BlackRock’s recent statement that it is engaging with palm oil companies to better understand the industry’s challenges related to biodiversity and deforestation marked the first public acknowledgement from the firm of ESG risks associated with this sector. “Our engagements were part of an ongoing, multi-year effort to further our understanding of, and encourage companies to …
FGV Holdings Berhad released a statement in late June contesting a petition to ban importation of its palm oil into the United States. Grant & Eisenhofer ESG, a U.S.-based plaintiff advocacy firm, called on the U.S. government to bar FGV imports due to alleged human rights and labour violations. The petition, filed on June 24, …
In 2017, Chain Reaction Research (CRR) reported 6.1 million hectares (ha) of forest and peatland remained on oil palm concessions, land that can be considered “stranded assets.” This update discusses figures and trends in the palm oil industry since 2017 and argues that oil palm development on forest and peatland will remain economically unviable for …
Institutional investors, asset managers, and other financial actors are increasingly considering certain climate-related risks and opportunities in their investment decisions. They have particularly focused on energy, fossil fuels, and pollution, but the significance of deforestation to climate change is becoming more relevant to the sector. Currently, and in the coming decades, investors have to grapple …
Kroger, the largest grocery chain in the United States, announced on May 7, 2019 that it will adopt a no-deforestation policy. Kroger’s move is the result of years of investor engagement and the company lagging behind its peers in implementing policies to sell deforestation-free products. Green Century Capital Management filed a shareholder resolution in January …
Many fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have publicly committed to a 2020 deadline to end deforestation in their supply chains. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that most FMCGs will not meet this deadline. NGO campaigns against individual FMCGs and benchmark studies that show the differences in implementation of zero-deforestation commitments indicate increasing reputation risks …
On April 17, 2019, the indigenous Shipibo Community in Peru announced that it filed complaints with the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) against Alicorp and one of its mill suppliers. In a press release published by Forest Peoples Programme, released together with the Shipibo community Santa Clara de Uchunya and its representative organisation, the …
The Malaysian government announced on April 10, 2019 that the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) would be given a cash injection of RM 6.23 billion (USD 1.5 billion) to help ease its financial troubles. These financial issues could have a knock-on effect on FELDA’s Bursa Malaysia-listed commercial arm FGV Holdings Bhd, which has committed to …
Korindo Group, the private Indonesian palm oil, rubber and timber company, was suspended by multiple NDPE traders between 2016 and 2018 after evidence of deforestation and illegal burning on their concessions. Faced with restricted NDPE market access, the company is now looking at business opportunities in the regional biofuel market. Korindo is owned by the …
The family behind the Bewani Oil Palm Plantation (BOPPL), one of the largest deforesters in Southeast Asia, has divested from the plantation. This move raises fears of continued forest loss and the undermining of palm oil traders’ efforts to eliminate deforestation-linked palm oil throughout supply chains. BOPPL is a 139,909-hectare (ha) plantation in Papua New …
