Halcyon Agri launching independent NR council

Singapore – Halcyon Agri is officially launching a natural rubber (NR) sustainability council, the NR supply company has informed ERJ.

As previously announced, the council has been set up to monitor implementation of the group’s sustainable natural rubber supply chain policy (SNRSCP) for operations in Cameroon.

“The inaugural call for the sustainability council will be tomorrow [on 16 April] and a chairperson will be elected,” Robert Meyer, CEO and co-founder of Halcyon Agri said 15 April.

Acquired from Sinochem in 2016, Halcyon operates natural rubber plantation subsidiaries SudCam and HeveCam in Cameroon.

The council will include representatives from global NGOs, industrial consumers and local ministerial officials in Cameroon according to Halcyon Agri.

Meyer said he will resign from council at the inaugural meeting “to make it an entirely independent body without any influence from Halcyon Agri’s executive team.”

“The council has unlimited rights to work in the public domain and we in fact encourage it,” commented the CEO.

Halcyon Agri’s operations in Cameroon have been particularly under attack by Greenpeace Africa, which has accused the company of running its business “irresponsibly.”

Last year, Greenpeace accused Sudcam of being responsible for “the most devastating new forest clearance for industrial agriculture in the Congo basin.”

Asked if Greenpeace is represented in the council, Meyer said the NGO had not yet responded to his invitation.

“We want NGOs like this to energise me and my team,” the company leader insisted.

“I want to be an active agent for change and the sustainability council will be a step in that direction,” concluded Meyer.