Sites: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia
Feeds: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia
topic: Rspo
Social media activity version | Lean version
Palm oil deforestation makes comeback in Indonesia after decade-long slump
- Deforestation for oil palm plantations has increased for the second year in a row in Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of palm oil, bucking a decade-long decline in forest loss.
- A third of the 2023 deforestation occurred on carbon-rich peatlands, raising the potential for massive greenhouse gas emissions as these areas are cleared and drained in preparation for planting.
- Historically, deforestation for plantations in Indonesia was concentrated on the island of Sumatra, but the surge in the past two years has been mostly on the islands of Indonesian Borneo and Papua.
As RSPO celebrates 20 years of work, Indigenous groups lament unresolved grievances
- The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) held its annual conference in Jakarta to celebrate 20 years of growth and impact — but activists and Indigenous communities say they’ve been waiting years for RSPO to resolve ongoing conflicts and long-standing complaints.
- Indigenous groups and local communities that have lost their lands and forests say the RSPO grievance system has left them without justice or resolution.
- While the RSPO says it has improved its methods of dealing with grievances, affected communities say their complaints have been dismissed for lack of evidence, they have awaited answers for years and their voices aren’t being heard.
Indigenous Dayak ‘furious’ as RSPO dismisses land rights violation complaint
- The RSPO, the world’s leading sustainable palm oil certifier, has dismissed a complaint filed by an Indigenous community in Indonesia against a plantation company accused of violating their land rights.
- The company, MAS, arrived on the Indigenous Dayak Hibun’s ancestral land in 1996, and by 2000 had swallowed up 1,400 hectares (3,460 acres) of the community’s land within its concession.
- The community lodged its complaint in 2012, aimed at MAS’s parent company at the time, Malaysian palm oil giant Sime Darby Plantation, which is a member of the RSPO.
- In dismissing the complaint, 11 years later, the RSPO cited no evidence of land rights violations, and also noted that Sime Darby Plantation has sold off MAS — whose current owner isn’t an RSPO member and therefore isn’t subject to the roundtable’s rules.
‘Sustainability is a continuous journey’: Q&A with RSPO’s Joseph D’Cruz
- The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the industry’s leading certifier of ethical compliance, has long faced scrutiny over its sustainability guidelines and how it responds to member companies’ frequent violations.
- Today, the organization is headed by veteran development professional Joseph D’Cruz, a self-professed newcomer to the industry who says he wants the RSPO to be less reactive and more proactive.
- In a wide-ranging interview with Mongabay, D’Cruz discusses why sustainability should be seen as an unending journey rather than an end goal, how the gap between sustainable and “conventional” palm oil is closing, and what role governments must play in driving greater sustainability.
- “When you watch the progress of platforms like the RSPO, sometimes on the outside it might seem frustratingly slow,” he says. “But that’s because you got to bring everybody along and that’s a very tricky challenge sometimes.”
Is a European proposal on imported deforestation too punitive? (commentary)
- One third of global deforestation is linked to international trade, and the European Union plus the UK are estimated to account for 16% of global trade-related deforestation.
- A recent European Commission proposal would require companies to ensure that commodities placed on the European market are not linked to a territory that has been deforested after December 31, 2020.
- A senior scientist at CIRAD argues that as worded, the proposal could punish some countries unfairly while ignoring other useful certification schemes that protect forests.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
One in five hectares of oil palm in Indonesia is illegal, report shows
- A fifth of oil palm plantations in Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of palm oil, are operating illegally inside forest areas that are off-limits to commercial agricultural activity, a new report from Greenpeace shows.
- Half of these plantations are operated by corporations, and the other half by smallholders, indicating that nearly a third of registered palm oil companies in Indonesia have illegal plantations.
- These illegal plantations occupy protected areas such as national parks and UNESCO World Heritage Site, and overlap with the habitat of threatened wildlife like orangutans and tigers.
- Many of the companies identified in the report are members of so-called sustainability certification schemes like the RSPO and ISPO, pointing to a failure by these initiatives to address unsustainable practices.
Environmental benefits or social — but rarely both — under RSPO, study finds
- Oil palm plantations certified under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) can promote environmental benefits, but have a limited impact on rural development, a new study has found.
- The study analyzes trade-offs between development and environmental impacts of RSPO on local communities in Indonesia.
- It found that the certification scheme can be effective in terms of promoting both conservation and development outcomes, but under certain conditions.
- A key factor found to influence the outcomes is terrain flatness: steeper slopes are more expensive to cultivate, making it less likely that palm oil companies will implement more environmentally friendly practices.
What stops the rubber industry from being sustainable? (commentary)
- Six million smallholder farmers produce almost 90% of the world’s natural rubber: 70% of this goes to the tire industry, which then services other downstream users.
- Sold by the ton, there are some costs that are not included in the price especially when produced in an unsustainable way. These costs have historically included deforestation, forced labor, and corruption.
- The members of the relatively new Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber aim to change that with a focus on sustainability in the rubber supply chain.
- This is a commentary. The views expressed are of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Despite flaws, commodity eco-labels contribute to sustainability (commentary)
- While eco-labels may have failed to stop deforestation of many agricultural commodities, they are nevertheless contributing to the sustainability of commodity production, argues Matthias Diemer, a trained ecologist who owns a consultancy in Switzerland focusing on sustainability in agricultural commodities.
- Diemer says that reports by Greenpeace and other watchdogs are important to raise the bar for eco-labels, but dismissing voluntary certification and placing the onus for change on governments is naive and risks losing the potential benefits of certification.
- Instead eco-labels should be appraised on realistic expectations of their potential impacts, writes Diemer.
- This post is a commentary and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mongabay.
Pension and endowment funds linked to conflict-plagued oil palm in DRC
- A new report from the Oakland Institute, a policy think tank, reveals that several well-known pension funds, trusts and endowments are invested in a group of oil palm plantations in the Democratic Republic of Congo accused of environmental and human rights abuses.
- Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC) was recently purchased by two African private equity investors, and several European development banks have invested millions of dollars in the company’s operations.
- Accusations of abuses at the hands of police and plantation-contracted security guards have dogged the company, most recently with the death of a protester in February 2021.
Forest patches amid agriculture are key to orangutan survival: Study
- A recent study highlights the importance of small fragments of forest amid landscapes dominated by agriculture for the survival of orangutans in Southeast Asia.
- The research, drawing on several decades of ground and aerial surveys in Borneo, found that orangutans are adapting to the presence of oil palm plantations — if they have access to nearby patches of forest.
- The authors say agricultural plantations could serve as corridors allowing for better connectivity and gene flow within the broader orangutan population.
How the pandemic impacted rainforests in 2020: a year in review
- 2020 was supposed to be a make-or-break year for tropical forests. It was the year when global leaders were scheduled to come together to assess the past decade’s progress and set the climate and biodiversity agendas for the next decade. These included emissions reductions targets, government procurement policies and corporate zero-deforestation commitments, and goals to set aside protected areas and restore degraded lands.
- COVID-19 upended everything: Nowhere — not even tropical rainforests — escaped the effects of the global pandemic. Conservation was particularly hard in tropical countries.
- 2019’s worst trends for forests mostly continued through the pandemic including widespread forest fires, rising commodity prices, increasing repression and violence against environmental defenders, and new laws and policies in Brazil and Indonesia that undermine forest conservation.
- We don’t yet have numbers on the degree to which the pandemic affected deforestation, because it generally takes several months to process that data. That being said, there are reasons to suspect that 2020’s forest loss will again be substantial.
‘Meaningless certification’: Study makes the case against ‘sustainable’ palm oil
- Three-quarters of oil palm concessions in Indonesia and Malaysian Borneo certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil occupy land that was forest and/or wildlife habitat as recently as 30 years ago, a new study shows.
- While not the initial drivers of deforestation in those areas, these plantations shouldn’t be certified sustainable if that history is accounted for, the study authors say.
- “The fact that someone else did deforestation just a few years before does not absolve the palm oil plantation’s owner and definitely does not justify a sustainability label by a certification scheme,” says co-author Roberto Cazzolla Gatti.
- He adds the RSPO’s failure to account for past deforestation means that “every logged area ‘today’ could be certified as a sustainable plantation ‘tomorrow,’ in an infinite loop of meaningless certification.”
Watchdogs lament palm oil giant Wilmar’s exit from forest conservation alliance
- Wilmar International, the world’s biggest palm oil trader, has quit the steering group of the High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA), which helps agribusiness identify forest areas for protection.
- It cited governance and financial problems within the group — which includes members from agribusiness, civil society and environmental watchdogs — as justification for its April 2 exit.
- But other steering group members and watchdogs say it appears Wilmar is trying to shirk its conservation and sustainability commitments as an HCSA member, and that its exit hurts efforts to boost sustainability in the sector.
- The HCSA mechanism is used by agribusiness to distinguish forest areas that should be protected from degraded areas that can be developed, in a bid to minimize deforestation.
Malaysia to let RSPO publish oil palm concession maps
- The Malaysian government has decided to allow the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to publish concession maps for Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak of its members in a bid to boost transparency in the sector.
- The RSPO has described the move as a “milestone” and it could leave neighboring Indonesia — currently the world’s largest palm oil producer and exporter — further behind in the pursuit of transparency in the palm oil sector.
- Activists have called on Indonesia to follow Malaysia’s footsteps if it doesn’t want to have the image of its oil palm products further tarnished compared to Malaysia.
RSPO questions effectiveness of Indonesian palm plantation moratorium
- There hasn’t been any quantifiable way to tell if a year-long moratorium on issuing new licenses for oil palm plantations has been effective, observers say.
- Indonesia imposed the moratorium last year, but failed to define baseline data or publish permit details that would have been essential to measuring progress, according to an official from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
- As part of the moratorium, the government also ordered a review of existing plantation permits; however, a lack of sanctions sends the message that violators can keep “making mistakes over and over again.”
- An industry watchdog has called on the government to stop thinking about the industry in terms of sheer production volume, and instead to find ways to ensure that the production is sustainable.
Chinese banks risk supporting soy-related deforestation, report finds
- Chinese financial institutions have little awareness about the risks of deforestation in the soy supply chain, according to a report released May 31 from the nonprofit disclosure platform CDP.
- China imports more than 60 percent of the world’s soy, meaning that the country could play a major role in halting deforestation and slowing climate change if companies and banks focus on stopping deforestation to grow the crop.
- Around 490 square kilometers (189 square miles) of land in Brazil was cleared for soy headed for China in 2017 — about 40 percent of all “converted” land in Brazil that year.
- As the trade war between the U.S. and China continues, China may increasingly look to Latin America for its soy, potentially increasing the chances that land will be cleared to make way for the crop.
Liberia’s new land rights law hailed as victory, but critics say it’s not enough
- Areas allocated to rubber, oil palm and logging concessions cover around a quarter of Liberia’s total land mass.
- Liberian activists and the international community have warned that land disputes on oil palm concessions were becoming a time bomb for conflict in the country, and urging lawmakers to give indigenous communities full rights to land the government had handed out as its own.
- In September 2018, President George Weah signed the Land Rights Act into law. The law is ambitious and clearly asserts the right to what is known as “customary land,” territory that can be claimed through oral testimony and community agreement.
- However, locked within the legislation is a flaw for those living on the quarter of the country’s land set aside for concessions: it is not retroactive. The law will not apply to those already living close to oil palm concessions, a difficult truth that is only just beginning to permeate thousands of villages in Liberia.
RSPO should suspend membership of groups undermining Guatemala’s anti-impunity commission (commentary)
- The journey toward sustainability must begin from a baseline of proven ethical intent — and a number of recent signs raise serious doubts about the ethical intent of a wide swath of industry players in Guatemala.
