Integrating voluntary sustainability commitments with an evolving regulatory framework represents a fundamental challenge for the sector today. Against this backdrop, Unigrà shared its strategy for responding to European regulations covering both actions already underway and future objectives during the webinar held on May 18th entitled “From Voluntary Sustainability to EUDR Compliance and Beyond: Evolution and Prospects of the Sustainable Palm Oil Supply Chain.” The event, organised by UIOPS, RSPO and Trusty as part of the Sustainable Development Festival 2026 promoted by ASviS, was attended by Marcello Valenti, Sustainability Responsible at Unigrà.
Actions already in place
“We have been working on palm oil supply chain sustainability for some time,” explains Valenti. “We have been RSPO members since 2007, and before the EUDR we were already committed to 100% traceability of palm oil mills.” Also on the traceability front, since 2023 Unigrà has been using a satellite monitoring system across its supply chain to detect real-time changes to forest cover, the system is updated whenever a source or supplier changes. “Our goal,” states Unigrà’s Sustainability Responsible, “is to increase the share of palm oil purchased under the ‘Delivering’ category of the NDPE-IRF rating system from the current 85% to 100%.”
The Implementation Reporting Framework is an industry tool used to assess progress within the palm oil supply chain towards the elimination of deforestation and exploitation of peatlands. Within the rating scale, which includes six categories, “Delivering” represents the most advanced compliance benchmark. Palm oil classified under this category does not originate from deforested or peatland areas and offers full traceability across the entire supply chain, from plantation to mill.
Among other activities already in place at Unigrà, Marcello Valenti highlights the dual sustainability reporting under the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), covering both supply chain and facility impacts, as well as participation in the EcoVadis rating, which measures sustainability and social responsibility performance.
A four-pillar action plan
Building on these existing activities, Unigrà’s preparation for the EUDR consists of an integrated action plan that goes from supplier engagement to traceability and satellite monitoring, from risk assessment to the added value provided by certifications and industry associations.
“We recently introduced a new satellite monitoring system provided by Satelligence,” explains Marcello Valenti. “Whenever a source or mill in our supply chain changes, we are able to verify how those changes relate to EUDR requirements.” Beyond monitoring, Unigrà’s strategy focuses on engagement in initiatives organised by industry associations and targeted projects. One example is the partnership with Earthworm Foundation to test new risk assessment methodologies within the supply chain.
Central to this is supplier engagement, which Unigrà pursues through regular meetings, during which data required for risk assessments is also collected. The company is also working to define a method for sharing geolocation data and to organise on-site visits. On the customer side, it holds regular meetings and issues regulatory updates.
Beyond compliance: a long-term vision
“When the EUDR was published, we were faced with a new approach, but many aspects were already embedded in our way of working,” concludes Marcello Valenti. “Operational challenges remain significant, from sharing geolocation data to supply chain monitoring, but dialogue with suppliers, customers and industry associations is essential to addressing them”.
The presentation also included a long-term perspective: Unigrà is working on a project to collect primary data on GHG emissions across its palm oil supply chain, with the objective of identifying actions to reduce emissions that go beyond regulatory compliance.
For Unigrà, sustainability is a journey shaped by choices, long-term projects and innovative strategies, all with one goal: to deliver products of the highest quality with the lowest possible impact on the planet.
