Agri firms with sustainable practices may win the hearts of investors

GOLDEN Agri-Resources and Wilmar International in the past three weeks released their sustainability reports without much fanfare, save for a short press release by each firm.

The quiet reception to the publications - which track the sustainability work by both over the past two years from 2014 - belies the significance of the impact both companies' measures have had on the palm oil supply chain.

After all, it was in 2014 that both Wilmar and Golden Agri, which together trade about half of the world's palm oil, expanded the scope of their sustainability policies to include third-party suppliers, thus exerting pressure on others within the industry to also adopt sustainable practices.