On 2 November 2025, Inovasi Digital hosted “Pathways to NDPE Market Access: Protecting Forests, Restoring Value”, a side event held in Kuala Lumpur to bring together key players across the palm oil supply chain. The session offered an in-depth exploration of the evolving landscape of NDPE (No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation) compliance, particularly around one of the sector’s most pressing issues today: supplier recovery and re-entry into NDPE-compliant markets.
The event aimed to unpack the industry’s collective journey toward credible, transparent, and scalable re-entry processes — not just as a compliance requirement, but as a transformative pathway toward restoring value across the supply chain.
Opening Insights: The State of NDPE Re-Entry Protocols
The session began with a presentation from Earthqualizer, which shared its latest research comparing NDPE re-entry and remedy protocols across nine major processors and traders. Using Earthqualizer’s 10 benchmark criteria — rooted in the original Sundaland outcomes and free from corporate influence — the study examined how companies define, implement, and evaluate recovery requirements.
The findings revealed a growing convergence in how the industry approaches re-entry. Many processors were shown to be aligned with core criteria related to commitments, policies, and monitoring, while traders placed greater emphasis on concrete evidence of remedy implementation.
However, the research also highlighted persistent gaps, especially around public disclosure, liability mapping, and consistent reporting frameworks, underscoring the continued need for harmonization.
Panel Discussion: Re-Entry Across Industry Perspectives
The heart of the event was a dynamic panel discussion moderated by Adrian Choo (Inovasi Digital), featuring representatives from across the supply chain:
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Andi Amin (Bumitama Agri Ltd.)
Shared hands-on learnings from RSPO-recognised remediation projects and the importance of long-term commitment to recovery.
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Eka Dana Prabowo (Golden Agri Resources)
Highlighted the processor’s unique role in ensuring policy alignment and close engagement with suspended suppliers.
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Wong Pitt Onn (Bunge Loders Croklaan)
Offered insights into how global traders navigate monitoring, accountability, and verification of NDPE compliance.
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Gullit Suwanto (Unilever)
Reflected on Unilever’s active NDPE supplier re-entry programme, supported by Earthqualizer, and the progress achieved through rigorous follow-up and collaboration.
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Andrew Ng (Inovasi Digital/Earthqualizer)
Emphasized the vital role of service providers in advancing industry-wide readiness, from monitoring systems to recovery plan assessments.
Together, the panel unpacked the realities of NDPE re-entry: its challenges, its technical demands, and its strategic importance for companies that aim to maintain access to global markets increasingly shaped by deforestation-free expectations.
Key Themes from the Discussion
1. NDPE Re-Entry Is Complex — But Necessary
Across the supply chain, participants agreed that re-entry is not merely an administrative process. It requires robust evidence, time-bound remedy plans, transparent reporting, and meaningful engagement with stakeholders, including affected communities.
2. Harmonization Is Essential for Credibility
Earthqualizer’s comparative analysis showed that although many companies share similar intentions, terminology and expectations differ widely. These inconsistencies impact transparency, supplier clarity, and tracking progress at an industry level.
A harmonized approach, participants discussed, would support:
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more credible monitoring of suspended suppliers
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clearer requirements for re-entry
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strengthened confidence among buyers, traders, and NGOs
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reduced confusion in cross-border supply chains
3. Leakage Markets Continue to Undermine Progress
Inovasi Digital also presented new analysis of more than 1,700 palm oil groups across Indonesia, Malaysia, and PNG, identifying at least 300 groups with NDPE-based liabilities that continue to contribute to over 54% of total production. This reinforces that the leakage market remains a serious concern and that recovery frameworks must be designed for scale, not limited to a few high-profile cases.
4. Collaboration Is the Only Way Forward
Industry-wide recovery and re-entry efforts require shared responsibility. Processors, traders, consumer goods companies, and service providers all play a role in establishing and enforcing expectations. Transparent communication and consistent follow-up emerged as crucial success factors.
Participant Engagement: Challenges, Opportunities, and Solutions
In the final session, participants engaged in an open discussion, reflecting on challenges and offering practical suggestions to unlock the remedy and re-entry segment.
Key reflections included:
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the need for clearer definitions of “sufficient evidence”
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alignment on monitoring frameworks used during suspension periods
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the importance of traceability to detect and prevent leakage supply routes
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the role of digital verification, spatial intelligence, and independent assessments
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the opportunity to build shared systems or platforms to track re-entry progress
The conversation highlighted a strong industry appetite for innovation and cross-sector collaboration to ensure that re-entry programs are both credible and scalable.
A Shared Path Toward Restoration and Market Access
The event demonstrated that NDPE re-entry is gaining momentum across the supply chain — not only as a compliance obligation, but as a meaningful pathway to remedy past harm, strengthen supplier inclusion, and secure long-term market access, particularly in the context of rising global expectations such as EUDR.
We are committed to advancing data transparency, independent verification, responsible recovery, and NDPE-aligned market transformation. This event is part of our broader mission to support solutions that protect forests and restore value for businesses, communities, and the environment.
We extend our sincere appreciation to all panelists, partners, and participants for their openness and substantive contributions. We look forward to continuing this collaboration and building stronger, more resilient supply-chain systems together.
For collaboration opportunities or inquiries, please contact us at: [email protected]