- Palm oil is the fastest growing agribusiness industry in Guatemala. Along with mining and hydroelectric projects, it is a major cause of land grabs that displace indigenous communities. Palm oil companies have been heavily involved in Guatemalan President Morales’ campaign to stop the U.N. Commission Against Impunity.
- In order to responsibly address the unfolding political crisis in Guatemala, the RSPO should postpone the certification processes of all Guatemalan palm companies until GREPALMA and its members end their campaign to sabotage the U.N. Commission Against Impunity and desist from undermining the rule of law in the country.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
The biggest rainforest news stories in 2018
- This is our annual rainforests year in review post.
- Overall, 2018 was not a good year for the planet’s tropical rainforests.
- Rainforest conservation suffered many setbacks, especially in Brazil, the Congo Basin, and Madagascar.
- Colombia was one of the few bright spots for rainforests in 2018.
Christmas ad conundrum: Is a palm oil boycott the way to save apes?
- British supermarket chain Iceland attempted to run a television advertisement highlighting the link between palm oil and the destruction of the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra.
- Deemed too political to air due to its links with campaigning group Greenpeace, the advertisement has been viewed online more than 70 million times, reigniting a debate on whether consumers should boycott products containing palm oil.
- Many wildlife NGOs argue that calling for a blanket ban on palm oil could do more harm than good. Instead, they urge concerned consumers to pressure the industry to clean up its practices.
- However, critics of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the industry’s leading standards council, say RSPO-certification has so far failed to stamp out deforestation and other harmful practices among member companies.
RSPO adopts total ban on deforestation under sweeping new standards
- The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has adopted new standards that will prohibit its member companies from clearing any type of forest for palm plantations.
- RSPO-certified companies were previously permitted to clear secondary forests and peat forests with a peat layer no deeper than 3 meters (10 feet).
- The move comes amid a growing consumer backlash that has prompted companies to make zero-deforestation commitments.
- Environmental activists have welcomed the RSPO’s deforestation ban with cautious optimism, noting that enforcement of the certification body’s standards has historically been lax.
In funding palm oil giants, banks may share in ‘sins of the companies’
- The recently signed moratorium on new oil palm plantation permits mandates a review of all current licenses.
- In a sector rife with illegality, this may have far-reaching implications, including for financiers of palm oil companies.
- For the banking sector, a major palm oil investor, this highlights the need to improve due diligence and sustainability policies, experts suggest.
Palm oil giant’s claim it can’t control Liberian subsidiary a ‘red herring,’ NGO says
- The Forest Peoples Programme, an NGO, recently filed five new complaints against palm oil giant Golden Agri-Resources. The complaints were filed in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, or RSPO, of which the company is a member.
- One of the complaints targets the company’s Liberian subsidiary, Golden Veroleum, which recently withdrew from the RSPO after losing an appeal against a different complaint filed against it.
- The Forest Peoples Programme says it is egregious for Golden Agri to stay in the RSPO while its own subsidiary violates the organization’s standards. A spokeswoman for Golden Agri-Resources said the company has “no management control” over its Liberian subsidiary.
RSPO should ban deforestation, say investors representing $6.7t in assets
- Institutional investors want to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to strengthen its standards.
- At present, the RSPO allows its member companies to clear certain kinds of forest. The investors want the roundtable to ban all deforestation.
- The investors also want the RSPO improve its policies on peatland, workers rights and pesticides.
Can Ecuador do palm oil right? Jurisdictional RSPO commitment stirs hope
- Ecuador is the sixth largest palm oil producing country in the world and the second largest in Latin America. While most of its oil palm plantations have been developed on degraded land, an estimated 6 percent of cultivated area has come at the expense of natural forest. Conservationists worry this will increase as the country’s palm oil sector continues to grow.
- In attempts to reign in harmful palm oil industry practices, Ecuador’s Ministry of Agriculture reactivated its Jurisdictional RSPO Certification plan in March 2018. The RSPO stands for Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and is the world’s leading palm oil certification body.
- Ecuador’s jurisdictional plan aims to certify entire provinces rather than focus certification efforts on individual companies and plantations, which has tended to be the norm in other parts of the world. Jurisdictional RSPO is also seen as a way to help the country’s palm oil sector gain better access to world markets, which are increasingly requiring sustainability certification for their products.
- The plan has been lauded by organizations such as the United Nations REDD program. But some worry it may not be applicable in some parts of Ecuador, such as its Amazonian region, and that a large-scale jurisdictional approach may be vulnerable to political turnover.
RSPO walks back suspension of Nestlé
- The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil announced this week it would reinstate the membership of Nestlé.
- Nestlé was suspended from the RSPO last month after failing to pay dues and submit progress reports.
- “Nestlé has pledged to step up their efforts in working actively on solutions within the RSPO system, via active participation,” RSPO chief Darrel Webber said in a statement announcing the decision.
Nestlé suspended from RSPO for failing to pay dues, submit progress reports
- In the wake of Nestlé’s suspension from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, activists said the food giant must do more to prevent palm oil linked to deforestation and other abuses from entering its supply chain.
- They also called on the RSPO to take stricter action against companies flouting its standards. “Companies are increasingly aware that RSPO, in its current form is not providing them with deforestation-free palm oil. This is an existential threat to RSPO’s future,” said Robin Averbeck of the Rainforest Action Network.
- “Nestlé decided a few years ago not to waste time going down the RSPO route,” Averbeck said. “RSPO is clearly terrified of that feeling spreading. So it’s trying to make an example out of Nestlé.”
Palm oil certification? No silver bullet, but essential for sustainability (commentary)
- We need a global standard on what constitutes sustainable palm oil and a common system to implement it. Arriving at this consensus requires a convening body to connect every link in the palm oil supply chain, across different countries and jurisdictions.
- A recent report from Changing Markets Foundation, released with additional comments by NGOs such as FERN, the Environmental Investigation Agency, Mighty Earth, and Friends of the Earth Netherlands, criticizes the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and proposes that certification standards are — as stated by the same NGOs — ‘holding back the progressive reform of the sector’ and may even be causing ‘active damage.’
- This report disregards some of the important realities in the industry and on the ground, and fails to offer practical solutions. Simply bashing certification because of its imperfections puts the advances made at risk, instead of helping develop standards and synergies that facilitate compliance across the global palm oil supply chain.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Small farmers not ready as Indonesia looks to impose its palm oil sustainability standard on all
- The Indonesian government plans to make its sustainable palm oil certification scheme, the ISPO, mandatory for small farmers by 2020. These farmers account for 40 percent of the total oil palm plantation area nationwide, but were exempted from the initial ISPO rollout.
- A recent study shows that these smallholders are not ready to adopt the standard. They face a variety of challenges, largely stemming from the tenuous nature of their land ownership claims.
- The Ministry of Agriculture fears that under the existing ISPO compliance regulation, many farmers will end up in prison for failing to comply by the deadline. The government is now drafting an updated ISPO regulation.
Certified weaknesses: The RSPO’s Liberian fiasco (commentary)
- On February 13, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, the industry certification system for production of conflict-free palm oil, confirmed what many in Liberia’s rural Sinoe County have been saying all along: Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL), a palm oil company operating since 2010, did not properly receive the consent of local communities to acquire their traditional lands.
- The charges against GVL are not new. The first complaint filed against GVL with the RSPO came in 2012. Over the years, multiple civil society reports have documented GVL’s land grabbing, human rights violations, and environmental degradation. In 2015, a riot erupted on GVL’s plantation. Six years and various investigations by the RSPO later, the situation for these communities is largely the same.
- It’s striking that, given the resources and responsibilities of both the company and the certification body, neither GVL nor the RSPO had chosen to communicate with these communities about the remedies GVL was directed to pursue by the RSPO. This begs the question: What is the value of corporate commitments and industry standards if those messages never reach the people they intend to benefit, let alone are translated into tangible actions?
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Rainforests: the year in review 2017
- 2017 was a rough year for tropical rainforests, but there were some bright spots.
- This is Mongabay’s annual year-in-review on what happened in the world of tropical rainforests.
- Here we summarize some of the more notable developments and trends for tropical forests in 2017.
Study: RSPO certification prunes deforestation in Indonesia — but not by much
- Oil palm plantations certified as sustainable by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil had less deforestation than non-certified plantations, according to a new analysis.
- Certification’s effect on the incidence of fires and the clearing of forest from peatlands was not statistically significant.
- The research demonstrates that while certification does reduce deforestation, it has not protected very much standing forest from being cut down.
Labor abuses persist in RSPO-certified palm plantations, report finds
- A new report exposes labor abuses on three plantations owned by Indofood, a subsidiary of the Salim Group conglomerate.
- The report reveals how workers are routinely exposed to hazardous pesticides, paid less than the minimum wage, illegally kept in a temporary work status to fill core jobs, and deterred from forming independent labor unions.
- Each of the three plantations has been certified as “sustainable” by the RSPO, which bans labor abuses by its members, but is often criticized for failing to enforce its own standards.
- Advocates have been pushing for the RSPO to improve its handling of labor issues.
New carbon maps of Sabah’s forests guide conservation in Borneo
- Airborne LiDAR mapping combined with satellite imagery analysis has provided scientists, government agencies and NGOs with a “wall-to-wall” account of the carbon held in Sabah, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo.
- The study, led by ecologists from the Carnegie Airborne Observatory, revealed that more than 40 percent of the forests with the highest carbon stocks aren’t covered by the state’s most stringent protections.
- The findings give wildlife biologists the chance to examine how carbon stocks correlate with the presence of biodiversity; NGOs the opportunity to identify new high-carbon areas to set aside under oil palm certification schemes; and the Sabah government the information to determine which forests are the most valuable and therefore need further protections.
Poor grade for Malaysia, Singapore brands in palm oil sustainability: WWF
- Two out of three companies in Malaysia and Singapore are not transparent about their palm oil use, the World Wildlife Fund contends.
- Most of these companies do not source palm oil that has been certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
- Malaysia and Singapore’s brands have lower sustainability grades compared to global brands.
Palm oil giant FGV will ‘endeavor to rehabilitate’ peatlands it trashed in Borneo
- About a year ago, Felda Global Ventures promised to stop clearing rainforests and peatlands to make way for its oil palm estates.
- This year, though watchdogs reported that the company had continued to clear over 1,000 hectares of forest and peat in Indonesian Borneo, violating not only its green pledge but also its obligations as a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), as well as a new government regulation.
- Last month, FGV renewed its commitment and said it would try to rehabilitate the peatlands it planted since August 2016.
Pressure builds on palm oil firm Goodhope after RSPO sanction
- The RSPO ordered Goodhope to freeze its operations in Indonesia earlier this month amid allegations of land grabbing and forest destruction.
- Goodhope said recently that it needed more time than the RSPO had given it to bring its operations into compliance with the roundtable’s standards.
- The company says it is working with credible auditors to conduct new assessments of its concessions, after the RSPO deemed previous audits the firm had commissioned as lacking in credibility.
Wilmar appeals RSPO ruling that it grabbed indigenous lands in Sumatra
- Palm oil giant Wilmar has been involved in a land conflict with the Kapa people of West Sumatra for years.
- Earlier this year, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil ruled in favor of a complaint filed against Wilmar. Wilmar said it accepted the ruling.
- Now Wilmar is appealing the ruling on procedural grounds. The company says it wasn’t properly consulted during the process.
- The Forest Peoples Programme, an NGO helping the Kapa through the process, says the company is stalling, “which we see as a tactic to delay having to address outstanding human rights violations.”
