Some of our oleochemical products are based on soybean oil. Soy production has grown steadily in recent decades. This is mainly driven by our increased meat consumption and the resulting higher demand for protein-rich animal feed in the form of soybean meal. Precious rainforest is being cut down to meet this demand. The conversion of forest areas releases immense amounts of greenhouse gases. The reduction in forest cover also means that less CO2 is stored. Soybean oil is an important renewable raw material for us. That is why it matters to us where it comes from.
For many years, we sourced soybean oil from suppliers who had joined the Amazon Soy Moratorium, an agreement signed in 2006. It ensured that soy in the Amazon region was grown only on land already used for agriculture. In early 2026, the major trading companies withdrew from the moratorium. From December 30, 2026, the EU Deforestation Regulation sets the binding standard for our supply chain.
For customers who want to use regionally produced soybean oil, we introduced the neo product range in 2020. Since then, we have been offering neo for all soybean oil-based products. With our neo quality, we focus on regional sourcing and processing.
Merginat neo and Merginol neo products are manufactured in a batch process using soybean oil produced in Germany. The seeds used come from European cultivation and are free from deforestation and land conversion.
In December 2021, we became involved in the "Deforestation-free soy supply chains" task force of the Forum "Nachhaltigere Eiweißfuttermittel" (more sustainable protein feed, FONEI). We cooperated with the Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (federal office for agriculture and food, BLE) and renowned NGOs such as WWF Germany. The aims of the task force were to exchange ideas across industry boundaries, discuss challenges together and identify opportunities and possibilities for deforestation-free and conversion-free soy supply chains.
- We shared our perspectives and provided practical insights for the WWF study "Deforestation and conversion-free supply chains" (in German).
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 was adopted on May 31, 2023. After two postponements and a simplification through Regulation (EU) 2025/2650, it applies from December 30, 2026. From then on, soybean oil may only be placed on the EU market if it was produced legally, not on land deforested after December 31, 2020, and is covered by a due diligence statement. Together with our suppliers, we are making sure this evidence is in place for all the soybean oil we use from that date.
Code of Conduct
At HOBUM Oleochemicals GmbH, we are committed to the basic principles of compliance, sustainability, safety, and integrity. Compliance with these principles is our top priority and we expect the same from our business partners. The following "Code of Conduct" describes our convictions and reflects what HOBUM stands for.
