CUSTOMER STORY
Action for Sustainable Derivatives (ASD) x Tilkal
Building Transparency and Driving Upstream Impact Through Digital Traceability for Palm Oil Derivatives
Action for Sustainable Derivatives (ASD) is an industry-led collaboration uniting companies across the cosmetics, home and personal care, oleochemicals, and derivatives sectors. Its mission: to collectively address the environmental and social challenges linked to palm oil and palm kernel oil derivatives and to drive meaningful, upstream transformation in the supply chain.
With more than 40 member companies represented across global markets, ASD plays a central role in helping downstream actors influence upstream practices. As the group sharpened its long-term vision—focused on verified no-deforestation, regenerative agriculture, stronger human rights safeguards, and improved livelihoods—transparency emerged as the foundation for achieving lasting impact.
To accelerate this shift, ASD partnered with Tilkal to build the digital backbone supporting its new transparency and due diligence framework.
The Challenge: Turning Elevated Ambition Into Actionable Intelligence
Palm derivatives supply chains are global, complex, and highly fragmented. ASD and its members needed:
-
Reliable, structured data from multiple partners
-
A clear view of flows from refineries to mills to plantations
-
Automated ways to collect, verify, and interpret this information
-
A risk-led approach that connects supply chain data with deforestation and social indicators
-
A practical, scalable system that all members could use, regardless of technical maturity
In short, ASD needed more than data collection—it needed a system to create shared knowledge, align action, and move the sector forward collectively.
The Solution: A Tailored Transparency Ecosystem Built on Tilkal
Working closely with consultancy firm Transitions, Tilkal co-developed a suite of digital tools to support ASD’s transparency pillar. These tools were designed not only to gather data, but to make it usable, comparable, and meaningful.
According to ASD’s 2025 Annual Update (pages 5–7), the new system delivers:
1. Automated and Structured Data Collection
Members and suppliers can now submit data through automated pipelines, reducing manual work and inconsistencies. This has substantially increased the completeness and timeliness of submissions.
2. Interactive Transparency Dashboards
ASD members gain access to intuitive dashboards with a high-level overview and drill-down capacity, helping them:
-
Explore their supply chain structures
-
Identify leverage points
-
Understand where engagement is needed
-
Compare current performance with previous years
These dashboards also serve as a foundation for member training and collective alignment.
3. Refined and More Robust Datasets
Through repeated cycles of data integration, cleaning, and feedback, ASD now benefits from better-quality datasets year over year. This enables more precise analysis and supports strategic decision-making.
4. Cross-Referencing With Environmental and Social Risk Data
ASD can now overlay supply chain structures with independent risk indicators such as:
-
Deforestation and conversion risk
-
Certification status
-
Social vulnerability indicators
-
Known grievance cases
This allows for far more accurate prioritization and targeted action upstream.
5. Significant Progress in Transparency
Despite a turbulent global market, transparency to plantations reached 78.8% in 2025—one of the most significant achievements in the derivatives sector.
This increased visibility supports more credible claims, stronger due diligence, and better engagement with upstream partners.
The Impact
© Action for Sustainable Derivatives, Annual Update 2025
Today, ASD has a strengthened digital infrastructure that:
-
Builds trust across the value chain
-
Enables better alignment between companies, traders, and platforms like RSPO
-
Supports improved grievance handling and risk monitoring
-
Allows members to track aligned sustainability metrics
-
Creates a shared language and methodology for the entire sector
Most importantly, digital traceability is now directly enabling upstream impact, including support for smallholders, forest protection, and regenerative practices.
A Partnership Built for Long-Term Transformation
This initiative reflects the power of close collaboration between ASD, Transitions, Tilkal and all members of the initiative.
By coupling deep sector expertise with robust technology, ASD has advanced its vision of a responsible, resilient, and transparent palm derivatives sector.
And this is only the beginning.
Want to go further? Discover more traceability resources!
The Regulations Handbook: An overview of 15 supply chain-related legislation worldwide
The Handbook covers the 15 regulations you absolutely must know about, considering the substantial impact they will have on the way companies conduct their traceability strategies in all industries. It provides a useful starting point for you to investigate which regulations apply to you and determine what you need to do to comply with them.
Customer Story Danone: Downstream traceability and food safety for infant formula.
Danone's Track & Connect is one of the most ambitious downstream traceability initiatives to date, developed on a large scale in a global supply chain to improve visibility and strengthen consumer confidence.