Palm oil firm pledges to stop deforesting after RSPO freezes its operations in Papua
- Goodhope Asia Holdings, an arm of Sri Lanka’s Carson Cumberbatch, is the latest palm oil company to promise to purge its operations of deforestation, peatland conversion and human rights abuses.
- Announcing such a commitment and implementing it are two different matters. Despite the growing prevalence of such pledges, no major user or processor of palm oil can say it has actually eliminated deforestation from its supply chain.
- Goodhope subsidiary PT Nabire Baru presides over what one watchdog called “possibly the most controversial plantation in Papua.”
RSPO freezes palm oil company’s operations in Papua
- The RSPO ordered Goodhope Asia Holdings to stop work in seven of its concessions in Indonesia, citing “poor quality” audits commissioned by the company to ensure it follows RSPO rules.
- High Conservation Value assessments for all seven of the concessions were conducted by a team of Bogor Agricultural University lecturers led by Nyoto Santoso. The assessments are being treated as suspect by the RSPO.
- While Goodhope opposes the measures, they have been lauded by environmental NGOs as a positive step.
RSPO accused of letting palm oil firm proceed with dodgy audits in Papua
- The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is the world’s largest association for ethical production of the commodity, found in everything from chocolate to makeup and laundry detergent.
- The RSPO’s credibility rests on the quality of its system for ensuring its member companies actually adhere to its standards.
- Two years after the RSPO finally acknowledged deficiencies in its certification system, observers say the organization has done little to follow up on its commitment to address the issue.
Jurisdictional certification approach aims to strengthen protections against deforestation
- Jurisdictional certification brings together all stakeholders across all commodities within a district or state to ensure the entire region is deforestation-free.
- A few tropical forest regions have long used the jurisdictional approach; with proven success, more regions are now following suit.
- Pilot programs in Brazil and elsewhere exemplify the successes and challenges of the jurisdictional approach.
Survival of nearly 10,000 orangutans in Borneo oil palm estates at stake
- 10,000 orangutans remain in areas currently allocated to oil palm. These animals can only survive if environmental practices in plantations adhere to standards such as those prescribed by RSPO.
- Orangutan rescues should only be allowed when no other solutions exist; otherwise they will aggravate problems of deforestation and orangutan killing.
- Further scrutiny of companies and other groups that are at the forefront of these improvements is needed, but increasingly campaigners should focus on the laggards and rogues that cause the greatest environmental damage.
- This a commentary – the views expressed are those of the authors.
Wilmar grabbed indigenous lands in Sumatra, RSPO finds
- The Kapa are a Minangkabau people in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province.
- The community accused Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm oil company, of planting oil palm in their territory without their permission.
- Wilmar is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, meaning that it must respect the right of communities to veto development projects on their land.
- The RSPO recently decided that Wilmar had violated the Kapa’s right to “free, prior and informed consent.”
Will there really be enough sustainable palm oil for the whole market?
- A report by non-profit CDP suggests companies may have a false confidence in their ability to find enough sustainable palm oil to meet their commitments.
- Certified sustainable palm oil was in short supply last summer and prices spiked when two major producers were suspended by the industry’s main certification association, revealing vulnerabilities in the supply.
- Better planning to secure future supply includes working more intensively with suppliers, says CDP.
HSBC financing tied to deforestation, rights violations for palm oil in Indonesia
- HSBC has helped several palm oil companies accused of community rights violations and illegal deforestation pull together billions in credit and bonds, according to research by Greenpeace.
- The bank has policies that require its customers to achieve RSPO certification by 2018 and prohibiting the bank from ‘knowingly’ engaging with companies that don’t respect sustainability laws and regulations.
- Greenpeace contends that HSBC, as one of the world’s largest banks, should commit to a ‘No deforestation, no peat, no exploitation’ policy and should hold its customers accountable to the same standard.
Sudden sale may doom carbon-rich rainforest in Borneo
- Forest Management Unit 5 encompasses more than 101,000 hectares in central Sabah, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo.
- The area’s steep slopes and rich forests provide habitat for the Bornean orangutan and other endangered species and protect watersheds critical to downstream communities.
- Conservation groups had been working with the government and the concession holder to set up a concept conservation economy on FMU5, but in October, the rights were acquired by Priceworth, a wood product manufacturing company.
The year in tropical rainforests: 2016
- After 2015’s radical advancements in transparency around tropical forests between improved forest cover monitoring systems and corporate policies on commodity sourcing, progress slowed in 2016 with no major updates on tropical forest cover, resistance from several governments in releasing forest data, and some notable backtracking on zero deforestation commitments.
- But even without the pan-tropical updates, we know that deforestation increased sharply in the Brazilian Amazon, which accounts for the world’s largest area of tropical forest.
- Low commodity prices may have bought some relief for forests.
Study maps 187 land conflicts as palm oil expands in Kalimantan
- Nearly half of the 187 villages were found to be strongly opposed to oil palm companies. Such a sentiment was highly correlated with communities that depend on forest products for their livelihoods.
- In areas that have already undergone or are undergoing forest transformation to oil palm or timber plantations, there were more specific conflicts among local communities and palm oil companies, such as land boundary disputes, perceived lack of consultation, illegal actions by the company, and lack of compensation and broken promises to the affected communities.
- Studies like this that count and map the number of natural resource-related conflicts in Kalimantan are highly needed and currently lacking in reliable data.
Australian retailers accused of misusing the RSPO’s label on their palm oil products
- Major retailers Woolworths and Coles say their own-brand products have been “certified sustainable” by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
- However, Palm Oil Investigations, an Australian NGO, has called the legitimacy of those claims into question.
- The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has yet to act on the allegations. A spokesperson pointed out that no one had raised a formal complaint.
- The NGO says the roundtable must do a better job monitoring the claims of its members.
Complaint against a palm oil company in Papua held in limbo by RSPO
- In April, an NGO complained to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil about a plantation firm alleged to have grabbed indigenous land in Indonesia’s Papua province.
- The official grievance has yet to be accepted or rejected by the RSPO’s Complaints Panel, even after more than six months.
- Observers have noted that an executive from the parent company of the firm in question also sits on the RSPO’s Board of Directors. The roundtable denies that there is any conflict of interest.
- The RSPO is the world’s largest association for ethical palm oil production, whose members consist of palm oil companies, banks and NGOs that choose to join.
RSPO loses key backer in Australia: ‘We just can’t trust them anymore’
- Palm Oil Investigations said it would cease to promote palm oil certified as sustainable by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
- The watchdog had pushed some of Australia’s biggest corporate users of palm oil to buy only that which the RSPO had certified as ethically produced.
- The RSPO is the world’s largest association for sustainable palm oil production.
More than 20 labor law violations by Indofood alleged in Indonesia
- NGOs are calling for a pair of Indofood subsidiaries to be suspended from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
- The company has denied the allegations of human rights abuses on its plantations in the archipelagic Southeast Asian country, the world’s top palm oil producer.
- Indofood is an arm of the Salim Group and one of the world’s largest palm oil companies.
Scoring palm oil buyers on their sustainability commitments
- The scorecard reports the results of WWF’s analysis of 137 retailers, manufacturers, and food service companies from Australia, Canada, Europe, India, Japan, and the United States that collectively use more than six million metric tons of palm oil, 10 percent of all palm oil traded around the globe.
- Out of the 137 companies, WWF found that only 78 had made commitments to use 100 certified sustainable palm oil by 2015, while 30 have not made any kind of public commitment whatsoever.
- Just 96 companies reported using any certified sustainable palm oil in 2015, the scorecard states.
Voluntary certification standards have far to go, say experts
- Certification should be combined with other standard public policies to promote sustainable forest management principles, say experts.
- Experts point to a need for more relationship building between voluntary certification schemes and public institutions.
- Effective certification requires the cooperation of policy makers, certification schemes, companies, academics and other stakeholders.
IPOP’s demise undercuts palm oil industry progress [commentary]
- The Indonesian Palm Oil Pledge (IPOP) was a sustainability commitment signed by Indonesia’s biggest palm oil refiners in 2014.
- Dave McLaughlin, the World Wildlife Fund’s acting senior vice president for sustainable food, argues that the Indonesian and Malaysian governments must do more to promote sustainability in an industry plagued by environmental destruction and illegal practices.
- This post is a commentary — the views expressed are those of the author.
RSPO lifts suspension of Malaysian palm oil giant IOI
- NGOs have complained about IOI’s operations in Indonesia for years. In April, the RSPO suspended the company’s sustainable certification.
- On Friday, the RSPO lifted the suspension after IOI submitted an action plan to address the latest complaint.
- Green groups said the RSPO should have kept the suspension in place until IOI could demonstrate progress on the ground.
- It remains unclear whether consumer goods giants like Unilever and Proctor & Gamble, which moved to cut supplies from IOI in the wake of the suspension, will look to resume purchases from the company.
Study concludes conservation NGOs might be better off working outside the RSPO
- NGOs adopt a number of different roles based on their conservation goals and the resources at their disposal for achieving those goals.
- However, the RSPO’s institutional structure could limit NGOs’ ability to have an impact, the authors of the study found.
- Conservation NGOs have played a vital role in strengthening biodiversity conservation within the RSPO, the authors write, but the RSPO system has largely failed to support NGOs in reaching their initial conservation goals.
Malaysian palm oil giant IOI under pressure after Cargill ultimatum
- Cargill said that unless IOI issues a new sourcing policy and sustainability plan by July 15, it will stay away from new contracts with the company.
- Environmental advocates called Cargill’s declaration “disappointing and essentially meaningless” because IOI has already committed to zero deforestation.
- Other multinational palm oil users have already cut supplies from IOI.
PanEco resigns from RSPO over ‘sheer level of inaction’
- PanEco runs the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program in Indonesia. It was one of the RSPO’s 33 NGOs members.
- The RSPO mainly consists of companies that produce, trade or use palm oil.
- The palm oil sector is vital to the Indonesian economy but leads the way in damaging the environment.
Indonesia’s Salim Group linked to ‘secret’ palm oil concessions in West Papua
- New research by awas MIFEE links the Salim Group to four plantation firms in Indonesia’s West Papua province.
- The concessions span 117,000 hectares of forest and grassland and are home to indigenous tribes.
- The Salim Group has yet to respond to the findings.
Indigenous Dayak tribe pitted against palm oil giant in new film
- The Semunying Jaya community accuses the company of land grabbing and has sued it in West Kalimantan province.
- The case was featured in Indonesia’s national inquiry into land conflicts affecting indigenous peoples.
- Darmex is owned by one of Indonesia’s richest tycoons, Surya Darmadi.
Singapore, Indonesia jostle over anti-haze measures
- The Indonesian environment minister said she was reviewing all bilateral collaborations with Singapore and that some would likely be terminated.
- Local governments in the archipelago have been instructed to hold off on any joint programs with Singapore for now.
- Jakarta has protested Singapore’s contention that it reserves the right to fine companies that pollute its air, wherever the firm is located.
Malaysian palm oil giant IOI sues RSPO over suspension
- The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil suspended IOI Group’s sustainability certification in March. Now the company has filed a lawsuit against the association in Zurich, the seat of the RSPO.
- The company characterized the move as a “painful” decision given its “great commitment and attachment” to the RSPO, but maintained that it had been “unfairly affected” by the suspension.
- A leaked memo written by the RSPO’s secretary general reveals the company told him it “has done no wrong” and “prefers if this legal action is kept low profile.”
Malaysian palm oil companies say their concession maps are state secrets
- In the name of transparency, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil agreed in 2013 to release the concession maps of its grower members.
