainable palm oil should be grown and verified and an assurance mechanism for traceability throughout the supply chain. Together, these measures represent the first ever sustainable commodity standard and in essence provide assurances on both the performance of a company and the product it delivers.

The final version of the standard appeared in 2007 and defined sustainable palm oil through a series of principles and criteria.  For each criterion a set of performance indicators are attached. Compliance with the standard is measured against these indicators by third party auditors who are independent of both the producer and RSPO. Meeting the requirement of this robust standard is demanding. The 8 principles and 39 criteria cover the breath of sustainability with over 100 performance indicators detailing compliance with social, environmental and economic issues. The verification audits required to demonstrate compliance are equally exacting requiring a team of auditor with defined competencies physically checking the evidence of compliance over the company’s entire operations.

Website: www.rspo.org