The withdrawal of Indofood from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the subsequent suspensions of its subsidiaries signal a possible expanding gap between the NDPE market and the leakage market. On February 28, 2019, the RSPO suspended palm oil producer PT Salim Ivomas Pratama Tbk (SIMP), a subsidiary of Indofood’s palm oil unit …
A group of U.S. Senators recently sent letters on February 4, 2019 to investors and asset managers urging them to take into account deforestation risks in their portfolios. The Senators, led by Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, asked the financial actors to commit to pressuring companies in agricultural supply chains that do not adequately address …
COFCO, a major Chinese company active in agricultural markets, released a statement in late January at the World Economic Form (WEF) in support of shoring up “sustainable” practices and curbing deforestation in commodity supply chains. COFCO’s CEO, Jun Lyu, warned industry that failure to curb climate change could lead to poor crop production and limit …
Ten growers in Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea were responsible for almost 35,000 hectares (ha) of deforestation in 2018, according to analysis by Chain Reaction Research (CRR). This total represents around 47 percent of the 74,000 ha of deforestation that can be attributed to palm oil companies in 2018 in Malaysia, Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatra, …
Since the palm oil sector is capital intensive and needs long-term financing, palm oil companies depend on bank loans. By investing in banks that provide loans to the palm oil industry, investors may indirectly face deforestation-related risks. These risks are magnified when a bank’s exposure to palm oil companies with sustainability risks is relatively high …
Large palm oil refiners have adopted sourcing policies that require their suppliers to refrain from clearing forests, using peatland or exploiting people. A November 2017 analysis by Chain Reaction Research showed that 74 percent of Indonesian and Malaysian refining capacity is covered by such No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) policies. This report looks …
New satellite images show deforestation occurred just days after adoption of more stringent RSPO requirements. On Thursday November 15, RSPO’s General Assembly adopted its new Principles and Criteria (P&C) in Kota Kinabalu. The new P&C are being promoted by the RSPO as the membership’s commitment to halt palm oil driven deforestation. As confirmed during the …
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has sanctioned Jakarta-based PT PP London Sumatra Indonesia Tbk (Lonsom), a subsidiary of Indofood Agri Resources (IndoAgri), for labour rights violations by revoking its sustainability certificate for selling palm oil and calling for audits at four of the company’s sites. This action comes a little over two years …
Ten growers in Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea have been responsible for almost 16,000 ha of deforestation in the first nine months of 2018, according to an analysis by Chain Reaction Research (CRR) based on new data using satellite images from Aidenvironment. Most of the companies on the list of the top deforesters have …
Foresthints.news reports that, on August 25-26, the Indonesian Environment and Forestry Ministry sealed four of the five palm oil concessions owned by GAMA Plantation in West Kalimantan’s Kubu Raya regency — PT SUM, PT PLD, PT AAN, and PT RJP. Foresthints says that law enforcement acted due to continuing peat fires on these concessions. This sealing …