- Companies in Indonesia and Malaysia, the largest palm oil-producing countries, have resisted the dictum for various reasons, and the maps remain unpublished.
- NGOs want the maps so they can better monitor companies’ operations, which are often linked to deforestation, social conflict and wildfires in tropical countries.
Has big conservation gone astray?
- In Part 1 of Conservation, Divided, veteran Mongabay reporter Jeremy Hance explores how the world’s biggest conservation groups have embraced a human-centric approach known as “new conservation” that has split the field over how best to save life on Earth.
- Neither side of the debate disagrees that conservation today is failing to adequately halt mass extinction. But how to proceed is where talks break down, especially when it comes to the importance of protected areas and the efficacy of the biggest, most recognizable groups.
- Conservation, Divided is an in-depth four-part series investigating how the field of conservation has changed over the last 30 years — and the challenges it faces moving into an uncertain future. Hance completed the series over the course of eight months. Stories will run weekly through May 17.
NGOs and oil-palm growers team up to help orangutans, but progress is slow
- Rescuing orangutans from plantations and moving them to protected lands has long been the conservation approach in response to rapid deforestation and plantation development in Borneo.
- Increasingly, conservationists insist that commercial interests should share the burden of conserving orangutans by creating “high conservation value” forest enclaves on their properties.
- Industry, through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, is starting to make progress on this issue. But some NGOs, grown impatient, have started working directly with companies to protect orangutans on oil-palm plantations in Borneo.
- Even there, however, progress remains slow.
Study finds link between RSPO certification and profitability for palm oil companies
- Certification by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil was found to increase a palm oil company’s profitability, according to a study commissioned by the RSPO.
- The findings are a boost for the RSPO, which has continuously grappled with industry claims that its certification schemes burden oil palm growers while providing few tangible benefits.
- Jan Willem van Gelder, director of the consultancy Profundo, was positive about the findings, saying they show that sustainability has an impact on profitability.
Malaysian palm oil giant loses 7 more customers over RSPO suspension
- IOI Group was suspended recently from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil over allegations of deforestation, peatland conversion and rights abuses in its supply chain.
- As a result, IOI’s customers are beginning to look elsewhere for palm oil, which is used in everything from snack food to soap and cosmetics.
- Greenpeace wants IOI to “introduce an immediate moratorium on all plantation development across its supply chain.”
Unilever, Kellogg, Mars drop palm oil giant IOI over RSPO suspension
- Malaysia’s IOI was suspended from the RSPO over violations of the roundtable’s sustainability standards in Borneo.
- Since then, IOI’s customers have moved to cancel contracts with the conglomerate, to date one of the major suppliers of RSPO-brand “Certified Sustainable Palm Oil.”
- IOI has submitted an action plan for RSPO reinstatement.
Malaysian palm oil giant IOI suspended from RSPO
- IOI Group’s membership was frozen on Friday over three of its operations in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province.
- Some say the move could affect the company’s bottom line.
- IOI has generally denied the allegations against it, which include operating without the required permits, using fire to clear land, clearing rainforest and deep peat, and more.
Indonesia’s oil palm maps remain hidden from public view. Why?
- In 2013, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil promised to publish its growers’ concession maps.
- That hasn’t happened, but the RSPO has pledged to make good on its commitment this year.
- Not everyone is on board with the initiative, however, and some doubt it will come to fruition. The public’s ability to monitor the industry hangs in the balance.
Oil palm plantations need to protect orangutans (commentary)
- All orangutans are Critically Endangered.
- The threats to orangutans are well known and easy to sum up. First, there is habitat loss, primarily because of plantation development for palm oil, rubber, pulp and paper and coconut, small-scale agriculture, and reckless and illegal burning of land. Secondly, it is outright killing.
- This post is a commentary — the views expressed are those of the author.
Indonesia could collaborate with RSPO, official study finds
- A new study reveals how the government’s sustainable palm oil scheme, ISPO, might work with the industry-led Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
- The study, sanctioned by the government and the RSPO. identifies similarities and differences between the two certification schemes.
- The RSPO has higher environmental standards than ISPO, but ISPO is mandatory for all Indonesian growers.
How can banks spur the palm oil industry toward sustainability?
- Banks are starting to come up with ways to encourage sustainability in the palm oil sector, whose unbridled expansion is fueling deforestation and rights abuses across the world.
- Still, the nascent green finance industry faces a number of obstacles as it seeks to expand its influence.
- These include a lack of transparency with regard to company ownership, misguided valuations of palm oil enterprises, and more.
Do poor environmental practices affect palm oil firms’ bottom lines on a scale meaningful for investors and financiers?
- Big companies generally don’t see environmental noncompliance as a major economic risk.
- That’s because they tend to think about their business in the short term, rather than in the long term, where most environmental issues come into play.
- The material impacts of environmentally unsustainable practices can also be hard to quanify.
What’s preventing palm oil investors from going green?
- Green investment could make the palm oil industry more sustainable, but a variety of obstacles are preventing it from becoming more prevalent.
- A lack of expertise, the structural issue of short-termism, and a lack of proven materiality all keep funds from flowing toward sustainable operations.
- Additional issues specific to palm oil exist as well.
Do palm oil financiers care about sustainability?
- Sustainable finance has been touted as a solution to the palm oil industry’s links with forest destruction and rights abuses.
- The movement’s progress, however, has been hampered by the difficulty of measuring the environmental impact of things like green loans and bonds.
- Mongabay spoke to experts in the field to investigate how much investors and financiers in the palm oil sector care about their clients’ sustainability.
The year in rainforests: 2015
- Between the landmark climate agreement signed in Paris in December 2015, Indonesia’s fire and haze crisis of the late summer and early fall, and continuing adoption of zero deforestation policies by some of the world’s largest companies, tropical forests grabbed the spotlight more than usual in 2015.
- Here’s a look at some of the biggest tropical forest-related developments from the past year.
- Trends in forest cover tend to lag broad economic trends, but there were indications that the global economic slowdown driven by declining growth in China may be starting to impact tropical forests.
RSPO pledges reform after NGO exposes shoddy palm oil audits
- A resolution passed by the RSPOs general assresolution constitutes an unprecedented acknowledgement of problems with the RSPO’s audit processes.
- The resolution follows an NGO exposé of frequent “dodgy assessments” of member companies’ operations by RSPO-approved auditors.
- The RSPO will form a dedicated task force to develop a more detailed response.
Greenwashing? RSPO audits rife with ‘mistakes and fraud,’ report finds
- A new report casts doubt on the credibility of the RSPO’s network of auditors, a vital component of the organization’s certification process.
- Some auditors crop up repeatedly in problematic cases.
- The study was conducted by London-based NGO the Environmental Investigation Agency and Malaysian NGO Grassroots.
With fires wreaking havoc across Indonesia, Malaysian state targets greener palm oil
- The Malaysian state of Sabah on Wednesday announced it is pressing forward with a plan to certify 100 percent of its palm oil production under criteria set by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) by 2025.
- The initiative aims to differentiate Sabah’s palm oil from other producers, while addressing environmental problems and boosting productivity of existing plantations.
- Officials say the program will better position Sabah as other states and regions enter the palm oil business.
Palm oil company caught destroying primary forest in endangered ecosystem
- Activists have documented a palm oil company destroying lowland rainforest in Sumatra’s endangered Leuser Ecosystem.
- Last month, Rainforest Action Network (RAN) reported that PT. Tualang Raya was clearing rainforest in Aceh Timur.
- RAN’s allegations are supported by independent data from Global Forest Watch, a platform for monitoring changes in forests worldwide.
Target, Costco, Grupo Bimbo adopt new palm oil policies
- Target and Costco establish zero deforestation policies for palm oil source
- The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), generally welcomes the commitments from Target and Costco, but finds some faults.
- Grupo Bimbo says it will cut off suppliers who fail to comply.
Outrage at claims of migrants enslaved on Malaysian palm plantations
- Malaysian palm-oil sector likely a major pull factor in Asian migrant crisis
- Wall Street Journal the latest to expose labor-rights violations on plantations
- Felda skeptical of Journal findings; RSPO pledges to follow up
Big Palm Oil’s financiers
Part four in a five-part series on the links between business practices and deforestation in palm oil industry. Parts one, two and three. A key component of the palm oil industry that is often overlooked is the role played by financial institutions and investors. Over the past decade alone, at least $50 billion has been invested in […]
Consumers willing to pay sharp premium for wildlife-friendly palm oil, claims study
Orangutan orphaned after its mother was killed in an oil palm plantation in Sumatra. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Shoppers may be willing to pay a 15 to 56 percent premium for palm oil produced without the destruction endangered species’ habitat, asserts a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. […]
PepsiCo, Walmart, investors call for stronger palm oil standard
Forest cleared for an oil palm plantation in Sarawak, Malaysia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Major global brands and a network of activist investors have joined together to call on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to adopt stronger criteria to eliminate deforestation from palm oil supply chains. The call, put out Monday in […]
Malaysian state eyes 100% certified palm oil by 2025
Logged over forest and oil palm in Sabah. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Sabah, a state in Malaysian Borneo, is weighing a proposal to produce only palm oil certified under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an eco-certification initiative, by 2025. The move, if approved, would represent the first time a sub-national or state […]
GAR, Wilmar punish palm oil supplier for clearing rainforest in New Guinea
Palm oil fresh fruit bunches in Indonesia. Photo: Rhett A. Butler Last summer, an Indonesian NGO published research showing that an oil palm developer controlled by one of the country’s richest businessmen was clearing dense rainforest in New Guinea despite promises by its biggest customers to purge their supply chains of deforestation. Nearly a year […]
Golden Agri’s wings clipped by RSPO in West Kalimantan
Forest cleared for oil palm in West Kalimantan. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has prohibited Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), one of its most prominent members, from “acquiring or developing any new areas” pending the resolution of a formal complaint against the palm oil giant in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province. […]
Palm oil certification body to establish stronger voluntary standard
Due to its widening impact on tropical forests yet high profit margins, palm oil is one of the most polarizing crops in the tropics. Scientists and environmentalists warn of the high ecological costs caused by converting peatlands and rainforests for oil palm plantation, but growers and food producers argue that as the highest-yielding oilseed, palm […]
Orangutan rescued amid sea of palm oil
A large male Sumatran orangutan is released, some 50 kilometers from where he was rescued in the Leuser Ecosystem. Photo: Paul Hilton for OIC. Conservationists rescued another orangutan stranded in Sumatra by expanding oil palm plantations, spotlighting continued fragmentation and destruction of red ape habitat on the Indonesian island. The rescue, which took place in […]
Mobile app reveals what products contain palm oil
An orangutan orphaned after its mother was killed during forest clearing for an oil palm plantation in Sumatra. A new app enables iPhone [download] and Android [download] users to scan barcodes to reveal whether household products contain palm oil. The app, officially released Monday, was conceived by Australia-based Palm Oil Investigations (POI) and developed by […]
Palm oil giant buys PNG firm noted for environmental practices
Oil palm plantation and rainforest in Sabah, Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Malaysian palm oil giant Sime Darby Plantation Bhd has completed its acquisition New Britain Palm Oil Ltd, a Papua New Guinea-based grower lauded by environmentalists for its green policies. The $1.7 billion deal, which closed last week, brings Sime Darby’s total land […]
Palm oil certification body purges membership
Palm fruit used for palm oil production. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has purged membership of a number of companies and organizations that have failed to comply with reporting requirements. The move could be a sign that the certification body is getting more serious about enforcing its standards, […]
Rainforests: 10 things to watch in 2015
What’s in store for rainforests in the new year.
