ALTERNATE BOARD MEMBER
Name Of Organisation: Univanich Palm Oil Public Company Limited
Membership Number: 100740900000
Name Of Nominee: John Clendon
Position In The Organisation: Director
Summary of Nominee Profile
John Clendon is a New Zealander whose overseas career began as an advisor to small-holder and communal farm development schemes in the Solomon Islands , under the NZ Government's bi-lateral aid programme in the western Pacific.
In 1980 John joined the Unilever Plantations and Plant Science Group and for the next 18 years was employed in various management positions including Director of Unilever's Oil Palm Operations in East Asia, Chairman and Managing Director of Unipalmol Malaysia Sdn Bhd and director of Unifield PLC in the UK.
Summary of Organisation Profile
Univanich has been an initiator of the oil palm sustainability movement in Thailand. This has included the pioneering development of methane biogas capture for the generation of renewable energy at the company's five palm oil factories and an industry leading programme of employee housing and social facilities.
The company has also promoted advanced R&D at the Univanich Oil Palm Research Centre where development of drought tolerant hybrid seeds and oil palm tissue culture has made it possible for Thailand's farmers to achieve competitive crop yields in a region where marked dry seasons and soil moisture deficits were serious limiting factors for successful oil palm cultivation.
In 2012 the Univanich-Plaipraya Community Enterprise Group became the world's first group of Independent Smallholders to achieve RSPO certification. During the past decade this pioneering group has been an ongoing example of successful collaboration between a nucleus small company, independent small farmers and the RSPO.
ALTERNATE BOARD MEMBER
Name Of Organisation: Olam Group Limited
Membership Number: 103792200000
Name Of Nominee: Quentin Meunier
Position In The Organisation: Vice-President in charge of Sustainable Development - Olam Gabon Plantations
Summary of Nominee Profile
VP, Head of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Olam Gabon – Plantations
Quentin Meunier has a Master Degree on tropical ecosystems management and specialized in botany and agroforestry. He has been working in Africa for nearly 20 years and joined Olam on August 2015 in the department that he is today heading.
Domains of expertise developed in Olam are related to environmental and social standards compliance (ESIA, HCV, HCS, FPIC), certification (RSPO), OHS and technical partnerships with scientific institutions and NGOs.
Prior to this, Quentin worked on topics related to sustainable use of natural resources and rural development. In Gabon since 2010, he was particularly involved on social forestry and community forests. He wrote several books dedicated to the socio-economic and environmental values of African trees, the latest being the guidebook entitled “Les Arbres Utiles du Gabon” (Useful trees of Gabon) in 2015, which has become a reference in the country.
Summary of Organisation Profile
Olam is a leading food and agri-business, supplying food ingredients, feed and fibre to thousands of customers worldwide, from world famous brands to small family run businesses. Company's value chain spans over 60 countries, from growing crops in owned orchards and estates, to sourcing from a global network of farmers. Olam operates over 75 large processing and manufacturing facilities and employes more than 80 000 people worldwide.
Name Of Organisation: Daabon Group