About FONAP

Our Forum is a multi-stakeholder partnership (MAP) consisting of around fifty companies, associations, non-governmental organisations, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Home Affairs (BMLEH) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The secretariat is based at the Global Nature Fund (GNF) in Bonn.

The aim of FONAP e.V. is to promote more environmentally and socially responsible agricultural supply chains with a focus on palm oil. Since its founding in 2015, FONAP has worked for better palm oil cultivation in the countries of origin. This involved increasing the uptake of certified palm oil in food, animal feed and chemical products and considering and applying human rights along the entire supply chain. Companies participated in the multi-stakeholder partnership in order to address challenges such as meeting their human rights due diligence obligations and certification issues, jointly – and not only internally. Our engagement today is devoted primarily to the new regulatory requirements and legislation (such as the EUDR/EU Deforestation Regulation and the LkSG/German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act) as well as testing solution approaches – for example through pilot projects – in the countries of origin. Various formats of participation are open to FONAP members, e.g. exchange in the context of specialist events, involvement in working groups, or voluntary support for a FONAP smallholder project.

Our goals

  • 01

    Create transparency (traceability)

  • 02

    Anchor labour rights and human rights due diligence more firmly

  • 03

    Dialogue – factual, solution-oriented, visible

  • 04

    Promote deforestation-free supply chains (within the framework of the EUDR/Deforestation Regulation)

  • 05

    Pilots and practical tests for the conservation of biodiversity and the restoration of habitats and ecosystems

  • 06

    Strengthen smallholders, for example through increased information exchange and/or pilots and practical tests in selected growing regions

  • 07

    Show visible engagement in producing countries, e.g. through dialogue formats, participation in conferences, roundtables, background discussions

Our approach

To achieve these goals, FONAP pursues various approaches. These include, among others:

  • Implementation and monitoring of a voluntary self-commitment.
  • Development of proposals for the further development and improvement of existing certification systems.
  • Implementation of pilot and test projects with smallholders in producing countries, with the aim of testing methods of more socially responsible palm oil production and ecosystem restoration and, ideally, improving the living conditions of smallholders.
  • Networking with other initiatives, interested companies and non-governmental organisations in Europe to jointly address issues relating to better palm oil cultivation.
  • Preparation and communication of technical and substantive information on topics of a future-proof, resilient palm oil production, on growing conditions in producing countries, on preparation for certification and on the procurement of certified palm oil.
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