Musim Mas says its palm oil will be deforestation-free
Deforestation in Malaysia for palm oil. Photo by Rhett Butler Singapore-based Musim Mas has established a new sustainability policy that it says will eliminate deforestation, peatlands conversion, and social conflict from its palm oil supply chain. The company, which operates plantations in Sumatra and Indonesian Borneo, has been under pressure from environmentalists to join a […]
IKEA commits to zero deforestation palm oil
Oil palm fruit. Photos by Rhett Butler Home products giant IKEA has made a time-bound commitment for eliminating palm oil linked to deforestation and human rights abuses from its supply chain. IKEA, which uses palm oil in candles and food products, unveiled the policy today. It calls for zero deforestation and no conversion of peatlands, […]
Ranking the world’s best – and worst – palm oil companies in terms of sustainability
Screenshot of the mapping function of the Sustainable Palm Oil Transparency Toolkit, powered by ESRI. Click image to enlarge. A new initiative ranks the world’s 25 largest publicly listed palm oil companies in terms of transparency around the environmental performance of their operations. The project, called Sustainable Palm Oil Transparency Toolkit or SPOTT, was developed […]
UN to promote RSPO-certified palm oil as conservation solution
Oil palm plantation and natural forest in Costa Rica. All photos by Rhett Butler. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has signed an agreement with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to promote eco-certified palm oil as part of the broader effort to conserve biodiversity. The move, announced Thursday, commits UNEP and RSPO to […]
Brazil unlikely to sustain gains in reducing deforestation without new incentives for ranchers, says study
Report argues that a jurisdiction-based approach could be a solution if commodity certification fails to reduce deforestation Cattle pasture and a forest reserve in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Cattle ranchers that drive the vast majority of forest clearing in the Brazilian Amazon are unlikely to be held at bay indefinitely unless […]
Report rates palm oil companies on sustainability commitments
Rainforest clearing for oil palm in Aceh Province, Sumatra. Photo by Rhett A. Butler A new report published by Forest Heroes, an advocacy campaign pushing for an end to deforestation, ranks global palm oil companies on their sustainability commitments. The Green Tigers, authored by Glen Hurowitz, reviews the recent history of environmental policies in the […]
Big palm oil companies move forward on carbon study
An illegal oil palm plantation established within a protected forest area in Sumatra, Indonesia. Photos by Rhett Butler. Seven palm oil giants have agreed to fund a study that will define what constitutes “High Carbon Stock” (HCS) forest, a move that will potentially determine the fate of ecosystems around the world as more companies commit […]
Palm oil company clears rainforest in New Guinea
Palm fruit in Indonesia An Indonesian Stock Exchange-listed company whose commissioner is a member of The Nature Conservancy-Indonesia’s board has been clearing dense rainforest in New Guinea, finds a new report from Greenomics-Indonesia. The report, titled ‘Busy years’ ahead until 2017: Spending US 12 million on clearing Papua’s intact forest landscapes”, is based on analysis […]
New palm oil sustainability manifesto met with criticism from environmentalists
Oil palm fresh fruit bunches in Aceh, Indonesia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. This week several palm oil giants — Sime Darby Plantation, Musim Mas Group, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (KLK), IOI Group Corporation Bhd, Cargill and Asian Agri/APICAL — announced new environmental criteria for palm oil production. The companies, which have long been targeted […]
Greenpeace rates companies’ zero deforestation commitments
Greenpeace has released a basic rating system to gauge the strength of companies’ zero deforestation commitments related to palm oil sourcing. The rating system, dubbed the Tiger Challenge, incorporates five metrics: a zero deforestation commitment, supply chain traceability, timelines for achieving palm oil sustainability goals, transparency, and implementation. The activist group says it reached out […]
RSPO plantations publicly mapped for the first time
RSPO-certified plantations near Bohorok outside of Medan, North Sumatra. Courtesy of Global Forest Watch A global map of the world’s Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified oil palm plantations is available for the first time. On Wednesday, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the RSPO unveiled a new layer of RSPO concession data for […]
RSPO calls for greater collaboration on zero deforestation commitments
Oil palm plantation in Sumatra. Photos by Rhett Butler The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) today called for greater collaboration between it and the leading implementer of zero deforestation policies, The Forest Trust (TFT). In a letter posted on its web site, the RSPO noted that both organizations have a similar goal: improving the […]
Malaysian palm oil company stock drops after environmental complaint
Destruction of rainforest for an oil palm plantation in Malaysia Genting Plantations Bhd’s stock price fell by more than two percent after the palm oil company’s membership in the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was suspended due to a complaint from the Borneo Rhino Alliance for failing to abide by the body’s principles on […]
Johnson & Johnson commits to zero deforestation for palm oil
Deforestation for an oil palm plantation in Borneo Personal care products giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J – NYSE:JNJ) today unveiled a comprehensive palm oil sourcing policy that eliminates deforestation and social conflict from its global palm oil supply chain. The policy applies to all palm oil and palm oil derivatives J&J uses. The company says […]
Commodity eco-certification skyrockets, but standards slip
Trends in commodity certification markets Market share for certified commodities. All figures courtesy of IISD’s report The volume of commodities produced under various social and environmental certification standards jumped 41 percent in 2012, far outpacing the 2 percent growth across conventional commodity markets, finds a comprehensive new assessment of the global certification market. The report […]
Despite campaign, Girl Scout cookies still aren’t deforestation free, say scout activists
Clearing and burning of peat forest for palm oil production in Sumatra. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Despite a high-profile campaign that caused one of the world’s largest food companies to adopt a comprehensive zero deforestation policy, Girl Scout cookies still aren’t necessarily free of rainforest destruction and social conflict, say the two girl scouts […]
Malaysia at risk of falling behind in push for more sustainable palm oil
Deforestation for palm oil production in Malaysia The Malaysian state should play a more active role in supporting the transition toward less environmentally destructive palm oil production, says a coalition of Malaysian NGO’s. In a statement issued Sunday, the Malaysian Palm Oil NGO Coalition (MPONGOC) urged Malaysian banks, palm oil associations, and other government-backed institutions […]
Indian food giant to source deforestation-free palm oil
Rainforest destruction for palm oil production in Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Orkla, a Nordic conglomerate that owns MTR Foods, one of India’s major food companies, has established a zero deforestation policy for the palm oil it sources, reports Greenpeace. Orkla’s policy commits it to full traceability and bars palm oil produced via forest […]
Progressive palm oil group opens door to companies, NGO’s adopting zero deforestation policies
Clearing for oil palm in Riau Province, Indonesia. The Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG), an alliance formed last year, has opened its doors to new members who commit to social and environmental safeguards that go beyond the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) eco-certification standard. Founding members of POIG include three palm oil producers — […]
Fast food companies are laggards on palm oil sourcing safeguards
Fast food companies are lagging behind other consumer products companies in efforts to establish policies that favor deforestation-free and conflict-free palm oil, finds a new assessment published by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), an advocacy group. The report, titled “Donuts, Deodorant, Deforestation: Scoring America’s Top Brands on Their Palm Oil Commitments“, looked at palm […]
Wilmar refutes Sarawak govt’s claims on palm oil ban
Rainforest conversion for oil palm in Malaysian Borneo. Palm oil giant Wilmar has refuted a claim that it will stop buying crude palm oil from the Malaysian state of Sarawak due to its new “no deforestation” policy. On Saturday Malaysian state media published a report claiming that Wilmar would halt purchases of palm oil from […]
In Girl Scouts vs. Kellogg’s over palm oil, rainforests and orangutans win
Deforestation in Riau, Sumatra. After a campaign waged by two charismatic Girl Scouts over questionably-sourced palm oil used in Girl Scout Cookies, Kellogg Company today announced a policy that will move it toward deforestation-free palm oil. Under the commitment, Kellogg’s suppliers will have to meet specific sourcing criteria by the end of 2015. “Kellogg will […]
Despite falling palm oil price, premium for ‘sustainable’ product rises
Deforestation for oil palm on peatland in Riau Province on the island of Sumatra. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Despite a sharp drop in the price of palm oil since 2011, premiums for certificates representing palm oil produced under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standard have risen due to increased demand for greener […]
Rainforest news review for 2013
- 2013 was full of major developments in efforts to understand and protect the world’s tropical rainforests.
- The following is a review of some of the major tropical forest-related news stories for the year.
- As a review, this post will not cover everything that transpired during 2013 in the world of tropical forests. Please feel free to highlight anything this post missed via the comments section at the bottom.
Palm oil company Bumitama under fire for clearing rainforest, endangering orangutans
Multiple allegations have been made against the Indonesian palm oil producer for setting up illegal plantations, violating its own commitments to stop clearing forests and misrepresenting its membership in the RSPO. Clearance for oil palm plantations near Tanjung Puting National Park. An excavator constructs a canal in recently cleared land in an oil palm concession […]
Palm oil workers stage massive protest at sustainability meeting in Indonesia
Labor unions demand seat at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Protester at the palm oil meeting in Medan, Indonesia. Photo: Ayat S Karokaro Protesters from 10 Indonesian labor unions and four NGOs descended on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RPSO) meetings in Medan last Tuesday, urging the industry body to take serious steps […]
Aiming to avoid deforestation, Unilever to trace all palm oil it sources
In a move that represents a significant development for efforts to reduce the environmental impact of palm oil, consumer products giant Unilever today announced it will be able to trace all of the palm oil it sources by the end of 2014. The policy is notable because at present few major companies know where the […]
3.5 million ha of Indonesian and Malaysian forest converted for palm oil in 20 years
Palm plantations expanding at 7% per year across Malaysia and Indonesia Some 3.5 million hectares (8.7 million acres) of forest in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea was converted for oil palm plantations between 1990 and 2010, finds a comprehensive set of assessments released by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The research, conducted […]
HBSC financing deforestation for palm oil in Borneo
HSBC, the world’s third largest bank, continues to lend to companies linked to deforestation despite a policy explicitly prohibiting such practices, alleges a new report from the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). The report, published last week, looks at two Indonesian palm oil companies that recently received finance from HSBC: Bumitama Agri and Triputra Agro […]
Palm oil companies ignoring community rights, new study shows
Some of the largest palm oil companies are clearing forests and peatlands without seeking consent of local communities, leading to a spate of unresolved conflicts in plantation concessions around the world, warns a coalition of NGOs and researchers. Members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) are violating the rights of local communities in […]
The palm oil debate: can the world’s most productive oilseed be less damaging to the environment?
On Thursday, 17 October 2013 Mongabay.com and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) co-hosted a discussion on environmental issues related to palm oil. The discussion involved representatives from WWF, Greenpeace and the RSPO. Mongabay.com Founder Rhett A. Butler served as the moderator. The following is an approximate transcription of the discussion. The transcription was […]
Video depicting conversation between deaf girl, orangutan highlights palm oil risks
Environmental activists have released an emotive video that aims to raise awareness about the impact of converting rainforests into oil palm plantations to provide a common ingredient in processed snack foods. The video, distributed last week by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), portrays a 12-year-old deaf girl named Lena communicating via Skype with “Strawberry”, an […]
Malaysia to launch palm oil certification scheme to compete with RSPO
Malaysia will launch its own certification standard for palm oil produced by local firms by 2014, reports Reuters. The initiative aims to differentiate Malaysian palm oil from that produced in other countries, while offering a less stringent alternative to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, the sector’s leading certification body. “To move forward in the […]
Palm oil now biggest cause of deforestation in Indonesia
An excavator at the rainforest’s edge in recently cleared peatland within the Duta Palma group’s PT. Bertuah Aneka Yasa palm oil concession in Indragiri Hulu, Riau. Taken 05/04/2013 © Kemal Jufri / Greenpeace Conversion of forests for palm oil production now appears to be the single largest driver of deforestation in Indonesia, accounting for roughly […]
Palm oil body, Greenpeace spar over Indonesia fire blame
Greenpeace and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a body that sets criteria for greener palm oil production, are caught up in a row over the origin of fires that cast a pall over Sumatra, Singapore, and Malaysia last month. The dispute started when media outlets, based on independent analysis of satellite data, identified […]
World’s biggest companies lay out path toward zero-deforestation commodities
With a backdrop of fires raging across oil palm and timber plantations in Sumatra, business and political leaders convened in Indonesia to discuss a path forward for producing deforestation-free commodities by 2020. The gathering in Jakarta was the first meeting of the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, a public-private push to implement the zero deforestation target […]
Greenpeace releases dramatic pictures of haze and fires in Indonesia (photos)
Greenpeace has released a series of photos from the front lines of the peat fires that are casting a pall of haze and triggering health warnings across Singapore and Malaysia. The images were taken by Getty photographer Ulet Infansasti in Sumatra, where the fires are burning. Greenpeace also released photographs taken by Ferina Natasya in […]
5 RSPO companies linked to haze
Five members of the Roundtable and Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) will be asked to submit digital maps of their plantations after media reports linked them to fires in Sumatra that are driving the haze across Singapore and Malaysia. The RSPO has given the companies — PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa, Tabung Haji Plantations, Sinar Mas, Kuala […]
Palm oil company violated RSPO standards, evicted from sustainability body
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has evicted Indonesian palm oil giant Dutapalma Nusantara for violating key principles for sustainability. Dutapalma Nusantara, which is also known as Darmex Agro or Duta Palma, was found to have violated three RSPO principles: converting deep peat for a plantation, clearing forest without a high conservation value (HCV) […]
Probe confirms Singapore-based palm oil company engaged in land-grabbing in Borneo
Moody investigation confirms allegations of palm oil company land grabs An independent investigation has shown that First Resources Ltd, a palm oil plantation company and member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), failed to obtain proper consent from local communities before clearing rainforests for plantations in Indonesian Borneo, an Indonesian indigenous rights group […]
Environmentalists unhappy with new palm oil standard
Environmentalists are unhappy with Thursday’s approval of new criteria for the world’s leading palm oil certification standard. After members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in a special assembly approved the body’s new “principles and criteria” (P&Cs) for palm oil certification, several groups voiced concern that the rules won’t protect against conversion of […]
Indonesian palm oil giant clearing peat forest despite its RSPO membership, alleges Greenpeace
A major Indonesian palm oil producer continues to clear rainforests in Sumatra despite being a prominent member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), casting doubts on the body’s effectiveness in limiting deforestation, alleges a new report from Greenpeace. The report, titled A Dirty Business, is based on a field investigation itno the Darmex […]
RSPO failing to meet sustainability objectives for palm oil production, says WWF
An initiative that aims to improve the social and environmental performance of palm oil production is faltering in its mission by failing to establish strong performance standards on greenhouse gas emissions and pesticide use, argues a new statement issued by WWF, the initiative’s biggest green supporter. The statement [PDF], published on the eve of a […]
Indonesian palm oil industry would support land swaps to protect forest, while expanding production
Indonesian palm oil companies would support land swaps as a means to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation while simultaneously expanding production, representatives from the country’s largest association of palm oil producers told mongabay.com in an interview last month. GAPKI General Secretary Joko Supriyono and Executive Director Fadhil Hasan said the Indonesian palm oil industry would […]
Nordic energy giant launches ‘no deforestation’ policy
Neste Oil, a Finnish energy giant, has announced a new “no deforestation” policy [PDF] for sourcing palm oil. The company, which is one of the world’s largest buyers of palm oil, had faced criticism from environmentalists for purchasing palm oil potentially linked to rainforest and peatland destruction in southeast Asia. Under the new policy, Neste […]
Cargill to boost investment in Indonesian oil palm plantations
Cargill plans to “aggressively” expand its palm oil holdings in Sulawesi, Indonesian Borneo, and Sumatra, reports The Wall Street Journal. The agribusiness giant says it will target areas where it is “environmentally safe to expand our oil-palm footprint”, according to Cargill’s Anthony Yeow, who spoke to Dow Jones Newswires. Cargill says this means it won’t […]
Dunkin’ Donuts to adopt palm oil policy
Oil palm plantation in Borneo, with rainforest in the background Doughnut and coffeehouse giant Dunkin’ Donuts has agreed to source 100 percent of its palm oil under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), though the company has yet to set a date for the move, reports the New York State Comptroller’s office. The fast-food […]
Malaysian NGOs boldly demand forest conservation action in Borneo
In an unusually bold statement catalyzed by the deaths of 14 rare elephants, six Malaysian NGOs today called on the Sabah state government to pursue “a more conservation focused agenda” in managing the state’s forests. The call-to-action, addressed to Sabah’s chief minister Musa Aman, focuses on three core recommendations: setting aside more forest areas for […]
Guide for filing complaints on rule-breaking by palm oil companies published
Is that riparian buffer zone along the Kinabatangan River in Malaysian Borneo up to code? Photo by Rhett A. Butler Over the past 25 years palm oil production has emerged as one of the biggest drivers of deforestation and peatlands degradation in Southeast Asia. And there are fears that expansion in West and Central Africa […]
Controversial palm oil project concession in Cameroon is 89 percent ‘dense natural forest’
Forest and river in Herakles’ concession area. Photo: © Greenpeace/Alex Yallop. Satellite mapping and aerial surveys have revealed that a controversial palm oil concession in Cameroon is almost entirely covered by “dense natural forest,” according to a new report by Greenpeace. The activist group alleges that the concession, owned by Herakles Farms, is under 89 […]
Palm oil sustainability initiative must rule out deforestation, says group
Forest conversion for palm oil production in Borneo. Photo by Rhett Butler The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) must implement standards that protect forests and account for greenhouse gas emissions to remain credible, said an environmental group ahead of a that will determine the body’s “Principles and Criteria” for the next five years. In […]
RSPO rules against palm oil company in controversial deforestation case
Forest cleared in October 2011 on Muara Tae customary land, in a concession issued to PT Munte Wani Jaya Perkasa (credit: EIA/Tom Johnson) The body that sets social and environmental criteria for greener palm oil production has taken action against a palm oil accused of clearing community forest in Indonesian Borneo, reports the Environmental Investigation […]
Cutting through the rhetoric on palm oil production
Oil palm plantation in peninsular Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Palm oil is widely acknowledged as one of the most important drivers of deforestation and forest diminishment in Southeast Asia. Conversion of forests and peatlands for oil palm plantations is both a substantial source of greenhouse gas emissions and a major threat to biodiversity […]
Complaint filed with palm oil body over orangutan rescue case
OIC’s Human Orangutan Conflict Response Unit (HOCRU) with the assistance of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SCOP), the Leuser Ecosystem Management Authority (BPKEL), and the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) conducted a rescue on PT Sisirau’s plantation in May 2012. Photo credit OIC. Conservationists have filed a complaint against an Indonesian palm oil company for […]
E.U. OKs biofuels produced from certified palm oil
Palm fruit. Photo by Rhett Butler. The European Commission has approved palm oil-based biodiesel for the renewable fuels standard provided it is certified under the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a body that sets social and environmental criteria for palm oil production. The move, which could dramatically boost sales of palm oil in Europe, […]
Photos reveal destruction of Cameroon rainforest for palm oil
Clearing of trees in a concession area of Herakles Farm’s area for a palm oil plantation. Greenpeace says these clearings are illegal since Herakles’ lease has not been given final approval. Herakles Farm did not respond to request for comment. Photo: © Greenpeace/Alex Yallop. Newly released photos by Greenpeace show the dramatic destruction of tropical […]
China, India should cut tariff on eco-certified palm oil to boost demand, says RSPO official
Palm oil imports to China, India, and the European Union (25 countries), 2000-2010 China and India, the world’s largest palm oil buyers, should reduce or eliminate an import tariff on eco-certified palm oil to boost demand for less-damaging production of the widely-used oilseed, said the President of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) during […]
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil hits 10 year mark
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is holding its tenth annual meeting later this month. The initiative, which aims to improve the social and environmental performance of palm oil production through a certification standard, has advanced considerably during that time, moving from an idea to a reality: RSPO-certified palm oil now accounts for 12 […]
Palm oil company in Cameroon drops bid for eco-certification of controversial plantation
Forest clearing for palm oil production in Cameroon. Photo courtesy of Greenpeace Herakles Farm, a U.S.-based agricultural developer, will no longer seek eco-certification of its 70,000-hectare oil palm plantation in Cameroon, reports the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The move comes amid criticism from environmental groups that Herakles is converting high conservation value rainforest […]
Palm oil giant to produce 100% segregated, RSPO-certified palm oil
100 percent of New Britain Palm Oil Limited’s palm oil will be eco-certified, segregated, and fully traceable by the end of the year, reports the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The move is the first such commitment for a palm oil major. It positions the company for sales in premium markets where consumers are […]
In sustainability push, Unilever aims to build palm oil processing plant in Indonesia
Oil palm and logged over rainforest in Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler 2008. Unilever is in talks to build a $130 million palm oil processing mill in Indonesia as part of its commitment to use more environmentally-friendly palm oil in its products, reports The Wall Street Journal. The mill, which would be located in […]
Green groups may call for boycott of Indonesian palm oil over forest destruction in Sumatra
Sumatran orangutan. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Environmental groups are escalating their battle over an area of peat forest in Tripa, Sumatra that has been granted for oil palm plantations. The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP), an initiative run jointly by the Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari and the PanEco Foundation, says that unless the government suspends […]
Certified palm oil profitable for companies, finds study
A new study suggests shifting to certified palm oil production increases profitability despite higher production costs. The study, which was conducted by WWF, a major backer of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), indicates “that the business benefits gained from achieving RSPO certification “typically outweigh the costs of implementation—in many cases significantly.'” The benefits […]
Our success in transforming commodity markets will determine nature’s fate
Soy in the Brazilian Amazon The success of governments and big corporations in eliminating environmental degradation from the products we consume will play a critical role in determining the fate of the world’s remaining wild places, said a group of experts speaking at a panel during the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship [related posts]. […]
RSPO-certified palm oil production jumps, generates $21M in premiums for producers
Production and sales of palm oil certified under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) reached record volume in 2011, reports a new analysis published by the multistakeholder body. Production of “certified sustainable palm oil” (CSPO) rose from 1.4 million metric tons in 2009 to 4.8 million tons in 2011, while sales climbed from 343,857 […]
Belgium to source only RSPO-certified palm oil by 2015
Belgium will source only palm oil certified under the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) by 2015 under a pledge by an alliance of major processors, manufacturers, and industry associations, reports the RSPO. The Belgian Alliance for Sustainable Palm Oil made the commitment as part of an effort to boost demand for palm oil that […]
The year in review for rainforests
2011 was designated as “Year of the Forests” by the United Nations. While there was relatively little progress on intergovernmental forest protection programs during the year, a lot happened elsewhere. Below is a look at some of the biggest tropical forest-related news stories for 2011. We at mongabay readily acknowledge there were a number of […]
Will ‘sustainable’ palm oil sell in China?
Owing to the high yield of the African oil palm tree, palm oil is today the cheapest commercial source of edible oil. But oil palm expansion in recent decades has at times had high indirect costs, including destruction of biologically diverse rainforests and further marginalization of forest-dependent people, especially in southeast Asia. Concerns over the […]
Cargill should do more to end use of problematic palm oil, says RAN
As part of our coverage of the 9th Annual Roundtable Meeting on Sustainable Palm Oil currently underway in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, mongabay.com is interviewing participants and attendees. In the following interview, mongabay.com speaks with the delegation from the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), an advocacy group which has been critical of some Roundtable on […]
Palm oil giant misled the public on violent conflict with local communities
Oil palm in Sumatra Palm oil giant Wilmar Corp misled the public over a conflict between local communities and one of its subsidiaries in Sumatra, alleges a new report published by the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP). The report [PDF], which is based on an extensive field investigation, says that local Indonesian police (BRIMOB) in Jambi […]
McDonald’s joins sustainable palm oil initiative
McDonald’s Corp. has officially joined the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a body that sets criteria for improving the social and environmental performance of palm oil production. The move bolsters the RSPO, which has recently been joined by other major companies, including Walmart, The Hershey Company, and Citigroup, and has seen uptake of its […]
After protracted campaign, Girl Scouts pledges to cut out some palm oil
Palm oil plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Girl Scouts USA has announced that it will lessen palm oil in its ubiquitous cookies by using alternatives when possible and cutting overall usage. The organization also committed to purchasing GreenPalm certificates for all of its palm oil in order to financially support more […]
Europe should lift duty on RSPO-certified palm oil to encourage use, says Dutch group
To encourage uptake of palm oil that is less damaging to the environment, the European Union (EU) should lift the import duty on palm oil certified under Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), said a Dutch industry group. The Dutch Product Board for Margarine, Fats and Oils (MVO), a group that has already committed to […]
Malaysian government to launch RSPO rival for palm oil certification
The Malaysian government is developing its own certification system for palm oil production, potentially creating another rival to the certification system run by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), reports Malaysia’s Business Times. Speaking in Australia, Malaysian Commodities Minister Bernard Dompok said the government is in the “preliminary stage” of developing a sustainability standard […]
Cargill adopts ‘greener’ palm oil policy
Agribusiness giant Cargill will ensure all palm oil supplied to customers in Europe, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand is certified under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an environmental standard, or originated from smallholder growers by 2015, according to a statement issued by the company. Cargill says it will extend the commitment […]
Europe to require listing of palm oil on product labels
Oil palm plantation in Malaysia. Photo by Jeremy Hance. Members of the European Parliament have voted in favor of listing specific vegetable oils — including palm oil — on product labels, reports the Clear Labels, Not Forests initiative which pushed for the measure. The new agreement requires all vegetable oils to be labeled individually by […]
Australia’s Senate passes palm oil labeling bill
Just days after being rejected by the the Senate Community Affairs Committee, Australia’s Senate passed the Amended Truth in Labeling – Palm Oil Bill. The bill, which requires products containing palm oil to be explicitly labeled as such, will next go to the House of Representatives where it is expected to pass if an alliance […]
Alleged moratorium breach becomes test for RSPO
PT Menteng’s alleged breach of Indonesia’s forest moratorium. The red areas are off-limits to new concessions. An alleged breach of Indonesia’s new moratorium on primary forest and peatlands conversion may prove a test for the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an eco-certification initiative. A report published last week alleges that PT Menteng Jaya Sawit […]
Could palm oil help save the Amazon? (2011)
This article is a longer version of story that appeared at Yale e360: In Brazil, Palm Oil Plantations Could Help Preserve Amazon. For years now, environmentalists have become accustomed to associating palm oil with large-scale destruction of rainforests across Malaysia and Indonesia. Campaigners have linked palm oil-containing products like Girl Scout cookies and soap products […]
Could palm oil help save the Amazon?
- For years now, environmentalists have become accustomed to associating palm oil with large-scale destruction of rainforests across Malaysia and Indonesia.
- Campaigners have linked palm oil-containing products like Girl Scout cookies and soap products to smoldering peatlands and dead orangutans.
- Now with Brazil announcing plans to dramatically scale-up palm oil production in the Amazon, could the same fate befall Earth’s largest rainforest? With this potential there is a frenzy of activity in the Brazilian palm oil sector.
- Yet there is a conspicuous lack of hand wringing by environmentalists in the Amazon. The reason: done right, oil palm could emerge as a key component in the effort to save the Amazon rainforest. Responsible production there could even force changes in other parts of the world.
Dutch buy first ‘responsible’ soy sourced from the Amazon
The Dutch food and feed industry has bought the first soy produced under the principles of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), a body that aims to bring more socially and environmentally sustainable soy to market. The first 85,000 tons of RTRS certified soy originated from Grupo André Maggi, a Brazilian producer with operations […]
Girls Scouts censors Facebook page after coming under criticism for product linked to rainforest loss
Oil palm and logged over rainforest in Sabah, Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler 2008. Girls Scouts USA has censored its Facebook page after receiving comments criticizing the organization, according to Rainforest Action Network (RAN). RAN along with Change.org and two Girl Scout activists, Rhiannon Tomtishen and Madison Vorva, declared today a social media day […]
RSPO: Labeling palm oil as an ingredient is fine, provided other oils are labeled too
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a body that sets criteria for social and environmental certification of palm oil, weighed in on the debate over Australia’s proposal to require listing of palm oil as an ingredient on package labels. At the same time, the RSPO announced its own labeling initiative to distinguish products that […]
Avon commits to greener palm oil
Destruction of rainforest for oil palm plantations in Sarawak, Malaysia. Courtesy of Google Earth. The beauty products giant Avon will purchase enough GreenPalm certificates to meet 100 percent of its palm oil use. The move means that Avon can claim all of the palm oil it is purchasing is going to support the Roundtable on […]
Malaysian palm oil giant in fight with forest people gets rebuke from RSPO
Location map showing key areas visited during field study by the NGO Grassroots (from Case study of IOI Pelita Plantations operations and practices, and its impact upon the community of Long Teran Kanan, Tinjar, Baram, Sarawak, Malaysia): A) IOI workers’ housing B) View of recent land clearing activities by IOI C) IOI’s agrochemical storage and […]
Pro-deforestation group criticizes palm oil giant for sustainability pact
World Growth International, a group that advocates on behalf of industrial forestry interests, has criticized Golden Agri Resources (GAR), Indonesia’s largest palm oil producer, for signing a forest policy that aims to protect high conservation value and high carbon stock forest and requires free, prior informed consent (FPIC) in working with communities potentially affected by […]
Palm oil company gives up land contested by local communities as part of sustainability pledge
An Indonesia palm oil company has relinquished part of its plantation concession to communities that traditionally use the land as part of its commitment to sustainability principles under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), reports the Forest Peoples Programme. The move is a response to a new procedure that could reduce conflict between palm […]
Coalition calls on Europe to label palm oil on food products
Do you have the right to know whether the chocolate bar you’re munching on includes palm oil, which is blamed for vast deforestation in Malaysia and Indonesia? How about that frozen pizza? According to a coalition of environmental and conservation groups it’s time for food manufacturers to add palm oil to the label in Europe, […]
McDonald’s launches new sourcing policy for palm oil, paper, beef to reduce global environmental impact
McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) announced a far-reaching sourcing policy that could significantly reduce the fast-food giant’s impact on the environment, including global forests. Yesterday McDonald’s unveiled its Sustainable Land Management Commitment (SLMC), a policy that requires its suppliers to use “agricultural raw materials for the company’s food and packaging that originate from sustainably-managed land”. The commitment will […]
Kellogg switches to ‘greener’ palm oil
Kellogg Company will support greener palm oil production through the purchase of ‘sustainable’ palm oil certificates until it can obtain a segregated, sustainable supply, said the food giant in a statement. The maker of Frosted Flakes® and PopTarts® will offset all of its palm oil consumption through the purchase of GreenPalm certificates, which represent physical […]
Breakthrough? Controversial palm oil company signs rainforest pact
Oil palm and logged over rainforest in Sabah, Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler 2008. One of the world’s highest profile and most controversial palm oil companies, Golden Agri-Resources Limited (GAR), has signed an agreement committing it to protect tropical forests and peatlands in Indonesia. The deal—signed with The Forest Trust, an environmental group that […]
Greening the world with palm oil?
This article—written in April 2010, updated in August 2010, and posted for the first time today—is part of larger “Fate of Forests” series. The commercial shows a typical office setting. A worker sits drearily at a desk, shredding papers and watching minutes tick by on the clock. When his break comes, he takes out a […]
Sales of RSPO-certified palm oil surge 225%
Sales of palm oil certified under the leading sustainability standard surged 225 percent in 2010, suggesting growing consumer interest in more responsibly-sourced palm oil. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the body that devised the social and environmental certification initiative, says sales of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) reached 1.3 million metric tons in […]
Converting palm oil companies from forest destroyers into forest protectors
An interview with Craig Hanson and Moray McLeish of the World Resources Institute. Jeremy conducted the interview; Rhett wrote the introduction, laid out the page, and developed the images. Oil palm and logged over rainforest in Sabah, Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler 2008. In efforts to save the world’s remaining rainforests great hopes have […]
Lack of price premium for certified palm oil endangers sustainability initiative
The palm oil industry’s sustainability initiative is making considerable progress toward improving its environmental performance, but needs to do more to accelerate the adoption of responsible practices, argue researchers writing in mongabay.com’s open access journal Tropical Conservation Science. Gary Paoli and colleagues review recent gains under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a body […]
RSPO to recognize secondary forests as conservation priority
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a body that sets environmental standards for palm oil production, has passed a resolution to reconfirm that secondary and degraded forests can classified as High Conservation Value (HCV) areas. The designation could increase the area of forest conserved within oil palm plantations provided it has high conservation significance, […]
Indonesia to launch rival palm oil certification standard
The Indonesian government is moving closer to launching its own certification system to ensure less damaging palm oil production, reports the Jakarta Post. The scheme would rival the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a multi-stakeholder body that has been developing criteria since 2004 and began shipping certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) in 2008. In a […]
U.S. companies should help drive push toward sustainable palm oil
U.S. companies should take a leadership role in helping ensure that palm oil production is sustainable and does not come at the cost of forests, climate, and communities, argues a new report published ahead of the annual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The report, published by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), […]
Eco-friendly palm oil conference opens
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a body that has devised certification criteria to improve the social and environmental performance of palm oil, opens its annual meeting tomorrow in Jakarta. High on the agenda for the meeting are several contentious issues, including the RSPO’s handling of complaints against non-compliant members, stricter financing rules proposed […]
Dutch to use only certified palm oil by 2015
The Netherlands has committed to only using palm oil certified under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) by 2015, providing a huge boost for the certification standard which aims to improve the social and environmental performance of the world’s most productive oil crop. The pledge makes the Netherlands the first country to commit itself […]
Inisiatif Kelapa Sawit Ramah Lingkungan Cela Perusahaan Terkait Penggundulan Hutan
Roundtable On Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), sebuah badan yang menetapkan standar untuk produksi minyak kelapa ramah lingkungan, pada hari Kamis mengatakan bahwa produsen minyak kelapa Indonesia Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART) melanggar kriteria kebersinambungannya dan menghadapi dikeluarkan sebagai anggota, menurut laporan AFP. “The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil menganggap semua pelanggaran Kode Etik […]
Embattled palm oil company seeks redemption from certification body
Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) and its subsidiaries, Indonesia-based PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources & Technology (SMART) and PT Ivo Mas Tunggal, had submitted plans for coming into compliance with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a certification body for “greener” palm oil, reports Dow Jones. SMART had been threatened with expulsion from RSPO following revelations that […]
Compliance with national law not enough to meet int’l market demands
A UK-based cosmetics firm is severing ties with its palm oil supplier after a story in The Observer reported the Colombia-based company sought the eviction of peasant farmer families to develop a new oil palm plantation, reports the Guardian. The Body Shop, a cosmetics firm that prides itself on being an ‘eco-conscious’ retailer, was sourcing […]
Australia may require labeling of products containing palm oil
An Australian senator introduced a legislation that would require manufacturers to specify whether palm oil has been used in their food products, reports the Australian Associated Press. Presently food labeling laws in Australia allow companies to list palm oil as “vegetable oil” on packaging even though it comes from a palm tree. The Food Standards […]
Eco-friendly palm oil initiative censures company linked to deforestation
The Roundtable On Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a body the sets standards for eco-friendly palm oil production, on Thursday said Indonesian palm oil producer Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (SMART) breached its sustainability criteria and faces expulsion, reports AFP. “The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil takes all infringements of its Code of Conduct and […]
Dugaan Penipuan Melawan Kelapa Sawit Raksasa Meluas, Nodai Auditor dan Inisiatif Kelapa Sawit Berkesinambungan
Sinar Mas menghadapi reaksi yang tidak menyenangkan akibat klaim yang salah, yang dibuatnya sebagai respon pada kampanye lingkungan melawan penggundulan hutan. Sinar Mas, konglomerat Indonesia yang kepemilikannya mencakup Asia Pulp and Paper, merk produk kertas, dan PT Smart, produsen kelapa sawit, ditegur dengan keras Rabu lalu atas laporan baru-baru ini di mana mereka menyatakan tidak […]
Cargill to engage Indonesian supplier after audit confirms forest destruction
Cargill will engage one of its major palm oil suppliers after an independent audit confirmed that the Indonesian company has been destroying rainforests and peatlands in Borneo to establish oil palm plantations. The company, PT Smart (SMART), and its owner Golden Agri-Resources, earlier this month tried to spin the audit to claim that it cleared […]
Cargill backtracks on sustainability push for palm oil, says activist group
Cargill has not suspended its relationship with a palm oil company recently exposed for misleading investors and buyers on its environmental transgressions, reports the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), an activist group campaigning against environmentally-damaging forms of palm oil production. On August 16 Cargill said it would continue buying from PT Smart, a palm oil grower […]
Fraud allegations against Indonesian palm oil giant widen, tarnishing auditors and sustainable palm oil initiative
Sinar Mas faces backlash from false claims made in response to environmental campaign against deforestation. Sinar Mas, an Indonesian conglomerate whose holdings include Asia Pulp and Paper, a paper products brand, and PT Smart, a palm oil producer, was sharply rebuked Wednesday over a recent report where it claimed not to have engaged in destruction […]
Audit finds palm oil company destroyed peatlands, but not primary forest
An environmental audit of palm oil company, PT SMART, found that the company had not cut primary rainforest, yet had destroyed carbon-rich peatlands; however the audit analyzed only 40 percent of PT SMART’s holdings and investigated none of its plantations in New Guinea. A subsidiary of agricultural giant Sinar Mas, PT SMART has been accused […]
Longtime target of green groups, Cargill, to supply sustainably-certified palm oil to Unilever
Agriculture giant Cargill has announced an agreement to supply Unilever with 10,000 metric tons of palm oil sustainably-certified from the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Cargill has often come under fire from green groups for being linked to the rainforest destruction. The Dutch-English company Unilever—the world’s biggest buyer of palm oil—has been trying […]
Indonesian people-not international donors or orangutan conservationists-will determine the ultimate fate of Indonesia’s forests
With 18,000 islands spanning two major bigeographic realms (and a curious outlier in Sulawesi) across an area of nearly 2 million square kilometers, Indonesia is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries. It has the world’s third largest extent of tropical forests, has the planet’s richest coral reefs, and is home to more than 12 […]
Minyak Kelapa Ramah Lingkungan Tiba di Amerika Serikat
Pengiriman pertama minyak kelapa yang tersertifikasi di bawah kriteria kebersinambungan telah tiba di Amerika Serikat, menurut Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). AAK, pabrik minyak dan lemak sayur berbasis di Malmo, Swedia, mengumumkan tibanya pengiriman pertama dari minyak kelapa tersertifikasi RSPO yang terpisah di tempat pengilangannya di Port Newark, New Jersey. Minyak kelapa tersertifikasi RSPO […]
Greener palm oil arrives in the United States
The first shipment of palm oil certified under sustainability criteria have arrived in the United States, according to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). AAK, a vegetable oils and fats manufacturer based in Malmo, Sweden, announced the arrival of the first shipment of segregated RSPO-certified palm oil to its refinery in Port Newark, New […]
Dokumenter BBC menyebabkan Unilever memasukkan perusahaan minyak kelapa Indonesia ke daftar hitam
Unilever memberitahukan pemasok Indonesia untuk berhenti mengambil minyak kelapa dari Duta Palma karena kekhawatiran akan penggundulan hutan, lapor Reuters. Peringatan Unilever muncul tak lama setelah dokumenter BBC menghubungkan minyak kelapa yang digunakan di produk perusahaan tersebut ke perusakan hutan hujan oleh Duta Palma. Derom Bangun, wakil ketua dari Dewan Minyak Kelapa Indonesia, badan industri, mengatakan […]
Penjualan minyak kelapa sawit tersertifikasi sustainable mencapai rekor
Penjualan minyak kelapa sawit yang tersertifikasi oleh kriteria green yang ditetapkan oleh Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) mencapai rekor tinggi pada bulan Maret, hampir mencapai 8 persen pada akhir bulan February 2010 pada angka 136,000 ton, menurut laporan buletin bulanan RSPO. RSPO menyatakan bahwa 95 persen minyak kelapa sawit yang tersertifikasi sustainable (CSPO) yang […]
Certified sustainable palm oil sales reach record level
Sales of palm oil certified under the green criteria set by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) reached a record high in March, climbing nearly 8 percent over February 2010 to 136,000 metric tons, reports the RSPO in its monthly bulletin. RSPO says that 95 percent of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) produced during […]
Unilever backtracks: may purchase palm oil from Sinar Mas
The world’s biggest buyer of palm oil, Unilever, says it will again purchase palm oil from PT SMART, a subsidiary of Indonesian company Sinar Mas, if allegations about deforestation and peatland destruction prove untrue, or if Sinar Mas shows it is addressing the issue. Last December, the food and cosmetic giant, Unilever, suspended its $32.6 […]
Nestle’s palm oil debacle highlights current limitations of certification scheme
Last week Nestle, the world’s largest food processor, was caught in a firestorm when it attempted to censor a Greenpeace campaign that targeted its use of palm oil sourced from a supplier accused of environmentally-damaging practices. The incident brought the increasingly raucous debate over palm oil into the spotlight and renewed questions over an industry-backed […]
BBC documentary leads Unilever to blacklist Indonesian palm oil company
Unilever has told Indonesian suppliers to stop sourcing palm oil from Duta Palma due to concerns over deforestation, reports Reuters. Unilever’s warning comes shortly after a BBC documentary linked palm oil used in the company’s products to rainforest destruction by Duta Palma. Derom Bangun, vice-chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Board, an industry body, told […]
Certified palm oil sales accelerate
For the first time, sales of certified sustainable palm oil have nearly met production, reports the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a group that has developed the leading environmental certification standard for palm oil. In its February bulletin, the RSPO says that about 98 percent of the 120,000 metric tons of palm oil produced […]
Consumers should help pay the bill for ‘greener’ palm oil
A version of this article appeared today in the Jakarta Post Palm oil is one of the world’s most traded and versatile agricultural commodities. It can be used as edible vegetable oil, industrial lubricant, raw material in cosmetic and skincare products and feedstock for biofuel production. Growing global demand for palm oil and the ensuing […]
Rainforest conservation: a year in review
2009 may prove to be an important turning point for tropical forests. Lead by Brazil, which had the lowest extent of deforestation since at least the 1980s, global forest loss likely declined to its lowest level in more than a decade. Critical to the fall in deforestation was the global financial crisis, which dried up […]
Forest destruction by Sinar Mas undermines efforts to develop and promote greener palm oil
An investigation commissioned by Unilever, the world’s largest buyer of palm oil, confirms that Indonesian group Sinar Mas, the world’s second largest producer of palm oil, has been destroying forests and peatlands despite committing to “greener” palm oil production as a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Unilever has now suspended its […]
“Responsible” palm oil producers pledge not to develop endangered Sumatra rainforest
Members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an initiative developing criteria to improve the environmental performance of palm oil, agreed to declare the Bukit Tigapuluh Ecosystem in Sumatra a ‘high conservation value area’. The decision, voted on by RSPO General Assembly members at the group’s annual meeting earlier this month in Kuala Lumpur, […]
Non-Malaysian and Indonesian palm oil producers pledge not to develop peatlands for plantations
Palm oil producers outside of Malaysia and Indonesia pledged to stop developing new plantations on peatlands, circumventing an impasse that developed between palm oil producers and environmental groups meeting this week at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil in Kuala Lumpur. The factions deadlocked over plans to account for emissions from plantation development, delaying the […]
Impasse over palm oil emissions at RSPO meeting
Environmentalists and palm oil producers meeting at the annual Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) were locked in an impasse over how to account for emissions from converting forests and peatlands to oil palm plantations, report conference attendees. Environmental groups within RSPO tried to mandate that future oil palm expansion can only occur on land […]
European companies not supporting ‘greener’ palm oil
Most European consumers of palm oil are failing to buy eco-certified palm oil, undermining efforts to encourage producers to reduce their impact on the environment, reports WWF. Analyzing 59 major corporate users of palm oil in Europe, WWF found that only 10 companies are “showing real progress on their commitments to buy and use sustainable […]
Sales of certified palm oil grow
Sales of palm oil certified as being produced at less cost to the environment have accelerated after a slow start, reports the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the body that developed the criteria for certification. RSPO says 200,000 metric tons of “RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil or corresponding certificates” have been purchased by manufacturers and […]
Palm oil both a leading threat to orangutans and a key source of jobs in Sumatra
An interview about orangutan conservation and the complexities of palm oil with Panut Hadisiswoyo and David Dellatore of the Orangutan Information Center and Helen Buckland of the Sumatran Orangutan Society. Of the world’s two species of orangutan, a great ape that shares 96 percent of man’s genetic makeup, the Sumatran orangutan is considerably more endangered […]
New Zealand dairy industry contributing to rainforest destruction, says Greenpeace
Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter, is contributing to destruction of rainforests in Southeast Asia through its consumption of palm kernel as animal feed, alleges Greenpeace. The environmental group says that New Zealand’s dairy industry is one of the world’s largest consumers of Palm Kernel Expeller (PKE), an animal feed product derived from oil palm […]
LUSH cosmetics launches campaign against palm oil
LUSH Cosmetics, a leading cosmetics-maker, will no longer use palm oil due to environmental concerns over its production. LUSH, which is now selling a palm oil-free soap, has launched a two-pronged campaign to make consumers aware of the impacts of palm cultivation on tropical forests and encourage other consumer-products companies, including Procter & Gamble, Unilever […]
China to support greener palm oil
Comments from Chinese official don’t commit the world’s largest palm oil importer to buying eco-certified palm oil but suggest interest in the environmetal performance of the vegetable oil linked to widespread deforestation in southeast Asia. China-based producers and users of palm oil said they will provide more support for sustainable palm oil, reports WWF. The […]
Feeds: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia