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1000 results for “aalam”

  1. しんちゃん®️ @[email protected] ·

    @susamishin は La Solitude - #Joshua Kyan Aalampour をいま聴いているよ！
    #NowPlaying
    #YouTubeMusic t.co/46rlc8pLFL

    #joshua #nowplaying #youtubemusic
  2. Variety @[email protected] ·

    DJ Khaled Announces New Album ‘Aalam of God’ With Film Trailer Starring Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Ramos
    #Variety #News #AnthonyRamos #DJKhaled #MarkWahlberg

    variety.com/2025/music/news/dj

    #variety #news #anthonyramos #djkhaled #markwahlberg
  3. كلمات اغاني @[email protected] ·

    كلمات أغنية يا عالمي - فيصل (2025) Faisal - Ya Aalami Lyrics ياشذرة گلبي وعمري الراح ارجعلي بدونك مامرتاح. فرگاك اسود من لون الليل ياحيل بدونك ماضل حيل. ياتوامي ارجعلي من بعدك ضعت. جرحك جرح ماينمسح.

    #فيصل
    #يا_عالمي

    lyricsongation.com/%d9%8a%d8%a

    #فيصل #يا_عالمي
  4. Nadika: Trans-Lesbiab/Dique @[email protected] ·

    Does this Big Banyan count for #thicktrunktuesdays?
    (Although it's Wednesday now)

    The Dodda Aalamara (Big Banyan tree) from near Bangalore

    #thicctrunk

    #thicktrunktuesdays #thicctrunk
  5. Nadika: Trans-Lesbiab/Dique @[email protected] ·

    Does this Big Banyan count for #thicktrunktuesdays?
    (Although it's Wednesday now)

    The Dodda Aalamara (Big Banyan tree) from near Bangalore

    #thicctrunk

    #thicktrunktuesdays #thicctrunk
  6. Nadika: Trans-Lesbiab/Dique @[email protected] ·

    Does this Big Banyan count for #thicktrunktuesdays?
    (Although it's Wednesday now)

    The Dodda Aalamara (Big Banyan tree) from near Bangalore

    #thicctrunk

    #thicctrunk #thicktrunktuesdays
  7. Nadika: Trans-Lesbiab/Dique @[email protected] ·

    Does this Big Banyan count for #thicktrunktuesdays?
    (Although it's Wednesday now)

    The Dodda Aalamara (Big Banyan tree) from near Bangalore

    #thicctrunk

    #thicktrunktuesdays #thicctrunk
  8. DJ Floops @[email protected] ·

    दुपट्टे का पल्लू HD | Tarkieb (2000) | शिल्पा शेट्टी, नाना पाटेकर, आशुतोष राणा | Richa Sharma

    Song:- Dupatte Ka Pallu Singer(s):- Richa Sharma Movie:- Tarkieb (2000) Music Director:-Aadesh Shrivastava Lyricist: Nida Fazli #GoldminesGaaneSuneAnsune #ShilpaShetty #NanaPatekar #RichaSharma #Tarkieb #OldSongs #DanceSongs Lyrics:- Jawani Ka Aalam Bada Bekhabar Hai Dupatte Ka Pallu Kidhar Ka Kidhar Hai Kahi Hai Chunariya Kahi Pe Kamar Hai Kahi Hai Chunariya Kahi Pe Kamar Hai…

    chutneymusic.com/%e0%a4%a6%e0%

    #goldminesgaanesuneansune #shilpashetty #nanapatekar #richasharma #tarkieb #oldsongs
  9. Australia News Beep @[email protected] ·

    Khalid Abdalla brings ‘anti-biography’ Nowhere about grief and the Arab Spring to Sydney Festival

    Khalid Abdalla is all too aware of the charged political climate into which he has landed. Arriving in…
    #NewsBeep #News #Entertainment #AalamWassef #AU #Australia #khalidabdalla #khalidabdallaegypt #khalidabdallamoviesandtvshows #khalidabdallashow #khalidabdallathecrown #nowhere #nowheresydneyfestival #sydneyfestival #what'sonsydney
    newsbeep.com/au/417694/

    #x27 #what #sydneyfestival #nowheresydneyfestival #nowhere #khalidabdallathecrown
  10. V@h!d @[email protected] ·
    شرک می بارد از اعماق مسلمانی شیخ
    روسیاهی‌ست پس چهره‌ی نورانی شیخ

    طالبان، داعش و القاعده مخفی شده‌اند
    پشت معصومیت گونه‌ی ایرانی شیخ

    ریش و عمامه نقابند و نماد تزویر
    زیر ناف است فقط وجهه‌ی روحانی شیخ

    آسمان تار شد از ظلم و کسی هیچ نگفت
    تار زلفی شده اسباب پریشانی شیخ

    چهل سال ست که نان از کف ما می‌دزدند
    تا که پربار شود سفره‌ی مهمانی شیخ

    چه جوانان رشیدی که به خاک افتادند
    باز خون می طلبد مسلخ قربانی شیخ

    رد نفرین دوصد مادر غمگین پیداست
    پشت لبخند وقیحانه و شیطانی شیخ

    پای این منبر خون بزم حماقت برپاست
    رقص اشک من و تو، بانگ رجزخوانی شیخ

    ما به زنجیر خرافات اسیریم ای دوست
    کل جمعیت ایران شده زندانی شیخ

    خاک ایران شده تاراج که سر‌خوش باشند
    همسرغزه ای و  دلبر لبنانی شیخ 

    از جهان نقشه‌ی ایران بشود کلا پاک
    گر به فرجام رسد نقشه‌ی پنهانی شیخ

    یک وجب خاک اگر آخر سر باقی ماند
    می‌شود مایه‌ی افسوس و پشیمانی شیخ

    ای رعیت شب تاریک تو را فردا نیست
    تا که تن داده‌ای امروز به سلطانی شیخ

    کاشکی مایه‌ی آسایش و ثروت می شد
    عمرکوتاه تو چون سجده‌ی طولانی شیخ

    هردو ابزار معاشند ولی یکسان نیست
    پینه‌ی دست تو با پینه‌ی پیشانی شیخ

    گله از هیچ‌کسی نیست گناه من و‌ توست
    اگر این کشور زیبا شده  ارزانی شیخ

    #شعر #اجتماعی #سیاسی
    https://t.me/aalamedivanegi
    #اجتماعی #سیاسی #شعر
  11. Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] ·

    Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof

    Claiming a brand or commodity is green without any supporting evidence

    No Proof

    Making baseless claims is one of the easiest greenwashing tactics. For example when an advertisement claims that a product has several environmental benefits, but the company can’t back up these claims with any scientific data or evidence.

    Share this insight on Twitter…

    Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof: Claiming a #brand or #commodity is sustainable without any evidence. We’ve had enough of #greenwashing lies to sell so-called ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife

    Tweet

    The RSPO promises to deliver this with their certification:

    1. Improves the livelihoods of small holder farmers

    2. Stops illegal indigenous land-grabbing and human rights abuses

    3. Stops deforestation

    They sell the idea of ‘sustainable’ palm oil to consumers so that they will continue to buy it from brands using it.

    10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing Tactic 2 No Proof

    Greenwashing with No Proof

    The reassurances of certified sustainable palm oil are based on promises, not real world outcomes.

    Consumers are offered the reassuring lie of sustainable palm oil with little proof or evidence that it actually works.

    The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) ads

    Each of these claims by the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) are not supported by OSINT and peer-reviewed research, by investigative reports from journalists or environmental and human rights NGOs. These are examples of ‘Greenwashing with No Proof’.

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20

    Malaysian Palm Oil Council: ‘Tree of Life’ ad

    https://youtu.be/3zZIoqeuJf4

    In this TVC, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council called the destructive crop ‘The Tree of Life that helps our planet to breathe, and gives a home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna’.

    Much to the council’s embarrassment, the TV advertisement, along with the amended version from the following year were both banned by the British Advertising Standards Authority because they were deemed misleading.

    Read more: Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics, The Ecologist.

    Reality:

    The sustainability standards of the RSPO haven’t managed to stop deforestation, human rights abuses, violence, illegal indigenous land-grabbing and endangered species protection.

    RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector

    Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018

    Read original letter

    Letter

    During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.

    RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.

    They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:

    1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
    2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
    3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
    4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
    5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.

    Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.

    Violence is intrinsic to this model:

    • violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
    • companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
    • sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
    • Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
    • working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
    • exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
    • depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.

    RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.

    The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.

    None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.

    Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.

    On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.

    RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.

    For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.

    RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.

    Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.

    RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.

    This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.

    Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.

    Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.

    The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.

    What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.

    Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.

    For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

    As immediate steps, governments need to:

    • Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
    • Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
    • Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
    • Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.

    Signatures

    • Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
    • ActionAid, France
    • AGAPAN
      Amics arbres
    • Arbres amics
    • Amis de la Terre France
    • ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
    • Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
      Asociación Gaia El Salvador
    • Association Congo Actif, Paris
    • Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
    • Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
    • BASE IS
    • Bézu St Eloi
    • Boxberg OT Uhyst
    • Bread for all
    • Bruno Manser Fund
    • CADDECAE, Ecuador
    • Campaign to STOP GE Trees
    • CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
    • Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • CESTA – FOE El Salvador
    • CETRI – Centre tricontinental
    • Climate Change Kenya
    • Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
    • Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
    • Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
    • Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
    • Consumers Association of Penang
    • Corporate Europe Observatory
    • Cuttington University
    • Down to Earth Consult
    • El Campello
    • Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
    • Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
    • FASE ES , Brazil
    • Fédération romande des consommateurs
    • FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
    • Focus on the Global South
    • Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
    • Friends of the Earth Ghana
    • Friends of the Earth International
    • GE Free NZ, New Zealand
    • Global Alliance against REDD
    • Global Justice Ecology Project
    • Global Info
    • Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
    • GRAIN
    • Green Development Advocates (GDA)
    • CameroonGreystones, Ireland
    • Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
      Grupo ETC
    • Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
    • Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
    • Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
    • Justica Ambiental
    • Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
    • Kempityari
    • Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
    • Les gens du partage
    • LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
    • Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
    • Maiouri nature, Guyane
    • Mangrove Action Project
    • Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
    • Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
    • Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
    • Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
    • New Wind Association from Finland
    • NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
    • Oakland Institute
    • OFRANEH, Honduras
    • Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
    • ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
    • OPIROMA, Brazil
    • Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
    • Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
    • PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
    • Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
    • Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
    • Rainforest Foundation UK
    • Rainforest Relief
    • ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
    • RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
    • Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
    • REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
    • Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
    • ROBIN WOOD
    • Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
    • Salva la Selva
    • School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
    • Serendipalm Company Limited
    • Sherpa , The Netherlands
    • SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
    • The Corner House, UK
      Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
    • TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
      University of Sussex, UK
    • UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
    • WESSA
      World Rainforest Movement
    • Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana
    Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words

    “Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established. In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic. Often location permits are issued by the central and local governments and they neglect important social responsibilities to indigenous peoples.

    — Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer

    Research shows that RSPO certified sustainable palm oil does not:

    • Improve farmer livelihoods.
    • Provide protection for endangered species.
    • Prevent deforestation and fires.

    We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.

    Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

    There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

    Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.

    Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.

    https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1391795938604326921?s=20

    https://twitter.com/robertocgatti/status/1408534574167212040

    https://twitter.com/AuroraGroupScot/status/1229084035294679040?s=20

    ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’

    Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner, (2021), Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

    Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. (May 2021)

    Explore the series

    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

    Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight deforestation, greenwashing and animal extinction by using your wallet as a weapon!

    Find out more

    Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing

    1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
    2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
    3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
    4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
    5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
    6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
    7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
    8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
    9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
    10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
    11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
    12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
    13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
    15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
    16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
    17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
    18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
    19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
    20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
    2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
    3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
    4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
    5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
    6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
    7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
    8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
    9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
    11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
    12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
    13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
    15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
    16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
    18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
    19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
    20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
    21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
    2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
    3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
    4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
    5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
    6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
    7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
    9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
    10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
    11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
    12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
    13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
    15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
    16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
    17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
    18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil

    #advertising #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #Boycott4WildlifeTweet #BoycottPalmOil #brand #brandBoycotts #branding #commodity #consumerRights #greenwashing #OrangutanLandTrust #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing

    #advertising #boycottpalmoil #boycott4wildlife #boycott4wildlifetweet #brand #brandboycotts
  12. Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] ·

    Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof

    Claiming a brand or commodity is green without any supporting evidence

    No Proof

    Making baseless claims is one of the easiest greenwashing tactics. For example when an advertisement claims that a product has several environmental benefits, but the company can’t back up these claims with any scientific data or evidence.

    Share this insight on Twitter…

    Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof: Claiming a #brand or #commodity is sustainable without any evidence. We’ve had enough of #greenwashing lies to sell so-called ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife

    Tweet

    The RSPO promises to deliver this with their certification:

    1. Improves the livelihoods of small holder farmers

    2. Stops illegal indigenous land-grabbing and human rights abuses

    3. Stops deforestation

    They sell the idea of ‘sustainable’ palm oil to consumers so that they will continue to buy it from brands using it.

    10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing Tactic 2 No Proof

    Greenwashing with No Proof

    The reassurances of certified sustainable palm oil are based on promises, not real world outcomes.

    Consumers are offered the reassuring lie of sustainable palm oil with little proof or evidence that it actually works.

    The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) ads

    Each of these claims by the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) are not supported by OSINT and peer-reviewed research, by investigative reports from journalists or environmental and human rights NGOs. These are examples of ‘Greenwashing with No Proof’.

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20

    Malaysian Palm Oil Council: ‘Tree of Life’ ad

    https://youtu.be/3zZIoqeuJf4

    In this TVC, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council called the destructive crop ‘The Tree of Life that helps our planet to breathe, and gives a home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna’.

    Much to the council’s embarrassment, the TV advertisement, along with the amended version from the following year were both banned by the British Advertising Standards Authority because they were deemed misleading.

    Read more: Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics, The Ecologist.

    Reality:

    The sustainability standards of the RSPO haven’t managed to stop deforestation, human rights abuses, violence, illegal indigenous land-grabbing and endangered species protection.

    RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector

    Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018

    Read original letter

    Letter

    During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.

    RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.

    They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:

    1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
    2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
    3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
    4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
    5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.

    Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.

    Violence is intrinsic to this model:

    • violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
    • companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
    • sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
    • Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
    • working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
    • exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
    • depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.

    RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.

    The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.

    None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.

    Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.

    On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.

    RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.

    For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.

    RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.

    Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.

    RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.

    This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.

    Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.

    Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.

    The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.

    What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.

    Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.

    For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

    As immediate steps, governments need to:

    • Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
    • Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
    • Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
    • Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.

    Signatures

    • Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
    • ActionAid, France
    • AGAPAN
      Amics arbres
    • Arbres amics
    • Amis de la Terre France
    • ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
    • Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
      Asociación Gaia El Salvador
    • Association Congo Actif, Paris
    • Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
    • Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
    • BASE IS
    • Bézu St Eloi
    • Boxberg OT Uhyst
    • Bread for all
    • Bruno Manser Fund
    • CADDECAE, Ecuador
    • Campaign to STOP GE Trees
    • CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
    • Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • CESTA – FOE El Salvador
    • CETRI – Centre tricontinental
    • Climate Change Kenya
    • Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
    • Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
    • Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
    • Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
    • Consumers Association of Penang
    • Corporate Europe Observatory
    • Cuttington University
    • Down to Earth Consult
    • El Campello
    • Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
    • Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
    • FASE ES , Brazil
    • Fédération romande des consommateurs
    • FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
    • Focus on the Global South
    • Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
    • Friends of the Earth Ghana
    • Friends of the Earth International
    • GE Free NZ, New Zealand
    • Global Alliance against REDD
    • Global Justice Ecology Project
    • Global Info
    • Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
    • GRAIN
    • Green Development Advocates (GDA)
    • CameroonGreystones, Ireland
    • Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
      Grupo ETC
    • Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
    • Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
    • Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
    • Justica Ambiental
    • Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
    • Kempityari
    • Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
    • Les gens du partage
    • LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
    • Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
    • Maiouri nature, Guyane
    • Mangrove Action Project
    • Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
    • Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
    • Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
    • Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
    • New Wind Association from Finland
    • NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
    • Oakland Institute
    • OFRANEH, Honduras
    • Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
    • ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
    • OPIROMA, Brazil
    • Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
    • Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
    • PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
    • Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
    • Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
    • Rainforest Foundation UK
    • Rainforest Relief
    • ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
    • RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
    • Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
    • REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
    • Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
    • ROBIN WOOD
    • Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
    • Salva la Selva
    • School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
    • Serendipalm Company Limited
    • Sherpa , The Netherlands
    • SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
    • The Corner House, UK
      Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
    • TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
      University of Sussex, UK
    • UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
    • WESSA
      World Rainforest Movement
    • Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana
    Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words

    “Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established. In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic. Often location permits are issued by the central and local governments and they neglect important social responsibilities to indigenous peoples.

    — Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer

    Research shows that RSPO certified sustainable palm oil does not:

    • Improve farmer livelihoods.
    • Provide protection for endangered species.
    • Prevent deforestation and fires.

    We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.

    Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

    There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

    Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.

    Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.

    https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1391795938604326921?s=20

    https://twitter.com/robertocgatti/status/1408534574167212040

    https://twitter.com/AuroraGroupScot/status/1229084035294679040?s=20

    ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’

    Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner, (2021), Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

    Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. (May 2021)

    Explore the series

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    Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing

    1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
    2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
    3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
    4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
    5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
    6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
    7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
    8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
    9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
    10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
    11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
    12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
    13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
    15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
    16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
    17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
    18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
    19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
    20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
    2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
    3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
    4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
    5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
    6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
    7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
    8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
    9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
    11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
    12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
    13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
    15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
    16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
    18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
    19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
    20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
    21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
    2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
    3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
    4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
    5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
    6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
    7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
    9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
    10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
    11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
    12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
    13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
    15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
    16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
    17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
    18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil

    #2 #advertising #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #Boycott4WildlifeTweet #BoycottPalmOil #brand #brandBoycotts #branding #commodity #consumerRights #greenwashing #OrangutanLandTrust #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing

    #advertising #boycottpalmoil #boycott4wildlife #boycott4wildlifetweet #brand #brandboycotts
  13. Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] ·

    Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof

    Claiming a brand or commodity is green without any supporting evidence

    No Proof

    Making baseless claims is one of the easiest greenwashing tactics. For example when an advertisement claims that a product has several environmental benefits, but the company can’t back up these claims with any scientific data or evidence.

    Share this insight on Twitter…

    Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof: Claiming a #brand or #commodity is sustainable without any evidence. We’ve had enough of #greenwashing lies to sell so-called ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife

    Tweet

    The RSPO promises to deliver this with their certification:

    1. Improves the livelihoods of small holder farmers

    2. Stops illegal indigenous land-grabbing and human rights abuses

    3. Stops deforestation

    They sell the idea of ‘sustainable’ palm oil to consumers so that they will continue to buy it from brands using it.

    10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing Tactic 2 No Proof

    Greenwashing with No Proof

    The reassurances of certified sustainable palm oil are based on promises, not real world outcomes.

    Consumers are offered the reassuring lie of sustainable palm oil with little proof or evidence that it actually works.

    The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) ads

    Each of these claims by the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) are not supported by OSINT and peer-reviewed research, by investigative reports from journalists or environmental and human rights NGOs. These are examples of ‘Greenwashing with No Proof’.

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20

    Malaysian Palm Oil Council: ‘Tree of Life’ ad

    https://youtu.be/3zZIoqeuJf4

    In this TVC, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council called the destructive crop ‘The Tree of Life that helps our planet to breathe, and gives a home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna’.

    Much to the council’s embarrassment, the TV advertisement, along with the amended version from the following year were both banned by the British Advertising Standards Authority because they were deemed misleading.

    Read more: Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics, The Ecologist.

    Reality:

    The sustainability standards of the RSPO haven’t managed to stop deforestation, human rights abuses, violence, illegal indigenous land-grabbing and endangered species protection.

    RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector

    Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018

    Read original letter

    Letter

    During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.

    RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.

    They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:

    1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
    2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
    3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
    4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
    5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.

    Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.

    Violence is intrinsic to this model:

    • violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
    • companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
    • sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
    • Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
    • working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
    • exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
    • depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.

    RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.

    The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.

    None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.

    Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.

    On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.

    RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.

    For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.

    RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.

    Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.

    RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.

    This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.

    Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.

    Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.

    The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.

    What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.

    Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.

    For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

    As immediate steps, governments need to:

    • Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
    • Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
    • Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
    • Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.

    Signatures

    • Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
    • ActionAid, France
    • AGAPAN
      Amics arbres
    • Arbres amics
    • Amis de la Terre France
    • ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
    • Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
      Asociación Gaia El Salvador
    • Association Congo Actif, Paris
    • Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
    • Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
    • BASE IS
    • Bézu St Eloi
    • Boxberg OT Uhyst
    • Bread for all
    • Bruno Manser Fund
    • CADDECAE, Ecuador
    • Campaign to STOP GE Trees
    • CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
    • Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • CESTA – FOE El Salvador
    • CETRI – Centre tricontinental
    • Climate Change Kenya
    • Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
    • Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
    • Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
    • Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
    • Consumers Association of Penang
    • Corporate Europe Observatory
    • Cuttington University
    • Down to Earth Consult
    • El Campello
    • Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
    • Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
    • FASE ES , Brazil
    • Fédération romande des consommateurs
    • FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
    • Focus on the Global South
    • Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
    • Friends of the Earth Ghana
    • Friends of the Earth International
    • GE Free NZ, New Zealand
    • Global Alliance against REDD
    • Global Justice Ecology Project
    • Global Info
    • Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
    • GRAIN
    • Green Development Advocates (GDA)
    • CameroonGreystones, Ireland
    • Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
      Grupo ETC
    • Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
    • Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
    • Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
    • Justica Ambiental
    • Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
    • Kempityari
    • Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
    • Les gens du partage
    • LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
    • Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
    • Maiouri nature, Guyane
    • Mangrove Action Project
    • Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
    • Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
    • Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
    • Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
    • New Wind Association from Finland
    • NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
    • Oakland Institute
    • OFRANEH, Honduras
    • Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
    • ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
    • OPIROMA, Brazil
    • Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
    • Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
    • PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
    • Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
    • Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
    • Rainforest Foundation UK
    • Rainforest Relief
    • ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
    • RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
    • Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
    • REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
    • Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
    • ROBIN WOOD
    • Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
    • Salva la Selva
    • School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
    • Serendipalm Company Limited
    • Sherpa , The Netherlands
    • SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
    • The Corner House, UK
      Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
    • TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
      University of Sussex, UK
    • UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
    • WESSA
      World Rainforest Movement
    • Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana
    Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words

    “Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established. In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic. Often location permits are issued by the central and local governments and they neglect important social responsibilities to indigenous peoples.

    — Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer

    Research shows that RSPO certified sustainable palm oil does not:

    • Improve farmer livelihoods.
    • Provide protection for endangered species.
    • Prevent deforestation and fires.

    We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.

    Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

    There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

    Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.

    Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.

    https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1391795938604326921?s=20

    https://twitter.com/robertocgatti/status/1408534574167212040

    https://twitter.com/AuroraGroupScot/status/1229084035294679040?s=20

    ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’

    Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner, (2021), Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

    Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. (May 2021)

    Explore the series

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    Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing

    1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
    2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
    3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
    4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
    5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
    6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
    7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
    8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
    9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
    10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
    11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
    12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
    13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
    15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
    16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
    17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
    18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
    19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
    20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
    2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
    3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
    4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
    5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
    6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
    7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
    8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
    9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
    11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
    12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
    13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
    15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
    16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
    18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
    19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
    20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
    21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
    2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
    3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
    4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
    5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
    6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
    7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
    9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
    10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
    11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
    12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
    13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
    15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
    16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
    17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
    18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil

    #2 #advertising #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #Boycott4WildlifeTweet #BoycottPalmOil #brand #brandBoycotts #branding #commodity #consumerRights #greenwashing #OrangutanLandTrust #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing

    #rspogreenwashing #rspo #palmoil #orangutanlandtrust #greenwashing #consumerrights
  14. Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] ·

    Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof

    Claiming a brand or commodity is green without any supporting evidence

    No Proof

    Making baseless claims is one of the easiest greenwashing tactics. For example when an advertisement claims that a product has several environmental benefits, but the company can’t back up these claims with any scientific data or evidence.

    Share this insight on Twitter…

    Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof: Claiming a #brand or #commodity is sustainable without any evidence. We’ve had enough of #greenwashing lies to sell so-called ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife

    Tweet

    The RSPO promises to deliver this with their certification:

    1. Improves the livelihoods of small holder farmers

    2. Stops illegal indigenous land-grabbing and human rights abuses

    3. Stops deforestation

    They sell the idea of ‘sustainable’ palm oil to consumers so that they will continue to buy it from brands using it.

    10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing Tactic 2 No Proof

    Greenwashing with No Proof

    The reassurances of certified sustainable palm oil are based on promises, not real world outcomes.

    Consumers are offered the reassuring lie of sustainable palm oil with little proof or evidence that it actually works.

    The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) ads

    Each of these claims by the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) are not supported by OSINT and peer-reviewed research, by investigative reports from journalists or environmental and human rights NGOs. These are examples of ‘Greenwashing with No Proof’.

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20

    Malaysian Palm Oil Council: ‘Tree of Life’ ad

    https://youtu.be/3zZIoqeuJf4

    In this TVC, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council called the destructive crop ‘The Tree of Life that helps our planet to breathe, and gives a home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna’.

    Much to the council’s embarrassment, the TV advertisement, along with the amended version from the following year were both banned by the British Advertising Standards Authority because they were deemed misleading.

    Read more: Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics, The Ecologist.

    Reality:

    The sustainability standards of the RSPO haven’t managed to stop deforestation, human rights abuses, violence, illegal indigenous land-grabbing and endangered species protection.

    RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector

    Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018

    Read original letter

    Letter

    During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.

    RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.

    They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:

    1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
    2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
    3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
    4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
    5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.

    Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.

    Violence is intrinsic to this model:

    • violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
    • companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
    • sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
    • Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
    • working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
    • exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
    • depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.

    RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.

    The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.

    None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.

    Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.

    On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.

    RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.

    For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.

    RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.

    Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.

    RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.

    This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.

    Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.

    Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.

    The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.

    What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.

    Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.

    For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

    As immediate steps, governments need to:

    • Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
    • Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
    • Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
    • Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.

    Signatures

    • Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
    • ActionAid, France
    • AGAPAN
      Amics arbres
    • Arbres amics
    • Amis de la Terre France
    • ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
    • Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
      Asociación Gaia El Salvador
    • Association Congo Actif, Paris
    • Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
    • Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
    • BASE IS
    • Bézu St Eloi
    • Boxberg OT Uhyst
    • Bread for all
    • Bruno Manser Fund
    • CADDECAE, Ecuador
    • Campaign to STOP GE Trees
    • CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
    • Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • CESTA – FOE El Salvador
    • CETRI – Centre tricontinental
    • Climate Change Kenya
    • Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
    • Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
    • Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
    • Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
    • Consumers Association of Penang
    • Corporate Europe Observatory
    • Cuttington University
    • Down to Earth Consult
    • El Campello
    • Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
    • Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
    • FASE ES , Brazil
    • Fédération romande des consommateurs
    • FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
    • Focus on the Global South
    • Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
    • Friends of the Earth Ghana
    • Friends of the Earth International
    • GE Free NZ, New Zealand
    • Global Alliance against REDD
    • Global Justice Ecology Project
    • Global Info
    • Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
    • GRAIN
    • Green Development Advocates (GDA)
    • CameroonGreystones, Ireland
    • Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
      Grupo ETC
    • Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
    • Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
    • Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
    • Justica Ambiental
    • Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
    • Kempityari
    • Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
    • Les gens du partage
    • LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
    • Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
    • Maiouri nature, Guyane
    • Mangrove Action Project
    • Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
    • Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
    • Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
    • Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
    • New Wind Association from Finland
    • NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
    • Oakland Institute
    • OFRANEH, Honduras
    • Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
    • ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
    • OPIROMA, Brazil
    • Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
    • Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
    • PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
    • Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
    • Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
    • Rainforest Foundation UK
    • Rainforest Relief
    • ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
    • RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
    • Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
    • REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
    • Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
    • ROBIN WOOD
    • Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
    • Salva la Selva
    • School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
    • Serendipalm Company Limited
    • Sherpa , The Netherlands
    • SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
    • The Corner House, UK
      Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
    • TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
      University of Sussex, UK
    • UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
    • WESSA
      World Rainforest Movement
    • Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana
    Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words

    “Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established. In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic. Often location permits are issued by the central and local governments and they neglect important social responsibilities to indigenous peoples.

    — Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer

    Research shows that RSPO certified sustainable palm oil does not:

    • Improve farmer livelihoods.
    • Provide protection for endangered species.
    • Prevent deforestation and fires.

    We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.

    Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

    There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

    Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.

    Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.

    https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1391795938604326921?s=20

    https://twitter.com/robertocgatti/status/1408534574167212040

    https://twitter.com/AuroraGroupScot/status/1229084035294679040?s=20

    ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’

    Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner, (2021), Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

    Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. (May 2021)

    Explore the series

    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

    Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight deforestation, greenwashing and animal extinction by using your wallet as a weapon!

    Find out more

    Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing

    1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
    2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
    3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
    4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
    5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
    6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
    7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
    8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
    9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
    10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
    11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
    12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
    13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
    15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
    16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
    17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
    18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
    19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
    20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
    2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
    3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
    4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
    5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
    6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
    7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
    8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
    9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
    11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
    12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
    13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
    15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
    16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
    18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
    19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
    20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
    21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
    2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
    3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
    4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
    5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
    6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
    7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
    9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
    10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
    11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
    12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
    13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
    15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
    16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
    17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
    18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil

    #2 #advertising #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #Boycott4WildlifeTweet #BoycottPalmOil #brand #brandBoycotts #branding #commodity #consumerRights #greenwashing #OrangutanLandTrust #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing

    #advertising #boycottpalmoil #boycott4wildlife #boycott4wildlifetweet #brand #brandboycotts
  15. Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] ·

    Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying

    Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth

    Greenwashing by Lying

    Blatant lies that appear in advertising or on social media. The lie could be falsifying support from respected authorities or individuals on environmental issues. Or the lie could be research with ambiguous results being made to sound positive. Sometimes, it is a clear and obvious lie.

    Tweet this…

    #Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying: Telling outright lies to #consumers until they are believed as truth. #palmoil lobbyists and global food companies lie about ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing

    Tweet

    Jump to section

    Greenwashing: Endangered species

    Reality: Endangered species

    Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers

    Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers

    An open letter from Friends of the Earth and 100 Human Rights NGOs

    Greenwashing: Deforestation and fire

    Greenwashing: Lies and denialism in the media

    Reality: Deforestation and fire

    Explore the Series

    Further reading: greenwashing and deceptive marketing

    Say thanks for this guide by donating to my Ko-Fi

    Greenwashing:

    RSPO certification protects endangered species living in tropical rainforests

    Back to top ↑

    RSPO marketing materials make grand claims that are not supported by any evidence at all.

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1660543540378697729?s=20

    The team from Chester Zoo encourage children to save endangered species by buying sustainable palm oil.

    Lyrics: ‘We have a choice – and it’s sustainable palm oil’

    https://youtu.be/1jHNiRJ9OgI

    Michelle Desilets, Manager of Orangutan Land Trust explains in this video that ‘deforestation is prohibited by the RSPO’.

    What she does not mention is that none of the RSPO’s members have actually stopped deforestation in the 17 years since it began.

    https://youtu.be/cJLP0SzoUdY

    Back to top ↑

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1200683887497756672?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/894844642327502848?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1281240693285875712?s=20

    https://twitter.com/griffjane/status/1301407429373165568?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1305809870281732096?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1246908272931753988?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1002860521215942656?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1414519913457270794?s=20

    https://youtu.be/HkcZrJiudRc

    Reality: “Sustainable” Palm Oil does not stop biodiversity loss

    Back to top ↑

    “In the plantation, the calls of birds and beasts are replaced by a deathly silence, which is particularly eerie in the glaring heat of the midday sun. Sounds of life are replaced by sounds of death—roaring bull-dozers, gnawing chainsaws, the crackle of illegal burning, and the rumble of overloaded trucks carrying oil palm fruit and timber.”.

    ~ Dr Sophie Chao. In the Shadow of the Palms, pp. 45.

    Currently certified grower supply bases and concessions in Sumatra and Borneo are located in large mammal’s habitat and in areas that were biodiverse tropical forests less than 30 years ago. We suggest that certification schemes claim for the “sustainable” production of palm oil just because they neglect a very recent past of deforestation and habitat degradation.

    Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Alena Velichevskaya, Certified “sustainable” palm oil took the place of endangered Bornean and Sumatran large mammals habitat and tropical forests in the last 30 years, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 742, 2020,
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140712.

    Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.

    Emily B. Fitzherbert, Matthew J. Struebig, Alexandra Morel, Finn Danielsen, Carsten A. Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.

    We found that certified plantation concessions that are committed to deforestation-free production are limited in their ability to prevent further biodiversity loss, due to the past conversion of forest habitats to plantations. Concession holders can improve forest habitats through corridor development and other measures, which would mitigate, but not prevent, further biodiversity loss.


    Hideyuki Kubo, Arief Darmawan, Hendarto, André Derek Mader,
    The effect of agricultural certification schemes on biodiversity loss in the tropics,
    Biological Conservation, Volume 261, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109243.

    We uncover the global patterns of oil palm expansion and find that global oil palm expansion has a very high degree of potential conflict with local biodiversity. Globally, 99.9% of oil palm plantations overlapped with Conservation Priority Zones (CPZs) and oil palm plantations encroached on 231 protected areas.

    Le Yu, Yue Cao, Yuqi Cheng, Qiang Zhao, Yidi Xu, Kasturi Kanniah, Hui Lu, Rui Yang & Peng Gong (2022) A study of the serious conflicts between oil palm expansion and biodiversity conservation using high-resolution remote sensing, Remote Sensing Letters, DOI: 10.1080/2150704X.2022.2063701

    https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

    We found a high overlap between areas of high oil palm suitability and areas of high conservation priority for primates. Overall, we found only a few small areas where oil palm could be cultivated in Africa with a low impact on primates (3.3 Mha, including all areas suitable for oil palm). These results warn that, consistent with the dramatic effects of palm oil cultivation on biodiversity in Southeast Asia, reconciling a large-scale development of oil palm in Africa with primate conservation will be a great challenge.

    Small room for compromise between oil palm cultivation and primate conservation in Africa
    Giovanni Strona, Simon D. Stringer, Ghislain Vieilledent, et. al.
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018), 115 (35) 8811-8816; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1804775115

    As of 2019, more than 60% of the palm oil plantations in the study area were in Key Biodiversity Areas. KBAs are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. RSPO-certified plantations, comprising 63% of the total cultivated area assessed, did not produce a statistically significant reduction in deforestation and appear to be ineffective at reducing encroachment into ecologically sensitive areas in Guatemala.

    Calli P. VanderWilde, Joshua P. Newell, Dimitrios Gounaridis, Benjamin P. Goldstein,
    Deforestation, certification, and transnational palm oil supply chains: Linking Guatemala to global consumer markets, Journal of Environmental Management,
    Volume 344, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118505

    There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032, 2018.

    “The big message is that oil palm is bad for biodiversity, in every sense of the word — even when compared to damaged rainforests that are regenerating after earlier logging or clearing.”

    Professor Bill Laurance, James Cook University. ‘Palm oil plantations are bad for wildlife great and small’. The Conversation.

    We analyse consequences of the globally important land-use transformation from tropical forests to oil palm plantations. Species diversity, density and biomass of invertebrate communities suffer at least 45% decreases from rainforest to oil palm.

    Barnes, A., Jochum, M., Mumme, S. et al. Consequences of tropical land use for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nat Commun 5, 5351 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6351

    Palm oil also poses a global risk for zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19

    Taking into account the human population growth, we find that the increases in outbreaks of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases from 1990 to 2016 are linked with deforestation, mostly in tropical countries, and with reforestation, mostly in temperate countries. We also find that outbreaks of vector-borne diseases are associated with the increase in areas of palm oil plantations.

    Outbreaks of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases Are Associated With Changes in Forest Cover and Oil Palm Expansion at Global Scale
    (2021) Morand Serge, Lajaunie Claire, Frontiers in Veterinary Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2021.661063
    DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.661063

    Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

    Fire started within orangutan habitats and destroyed them – this was not investigated by the RSPO

    The team used map data from @globalforests and @UMBaltimore, #sentinel2 images from @esa, concession boundaries from @RSPOtweets and #fire hotspot data (#VIIRS) from @NASAEarth.

    Originally tweeted by Adina Renner (@adinarenner) on May 10, 2021.

    Read more

    Asia: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    Africa: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    Papua New Guinea & West Papua: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    South America: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    Greenwashing

    ‘Europeans have destroyed their forests for agriculture, so why can’t we do the same in the tropics? Stopping our economic development is hypocrisy and colonialism’

    ‘Sustainable palm oil helps the livelihood of workers on RSPO certified palm oil plantations.‘

    Back to top ↑

    Research analysing media and social media messages around palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia finds that palm oil lobbyists use an ‘Us’ Versus ‘Them’ narrative, in other words, they invoke colonial racism to justify continued deforestation and ecocide.

    Four mutually complementary narratives were used by Indonesian and Malaysian media to construe denialism These denialist narratives appeal to a nationalist sentiment of ‘us’ – palm oil-producing developing countries – and ‘them’ – western developed countries producing research critical of the industry.

    Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

    We had the luck to be born into a developed country, I believe we need to acknowledge the right of lesser-developed countries to develop. We simply have no right to tell a country like Indonesia to forgo economic development, but we can help to steer that development in a sustainable direction.

    Michelle Desilets, Director, Orangutan Land Trust. The Switch Report, 2014

    RSPO advertisement from social media, with a focus on promoting better workers rights under certified palm oil. An RSPO advertisement targeting the Indian market in 2021 by the RSPO showing supposed benefits for palm oil workers.

    https://youtu.be/2ugIE0UJYc4

    Social media messaging by palm oil lobbyists reflects a focus on ‘Us’: poor, palm oil producing nations, versus ‘Them’: the ‘greedy, already developed West.

    https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1295253527191642113?s=20

    https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1420662530863550464?s=20

    https://twitter.com/palm_eu/status/1440943483410386945?s=20

    https://twitter.com/emeijaard/status/1191961097294757889?s=20

    https://twitter.com/palmoilmonitor/status/1445795527560515587?s=20

    https://twitter.com/CIFOR/status/1016759321701552133?s=20

    Reality: Human rights abuses and landgrabbing are ongoing for “sustainable” palm oil

    Back to top ↑

    University of Michigan 2023 study: RSPO plantations do not reduce deforestation in Guatemala

    Read more

    A 2021 Investigation by Global Witness found that palm oil companies in Papua New Guinea are alleged to have been involved in corruption, child labour, tax evasion, deforestation, worker deaths and paying police to assault villagers.

    The palm oil from these mills in Papua New Guinea is used by RSPO members Colgate-Palmolive, Kelloggs, General Mills, Nestle, Hersheys, Danone, PZ Cussons – finds its way into our weekly supermarket shop.

    Read report

    https://twitter.com/earthsight/status/1192827396451438592?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

    https://twitter.com/Rainforest_RIN/status/1541428640491212801?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

    A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry finds extensive greenwashing of human rights abuses

    Read more

    Certified goods improve the price and income of sale for certified goods, but they do not advance equity, income or assets for workers

    We identified 64 conflicts that involved RSPO member companies, of which 17 prompted communities to convey their grievances to the RSPO’s conflict resolution mechanism…We conclude that—on all counts—the conflict resolution mechanism is biased in favor of companies. The result of these biases is that the actual capacity of the RSPO’s mechanism to provide a meaningful remedy for rural communities’ grievances remains very limited. This unequal access to justice sustains conflicts between companies and communities over land.

    Afrizal, A., Hospes, O., Berenschot, W. et al. Unequal access to justice: an evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agric Hum Values 40, 291–304 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z

    We find positive effects on prices and income from sale of certified products. However, we find no change in overall household income and assets for workers. The wages for workers are not higher in certified production.

    Oya, C., Schaefer, F. & Skalidou, D. The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: a systematic review. World Dev. 112, 282–312 (2018).

    We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.

    Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

    Oil palm expansion is shaped by wider political economies and development policies.

    Market-based development policies have favored large-scale over smallholder production.

    Benefits from oil palm are unevenly distributed across rural population.

    Violence across forest frontiers has fueled conflicts linked to oil palm.

    Weak forest governance has led to significant deforestation by industrial plantations.

    A. Castellanos-Navarrete, F. de Castro, P. Pacheco,
    The impact of oil palm on rural livelihoods and tropical forest landscapes in Latin America, Journal of Rural Studies,
    Volume 81, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.047.

    Deforestation by fire for palm oilDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography After a forest fire in Sumatra – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to retail brands

    This article argues that the form of sustainability offered by certification schemes such as the RSPO fetishes the commodity palm oil in order to assuage critical consumer initiatives in the North. This technical-managerial solution is part of a larger project: the “post-political” climate politics regime (Swyngedouw) that attempts to “green” the status quo.

    Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
    Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

    • The palm oil industry is neither sustainable nor a viable development model.
    • Certification represents a technical fix which neglects underlying dynamics of power, class, gender and accumulation.
    • The fetishised commodity ‘certified sustainable palm oil’ has no impact on the regional scale of expansion.
    • Working conditions in the plantations and mills entrench social inequality and poverty.

    From: Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
    Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

    Deforestation in West PapuaDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography

    Deforestation for palm oil: the impact of increased heat on human health

    477 villages throughout Kalimantan were surveyed about forest health benefits.

    The most frequent answer was maintenance of cool local temperatures.

    Perceptions were driven by deforestation and local temperature.

    Results point to possible threat of heat impacts on health.

    Policy should incorporate human health when considering land use.


    Nicholas H. Wolff, Yuta J. Masuda, Erik Meijaard, Jessie A. Wells, Edward T. Game,
    Impacts of tropical deforestation on local temperature and human well-being perceptions, Global Environmental Change, Volume 52, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.004.

    The False Promise of Certification, Changing Markets (2018)

    “While RSPO is often referred to as the best scheme in the sector, it
    has several shortcomings; most notably, it allows the conversion of secondary forests and the draining
    of peatlands, it has not prevented human rights violations and it does not require GHG emissions
    reductions.

    “In light of this, we call for action to reduce demand for palm oil, such as
    ditching biofuels targets, as well as channelling new plantations into non-forested areas by putting in
    place a strong moratorium on palm oil expansion to forests and peatlands. Most schemes in this sector
    should be abolished in light of their failures on multiple fronts.”

    — The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets

    The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets Download report

    MSI’s (Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives including the RSPO and Rainforest Alliance) are inadequate in detecting human rights abuses and uphold standards

    “MSIs put considerable emphasis on the standards that they set, but have not developed effective mechanisms for detecting abuses, enforcing compliance with those standards, or transparently disclosing levels of compliance. Despite the emergence of models that enable rights holders to legally enforce MSIs’ standards or to be actively engaged in monitoring companies for abuses, MSIs have not adopted them. By focusing on setting standards without adequately ensuring if members are following those standards, MSIs risk providing companies and governments with powerful reputational benefits despite the persistence of rights abuses.”

    ~ MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020)

    MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020) Download report

    The difficulty of addressing and resolving oil palm conflicts is due not only to the inadequacies of Indonesia’s legal framework regarding land and plantations but also to the way in which Indonesia’s informalized state institutions foster collusion between local power holders and palm oil companies. This collusion enables companies to evade regulation, suppress community protests and avoid engaging in constructive efforts to resolve conflicts. Furthermore, this collusion has made the available conflict resolution mechanisms largely ineffective.

    Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002

    Associated Press 2020 Report: Beauty Brands (RSPO members) L’Oreal, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson& Johnson, Unilever linked to rape on palm oil plantations

    https://twitter.com/AP/status/1330163571951611906?s=20

    https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1329701899180924928?s=20

    Associated Press Investigation (2020) finds wide-spread rape, human rights abuses and slavery on palm oil plantations for well known brands: Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Avon, Colgate Palmolive Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words

    “The expansion of oil palm plantations has created many detrimental environmental impacts, including deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land conflicts, labour conflicts, and social conflicts around plantations.

    “Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established.

    “In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic.”

    — Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer, In His Own Words.

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    Global corporates are responsible for the majority of palm oil production and deforestation risk, not smallholder farmers

    The three biggest palm oil traders: Sinar Mas, Wilmar and Musim Mas – are founding members of the RSPO. They have the biggest deforestation risk of all other palm oil companies combined. Deforestation goes against the RSPO’s rules – yet these big companies do not lose their RSPO membership or face punishment.

    Source: Insights: Indonesian Palm Oil. Trase Earth (2018)

    Search the Environmental Justice Atlas for specific companies and their human rights abuses and land-grabbing record

    Search here

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    RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector

    Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018

    Read original letter

    Letter

    During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.

    RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.

    They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:

    1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
    2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
    3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
    4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
    5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.

    Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.

    Violence is intrinsic to this model:

    • violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
    • companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
    • sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
    • Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
    • working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
    • exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
    • depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.

    RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.

    The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.

    None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.

    Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.

    On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.

    RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.

    For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.

    RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.

    Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.

    RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.

    This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.

    Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.

    Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.

    The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.

    What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.

    Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.

    For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

    As immediate steps, governments need to:

    • Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
    • Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
    • Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
    • Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.

    Signatures

    • Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
    • ActionAid, France
    • AGAPAN
      Amics arbres
    • Arbres amics
    • Amis de la Terre France
    • ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
    • Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
      Asociación Gaia El Salvador
    • Association Congo Actif, Paris
    • Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
    • Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
    • BASE IS
    • Bézu St Eloi
    • Boxberg OT Uhyst
    • Bread for all
    • Bruno Manser Fund
    • CADDECAE, Ecuador
    • Campaign to STOP GE Trees
    • CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
    • Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • CESTA – FOE El Salvador
    • CETRI – Centre tricontinental
    • Climate Change Kenya
    • Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
    • Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
    • Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
    • Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
    • Consumers Association of Penang
    • Corporate Europe Observatory
    • Cuttington University
    • Down to Earth Consult
    • El Campello
    • Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
    • Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
    • FASE ES , Brazil
    • Fédération romande des consommateurs
    • FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
    • Focus on the Global South
    • Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
    • Friends of the Earth Ghana
    • Friends of the Earth International
    • GE Free NZ, New Zealand
    • Global Alliance against REDD
    • Global Justice Ecology Project
    • Global Info
    • Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
    • GRAIN
    • Green Development Advocates (GDA)
    • CameroonGreystones, Ireland
    • Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
      Grupo ETC
    • Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
    • Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
    • Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
    • Justica Ambiental
    • Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
    • Kempityari
    • Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
    • Les gens du partage
    • LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
    • Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
    • Maiouri nature, Guyane
    • Mangrove Action Project
    • Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
    • Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
    • Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
    • Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
    • New Wind Association from Finland
    • NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
    • Oakland Institute
    • OFRANEH, Honduras
    • Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
    • ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
    • OPIROMA, Brazil
    • Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
    • Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
    • PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
    • Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
    • Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
    • Rainforest Foundation UK
    • Rainforest Relief
    • ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
    • RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
    • Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
    • REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
    • Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
    • ROBIN WOOD
    • Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
    • Salva la Selva
    • School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
    • Serendipalm Company Limited
    • Sherpa , The Netherlands
    • SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
    • The Corner House, UK
      Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
    • TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
      University of Sussex, UK
    • UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
    • WESSA
      World Rainforest Movement
    • Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana

    Epidemics and rapacity of multinational companies in Liberia

    Discussion Paper. The Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics. Release date: 12th March, 2022

    Conclusion

    https://twitter.com/CEP_LSE/status/1502238109677015044?s=20&t=CwBhOE-SLGkXtNxC9nXw5w

    This paper provides novel granular evidence on the interaction between the Ebola epidemic, deforestation, and palm oil plantations in Liberia. The palm oil multinationals, exploiting the health crisis, stepped up deforestation to increase output. The effect on deforestation is more severe in areas inhabited by politically unrepresented ethnic groups, characterized by a reduction in tree coverage by 6.5%.

    We also document an increase of more than 125% in the likelihood of
    fire events within concessions during the epidemic. This suggests that not only did the palm oil companies foster deforestation, but further that they used forest fires to do so. This is particularly harmful to the environment, and the smoke and the haze may have severe health consequences, apart from being a source of carbon dioxide.

    This deforestation was accompanied by a 150% increase in the amount of land dedicated to cultivation.

    This exploitative behaviour was highly profitable for palm oil companies, with a 1428% increase in the value of Liberian palm oil’s exports compared with the pre-Ebola period. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for local people or the local environment.

    Read more

    Greenwashing

    The RSPO prevents and stops deforestation and fires on palm oil plantations by its members

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    https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1146706666508955648?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355496891673415680?s=20

    https://twitter.com/SimamoraDupito/status/1442410921519771649?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355827449397915651?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1461673435965313025

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1173741858171830272?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1447297851038605315?s=20

    https://twitter.com/HersheyCompany/status/1447916947669192709?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169538449680031745?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1385138817309548544?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169532824375955456?s=20

    https://twitter.com/Nestle/status/1404782473221967872?s=20

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    Greenwashing

    Lies and denialism in the media about the environmental impact of palm oil

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    Research into media coverage of the environmental impact of palm oil in Indonesia shows they deny it’s causing ecocide

    We found that media reporting of the denialist narrative is more prevalent than that of the peer-reviewed science consensus-view that palm oil plantations on tropical peat could cause excessive greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the risk of fires.

    Our article alerts to the continuation of unsustainable practices as justified by the media to the public, and that the prevalence of these denialist narratives constitute a significant obstacle in resolving pressing issues such as transboundary haze, biodiversity loss, and land-use change related greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia.

    Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

    https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1448232875535388678?s=20

    https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1436104523756433434?s=20

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s administration has achieved four consecutive years of deforestation declines via land-use reforms and re-establishing a logging moratorium. This significant work culminated in 2020 when the country gained its lowest deforestation rates since monitoring began, reaching a 75% drop year-over-year.

    Luana Stephen, Intelligent Living, September 1, 2021.

    Reality: RSPO “Sustainable” Palm Oil Does Not Stop or Prevent Deforestation

    Back to top ↑

    Tweet from Bart Van Assen, former lead auditor for the RSPO and HCV admitting that the main goal of the RSPO, FSC and other certification initiatives is not to prevent deforestation. (Bart has formerly used @palmoiltruther on Twitter but now changes between @Forest4Apes or @Apes4Forests depending on times when he attempts to conceal his identity).

    Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

    Certification had no causal impact on forest loss in peatlands or active fire detection rates.

    Kimberly M. Carlson, Robert Heilmayr, Holly K. Gibbs, Praveen Noojipady et al. Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia, PNAS January 2, 2018 115 (1) 121-126 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114

    No significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

    The Neue Zuercher Zeitung used several cases to highlight where slash-and-burn techniques continue on RSPO-certified land, and where new plantations are threatening important ecosystems. These examples are representative of the huge gap between the need for environmental protection and the ever-increasing global demand for palm oil.

    Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (May 2021) (In English)

    Swiss multinational Nestlé received hundreds of thousands of alerts of forest clearing near its palm oil suppliers in 2019 via satellite monitoring.

    Nestlé identified over 1,000 cases of deforestation per day in palm oil areas. SwissInfo (2020).

    https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

    Fire outbreaks in and around palm oil concessions (often starting from slash-and-burn fires to clear land for plantations).

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    Thousands of fire alerts were recorded by Chain Reaction Research on RSPO member palm oil plantations

    The top ten palm oil traders and refiners in Indonesia all had thousands of alerts for fires in their palm oil plantations:

    • ADM
    • Unilever
    • Neste
    • Cargill
    • Bunge
    • Wilmar
    • Olam
    • AAK

    all of these companies are RSPO members

    https://youtu.be/jdYT_g9ENxw?t=1346

    A still from the Chain Reaction Research video: Which Companies are Expoosed to Deforestation Driven Fires in their Supply Chains

    A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)

    Read more

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    Explore the series

    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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    Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight greenwashing and deforestation by using your wallet as a weapon!

    Find out more

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    Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing

    1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
    2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
    3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
    4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
    5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
    6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
    7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
    8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
    9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
    10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
    11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
    12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
    13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
    15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
    16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
    17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
    18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
    19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
    20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
    2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
    3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
    4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
    5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
    6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
    7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
    8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
    9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
    11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
    12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
    13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
    15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
    16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
    18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
    19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
    20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
    21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
    2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
    3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
    4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
    5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
    6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
    7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
    9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
    10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
    11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
    12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
    13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
    15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
    16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
    17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
    18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil

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    Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying

    Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth

    Greenwashing by Lying

    Blatant lies that appear in advertising or on social media. The lie could be falsifying support from respected authorities or individuals on environmental issues. Or the lie could be research with ambiguous results being made to sound positive. Sometimes, it is a clear and obvious lie.

    Tweet this…

    #Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying: Telling outright lies to #consumers until they are believed as truth. #palmoil lobbyists and global food companies lie about ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing

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    Greenwashing: Endangered species

    Reality: Endangered species

    Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers

    Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers

    An open letter from Friends of the Earth and 100 Human Rights NGOs

    Greenwashing: Deforestation and fire

    Greenwashing: Lies and denialism in the media

    Reality: Deforestation and fire

    Explore the Series

    Further reading: greenwashing and deceptive marketing

    Say thanks for this guide by donating to my Ko-Fi

    Greenwashing:

    RSPO certification protects endangered species living in tropical rainforests

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    RSPO marketing materials make grand claims that are not supported by any evidence at all.

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1660543540378697729?s=20

    The team from Chester Zoo encourage children to save endangered species by buying sustainable palm oil.

    Lyrics: ‘We have a choice – and it’s sustainable palm oil’

    https://youtu.be/1jHNiRJ9OgI

    Michelle Desilets, Manager of Orangutan Land Trust explains in this video that ‘deforestation is prohibited by the RSPO’.

    What she does not mention is that none of the RSPO’s members have actually stopped deforestation in the 17 years since it began.

    https://youtu.be/cJLP0SzoUdY

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    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1200683887497756672?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/894844642327502848?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1281240693285875712?s=20

    https://twitter.com/griffjane/status/1301407429373165568?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1305809870281732096?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1246908272931753988?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1002860521215942656?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1414519913457270794?s=20

    https://youtu.be/HkcZrJiudRc

    Reality: “Sustainable” Palm Oil does not stop biodiversity loss

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    “In the plantation, the calls of birds and beasts are replaced by a deathly silence, which is particularly eerie in the glaring heat of the midday sun. Sounds of life are replaced by sounds of death—roaring bull-dozers, gnawing chainsaws, the crackle of illegal burning, and the rumble of overloaded trucks carrying oil palm fruit and timber.”.

    ~ Dr Sophie Chao. In the Shadow of the Palms, pp. 45.

    Currently certified grower supply bases and concessions in Sumatra and Borneo are located in large mammal’s habitat and in areas that were biodiverse tropical forests less than 30 years ago. We suggest that certification schemes claim for the “sustainable” production of palm oil just because they neglect a very recent past of deforestation and habitat degradation.

    Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Alena Velichevskaya, Certified “sustainable” palm oil took the place of endangered Bornean and Sumatran large mammals habitat and tropical forests in the last 30 years, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 742, 2020,
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140712.

    Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.

    Emily B. Fitzherbert, Matthew J. Struebig, Alexandra Morel, Finn Danielsen, Carsten A. Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.

    We found that certified plantation concessions that are committed to deforestation-free production are limited in their ability to prevent further biodiversity loss, due to the past conversion of forest habitats to plantations. Concession holders can improve forest habitats through corridor development and other measures, which would mitigate, but not prevent, further biodiversity loss.


    Hideyuki Kubo, Arief Darmawan, Hendarto, André Derek Mader,
    The effect of agricultural certification schemes on biodiversity loss in the tropics,
    Biological Conservation, Volume 261, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109243.

    We uncover the global patterns of oil palm expansion and find that global oil palm expansion has a very high degree of potential conflict with local biodiversity. Globally, 99.9% of oil palm plantations overlapped with Conservation Priority Zones (CPZs) and oil palm plantations encroached on 231 protected areas.

    Le Yu, Yue Cao, Yuqi Cheng, Qiang Zhao, Yidi Xu, Kasturi Kanniah, Hui Lu, Rui Yang & Peng Gong (2022) A study of the serious conflicts between oil palm expansion and biodiversity conservation using high-resolution remote sensing, Remote Sensing Letters, DOI: 10.1080/2150704X.2022.2063701

    https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

    We found a high overlap between areas of high oil palm suitability and areas of high conservation priority for primates. Overall, we found only a few small areas where oil palm could be cultivated in Africa with a low impact on primates (3.3 Mha, including all areas suitable for oil palm). These results warn that, consistent with the dramatic effects of palm oil cultivation on biodiversity in Southeast Asia, reconciling a large-scale development of oil palm in Africa with primate conservation will be a great challenge.

    Small room for compromise between oil palm cultivation and primate conservation in Africa
    Giovanni Strona, Simon D. Stringer, Ghislain Vieilledent, et. al.
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018), 115 (35) 8811-8816; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1804775115

    As of 2019, more than 60% of the palm oil plantations in the study area were in Key Biodiversity Areas. KBAs are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. RSPO-certified plantations, comprising 63% of the total cultivated area assessed, did not produce a statistically significant reduction in deforestation and appear to be ineffective at reducing encroachment into ecologically sensitive areas in Guatemala.

    Calli P. VanderWilde, Joshua P. Newell, Dimitrios Gounaridis, Benjamin P. Goldstein,
    Deforestation, certification, and transnational palm oil supply chains: Linking Guatemala to global consumer markets, Journal of Environmental Management,
    Volume 344, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118505

    There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032, 2018.

    “The big message is that oil palm is bad for biodiversity, in every sense of the word — even when compared to damaged rainforests that are regenerating after earlier logging or clearing.”

    Professor Bill Laurance, James Cook University. ‘Palm oil plantations are bad for wildlife great and small’. The Conversation.

    We analyse consequences of the globally important land-use transformation from tropical forests to oil palm plantations. Species diversity, density and biomass of invertebrate communities suffer at least 45% decreases from rainforest to oil palm.

    Barnes, A., Jochum, M., Mumme, S. et al. Consequences of tropical land use for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nat Commun 5, 5351 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6351

    Palm oil also poses a global risk for zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19

    Taking into account the human population growth, we find that the increases in outbreaks of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases from 1990 to 2016 are linked with deforestation, mostly in tropical countries, and with reforestation, mostly in temperate countries. We also find that outbreaks of vector-borne diseases are associated with the increase in areas of palm oil plantations.

    Outbreaks of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases Are Associated With Changes in Forest Cover and Oil Palm Expansion at Global Scale
    (2021) Morand Serge, Lajaunie Claire, Frontiers in Veterinary Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2021.661063
    DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.661063

    Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

    Fire started within orangutan habitats and destroyed them – this was not investigated by the RSPO

    The team used map data from @globalforests and @UMBaltimore, #sentinel2 images from @esa, concession boundaries from @RSPOtweets and #fire hotspot data (#VIIRS) from @NASAEarth.

    Originally tweeted by Adina Renner (@adinarenner) on May 10, 2021.

    Read more

    Asia: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    Africa: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    Papua New Guinea & West Papua: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    South America: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    Greenwashing

    ‘Europeans have destroyed their forests for agriculture, so why can’t we do the same in the tropics? Stopping our economic development is hypocrisy and colonialism’

    ‘Sustainable palm oil helps the livelihood of workers on RSPO certified palm oil plantations.‘

    Back to top ↑

    Research analysing media and social media messages around palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia finds that palm oil lobbyists use an ‘Us’ Versus ‘Them’ narrative, in other words, they invoke colonial racism to justify continued deforestation and ecocide.

    Four mutually complementary narratives were used by Indonesian and Malaysian media to construe denialism These denialist narratives appeal to a nationalist sentiment of ‘us’ – palm oil-producing developing countries – and ‘them’ – western developed countries producing research critical of the industry.

    Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

    We had the luck to be born into a developed country, I believe we need to acknowledge the right of lesser-developed countries to develop. We simply have no right to tell a country like Indonesia to forgo economic development, but we can help to steer that development in a sustainable direction.

    Michelle Desilets, Director, Orangutan Land Trust. The Switch Report, 2014

    RSPO advertisement from social media, with a focus on promoting better workers rights under certified palm oil. An RSPO advertisement targeting the Indian market in 2021 by the RSPO showing supposed benefits for palm oil workers.

    https://youtu.be/2ugIE0UJYc4

    Social media messaging by palm oil lobbyists reflects a focus on ‘Us’: poor, palm oil producing nations, versus ‘Them’: the ‘greedy, already developed West.

    https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1295253527191642113?s=20

    https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1420662530863550464?s=20

    https://twitter.com/palm_eu/status/1440943483410386945?s=20

    https://twitter.com/emeijaard/status/1191961097294757889?s=20

    https://twitter.com/palmoilmonitor/status/1445795527560515587?s=20

    https://twitter.com/CIFOR/status/1016759321701552133?s=20

    Reality: Human rights abuses and landgrabbing are ongoing for “sustainable” palm oil

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    University of Michigan 2023 study: RSPO plantations do not reduce deforestation in Guatemala

    Read more

    A 2021 Investigation by Global Witness found that palm oil companies in Papua New Guinea are alleged to have been involved in corruption, child labour, tax evasion, deforestation, worker deaths and paying police to assault villagers.

    The palm oil from these mills in Papua New Guinea is used by RSPO members Colgate-Palmolive, Kelloggs, General Mills, Nestle, Hersheys, Danone, PZ Cussons – finds its way into our weekly supermarket shop.

    Read report

    https://twitter.com/earthsight/status/1192827396451438592?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

    https://twitter.com/Rainforest_RIN/status/1541428640491212801?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

    A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry finds extensive greenwashing of human rights abuses

    Read more

    Certified goods improve the price and income of sale for certified goods, but they do not advance equity, income or assets for workers

    We identified 64 conflicts that involved RSPO member companies, of which 17 prompted communities to convey their grievances to the RSPO’s conflict resolution mechanism…We conclude that—on all counts—the conflict resolution mechanism is biased in favor of companies. The result of these biases is that the actual capacity of the RSPO’s mechanism to provide a meaningful remedy for rural communities’ grievances remains very limited. This unequal access to justice sustains conflicts between companies and communities over land.

    Afrizal, A., Hospes, O., Berenschot, W. et al. Unequal access to justice: an evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agric Hum Values 40, 291–304 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z

    We find positive effects on prices and income from sale of certified products. However, we find no change in overall household income and assets for workers. The wages for workers are not higher in certified production.

    Oya, C., Schaefer, F. & Skalidou, D. The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: a systematic review. World Dev. 112, 282–312 (2018).

    We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.

    Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

    Oil palm expansion is shaped by wider political economies and development policies.

    Market-based development policies have favored large-scale over smallholder production.

    Benefits from oil palm are unevenly distributed across rural population.

    Violence across forest frontiers has fueled conflicts linked to oil palm.

    Weak forest governance has led to significant deforestation by industrial plantations.

    A. Castellanos-Navarrete, F. de Castro, P. Pacheco,
    The impact of oil palm on rural livelihoods and tropical forest landscapes in Latin America, Journal of Rural Studies,
    Volume 81, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.047.

    Deforestation by fire for palm oilDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography After a forest fire in Sumatra – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to retail brands

    This article argues that the form of sustainability offered by certification schemes such as the RSPO fetishes the commodity palm oil in order to assuage critical consumer initiatives in the North. This technical-managerial solution is part of a larger project: the “post-political” climate politics regime (Swyngedouw) that attempts to “green” the status quo.

    Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
    Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

    • The palm oil industry is neither sustainable nor a viable development model.
    • Certification represents a technical fix which neglects underlying dynamics of power, class, gender and accumulation.
    • The fetishised commodity ‘certified sustainable palm oil’ has no impact on the regional scale of expansion.
    • Working conditions in the plantations and mills entrench social inequality and poverty.

    From: Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
    Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

    Deforestation in West PapuaDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography

    Deforestation for palm oil: the impact of increased heat on human health

    477 villages throughout Kalimantan were surveyed about forest health benefits.

    The most frequent answer was maintenance of cool local temperatures.

    Perceptions were driven by deforestation and local temperature.

    Results point to possible threat of heat impacts on health.

    Policy should incorporate human health when considering land use.


    Nicholas H. Wolff, Yuta J. Masuda, Erik Meijaard, Jessie A. Wells, Edward T. Game,
    Impacts of tropical deforestation on local temperature and human well-being perceptions, Global Environmental Change, Volume 52, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.004.

    The False Promise of Certification, Changing Markets (2018)

    “While RSPO is often referred to as the best scheme in the sector, it
    has several shortcomings; most notably, it allows the conversion of secondary forests and the draining
    of peatlands, it has not prevented human rights violations and it does not require GHG emissions
    reductions.

    “In light of this, we call for action to reduce demand for palm oil, such as
    ditching biofuels targets, as well as channelling new plantations into non-forested areas by putting in
    place a strong moratorium on palm oil expansion to forests and peatlands. Most schemes in this sector
    should be abolished in light of their failures on multiple fronts.”

    — The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets

    The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets Download report

    MSI’s (Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives including the RSPO and Rainforest Alliance) are inadequate in detecting human rights abuses and uphold standards

    “MSIs put considerable emphasis on the standards that they set, but have not developed effective mechanisms for detecting abuses, enforcing compliance with those standards, or transparently disclosing levels of compliance. Despite the emergence of models that enable rights holders to legally enforce MSIs’ standards or to be actively engaged in monitoring companies for abuses, MSIs have not adopted them. By focusing on setting standards without adequately ensuring if members are following those standards, MSIs risk providing companies and governments with powerful reputational benefits despite the persistence of rights abuses.”

    ~ MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020)

    MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020) Download report

    The difficulty of addressing and resolving oil palm conflicts is due not only to the inadequacies of Indonesia’s legal framework regarding land and plantations but also to the way in which Indonesia’s informalized state institutions foster collusion between local power holders and palm oil companies. This collusion enables companies to evade regulation, suppress community protests and avoid engaging in constructive efforts to resolve conflicts. Furthermore, this collusion has made the available conflict resolution mechanisms largely ineffective.

    Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002

    Associated Press 2020 Report: Beauty Brands (RSPO members) L’Oreal, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson& Johnson, Unilever linked to rape on palm oil plantations

    https://twitter.com/AP/status/1330163571951611906?s=20

    https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1329701899180924928?s=20

    Associated Press Investigation (2020) finds wide-spread rape, human rights abuses and slavery on palm oil plantations for well known brands: Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Avon, Colgate Palmolive Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words

    “The expansion of oil palm plantations has created many detrimental environmental impacts, including deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land conflicts, labour conflicts, and social conflicts around plantations.

    “Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established.

    “In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic.”

    — Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer, In His Own Words.

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    Global corporates are responsible for the majority of palm oil production and deforestation risk, not smallholder farmers

    The three biggest palm oil traders: Sinar Mas, Wilmar and Musim Mas – are founding members of the RSPO. They have the biggest deforestation risk of all other palm oil companies combined. Deforestation goes against the RSPO’s rules – yet these big companies do not lose their RSPO membership or face punishment.

    Source: Insights: Indonesian Palm Oil. Trase Earth (2018)

    Search the Environmental Justice Atlas for specific companies and their human rights abuses and land-grabbing record

    Search here

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    RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector

    Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018

    Read original letter

    Letter

    During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.

    RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.

    They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:

    1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
    2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
    3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
    4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
    5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.

    Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.

    Violence is intrinsic to this model:

    • violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
    • companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
    • sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
    • Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
    • working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
    • exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
    • depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.

    RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.

    The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.

    None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.

    Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.

    On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.

    RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.

    For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.

    RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.

    Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.

    RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.

    This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.

    Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.

    Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.

    The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.

    What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.

    Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.

    For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

    As immediate steps, governments need to:

    • Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
    • Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
    • Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
    • Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.

    Signatures

    • Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
    • ActionAid, France
    • AGAPAN
      Amics arbres
    • Arbres amics
    • Amis de la Terre France
    • ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
    • Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
      Asociación Gaia El Salvador
    • Association Congo Actif, Paris
    • Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
    • Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
    • BASE IS
    • Bézu St Eloi
    • Boxberg OT Uhyst
    • Bread for all
    • Bruno Manser Fund
    • CADDECAE, Ecuador
    • Campaign to STOP GE Trees
    • CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
    • Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • CESTA – FOE El Salvador
    • CETRI – Centre tricontinental
    • Climate Change Kenya
    • Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
    • Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
    • Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
    • Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
    • Consumers Association of Penang
    • Corporate Europe Observatory
    • Cuttington University
    • Down to Earth Consult
    • El Campello
    • Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
    • Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
    • FASE ES , Brazil
    • Fédération romande des consommateurs
    • FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
    • Focus on the Global South
    • Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
    • Friends of the Earth Ghana
    • Friends of the Earth International
    • GE Free NZ, New Zealand
    • Global Alliance against REDD
    • Global Justice Ecology Project
    • Global Info
    • Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
    • GRAIN
    • Green Development Advocates (GDA)
    • CameroonGreystones, Ireland
    • Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
      Grupo ETC
    • Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
    • Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
    • Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
    • Justica Ambiental
    • Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
    • Kempityari
    • Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
    • Les gens du partage
    • LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
    • Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
    • Maiouri nature, Guyane
    • Mangrove Action Project
    • Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
    • Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
    • Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
    • Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
    • New Wind Association from Finland
    • NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
    • Oakland Institute
    • OFRANEH, Honduras
    • Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
    • ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
    • OPIROMA, Brazil
    • Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
    • Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
    • PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
    • Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
    • Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
    • Rainforest Foundation UK
    • Rainforest Relief
    • ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
    • RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
    • Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
    • REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
    • Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
    • ROBIN WOOD
    • Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
    • Salva la Selva
    • School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
    • Serendipalm Company Limited
    • Sherpa , The Netherlands
    • SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
    • The Corner House, UK
      Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
    • TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
      University of Sussex, UK
    • UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
    • WESSA
      World Rainforest Movement
    • Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana

    Epidemics and rapacity of multinational companies in Liberia

    Discussion Paper. The Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics. Release date: 12th March, 2022

    Conclusion

    https://twitter.com/CEP_LSE/status/1502238109677015044?s=20&t=CwBhOE-SLGkXtNxC9nXw5w

    This paper provides novel granular evidence on the interaction between the Ebola epidemic, deforestation, and palm oil plantations in Liberia. The palm oil multinationals, exploiting the health crisis, stepped up deforestation to increase output. The effect on deforestation is more severe in areas inhabited by politically unrepresented ethnic groups, characterized by a reduction in tree coverage by 6.5%.

    We also document an increase of more than 125% in the likelihood of
    fire events within concessions during the epidemic. This suggests that not only did the palm oil companies foster deforestation, but further that they used forest fires to do so. This is particularly harmful to the environment, and the smoke and the haze may have severe health consequences, apart from being a source of carbon dioxide.

    This deforestation was accompanied by a 150% increase in the amount of land dedicated to cultivation.

    This exploitative behaviour was highly profitable for palm oil companies, with a 1428% increase in the value of Liberian palm oil’s exports compared with the pre-Ebola period. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for local people or the local environment.

    Read more

    Greenwashing

    The RSPO prevents and stops deforestation and fires on palm oil plantations by its members

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    https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1146706666508955648?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355496891673415680?s=20

    https://twitter.com/SimamoraDupito/status/1442410921519771649?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355827449397915651?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1461673435965313025

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1173741858171830272?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1447297851038605315?s=20

    https://twitter.com/HersheyCompany/status/1447916947669192709?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169538449680031745?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1385138817309548544?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169532824375955456?s=20

    https://twitter.com/Nestle/status/1404782473221967872?s=20

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    Greenwashing

    Lies and denialism in the media about the environmental impact of palm oil

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    Research into media coverage of the environmental impact of palm oil in Indonesia shows they deny it’s causing ecocide

    We found that media reporting of the denialist narrative is more prevalent than that of the peer-reviewed science consensus-view that palm oil plantations on tropical peat could cause excessive greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the risk of fires.

    Our article alerts to the continuation of unsustainable practices as justified by the media to the public, and that the prevalence of these denialist narratives constitute a significant obstacle in resolving pressing issues such as transboundary haze, biodiversity loss, and land-use change related greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia.

    Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

    https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1448232875535388678?s=20

    https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1436104523756433434?s=20

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s administration has achieved four consecutive years of deforestation declines via land-use reforms and re-establishing a logging moratorium. This significant work culminated in 2020 when the country gained its lowest deforestation rates since monitoring began, reaching a 75% drop year-over-year.

    Luana Stephen, Intelligent Living, September 1, 2021.

    Reality: RSPO “Sustainable” Palm Oil Does Not Stop or Prevent Deforestation

    Back to top ↑

    Tweet from Bart Van Assen, former lead auditor for the RSPO and HCV admitting that the main goal of the RSPO, FSC and other certification initiatives is not to prevent deforestation. (Bart has formerly used @palmoiltruther on Twitter but now changes between @Forest4Apes or @Apes4Forests depending on times when he attempts to conceal his identity).

    Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

    Certification had no causal impact on forest loss in peatlands or active fire detection rates.

    Kimberly M. Carlson, Robert Heilmayr, Holly K. Gibbs, Praveen Noojipady et al. Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia, PNAS January 2, 2018 115 (1) 121-126 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114

    No significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

    The Neue Zuercher Zeitung used several cases to highlight where slash-and-burn techniques continue on RSPO-certified land, and where new plantations are threatening important ecosystems. These examples are representative of the huge gap between the need for environmental protection and the ever-increasing global demand for palm oil.

    Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (May 2021) (In English)

    Swiss multinational Nestlé received hundreds of thousands of alerts of forest clearing near its palm oil suppliers in 2019 via satellite monitoring.

    Nestlé identified over 1,000 cases of deforestation per day in palm oil areas. SwissInfo (2020).

    https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

    Fire outbreaks in and around palm oil concessions (often starting from slash-and-burn fires to clear land for plantations).

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    Thousands of fire alerts were recorded by Chain Reaction Research on RSPO member palm oil plantations

    The top ten palm oil traders and refiners in Indonesia all had thousands of alerts for fires in their palm oil plantations:

    • ADM
    • Unilever
    • Neste
    • Cargill
    • Bunge
    • Wilmar
    • Olam
    • AAK

    all of these companies are RSPO members

    https://youtu.be/jdYT_g9ENxw?t=1346

    A still from the Chain Reaction Research video: Which Companies are Expoosed to Deforestation Driven Fires in their Supply Chains

    A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)

    Read more

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    Explore the series

    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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    Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight greenwashing and deforestation by using your wallet as a weapon!

    Find out more

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    Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing

    1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
    2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
    3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
    4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
    5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
    6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
    7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
    8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
    9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
    10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
    11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
    12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
    13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
    15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
    16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
    17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
    18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
    19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
    20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
    2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
    3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
    4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
    5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
    6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
    7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
    8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
    9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
    11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
    12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
    13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
    15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
    16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
    18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
    19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
    20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
    21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
    2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
    3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
    4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
    5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
    6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
    7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
    9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
    10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
    11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
    12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
    13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
    15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
    16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
    17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
    18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil

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    Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying

    Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth

    Greenwashing by Lying

    Blatant lies that appear in advertising or on social media. The lie could be falsifying support from respected authorities or individuals on environmental issues. Or the lie could be research with ambiguous results being made to sound positive. Sometimes, it is a clear and obvious lie.

    Tweet this…

    #Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying: Telling outright lies to #consumers until they are believed as truth. #palmoil lobbyists and global food companies lie about ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing

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    Greenwashing: Endangered species

    Reality: Endangered species

    Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers

    Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers

    An open letter from Friends of the Earth and 100 Human Rights NGOs

    Greenwashing: Deforestation and fire

    Greenwashing: Lies and denialism in the media

    Reality: Deforestation and fire

    Explore the Series

    Further reading: greenwashing and deceptive marketing

    Say thanks for this guide by donating to my Ko-Fi

    Greenwashing:

    RSPO certification protects endangered species living in tropical rainforests

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    RSPO marketing materials make grand claims that are not supported by any evidence at all.

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1660543540378697729?s=20

    The team from Chester Zoo encourage children to save endangered species by buying sustainable palm oil.

    Lyrics: ‘We have a choice – and it’s sustainable palm oil’

    https://youtu.be/1jHNiRJ9OgI

    Michelle Desilets, Manager of Orangutan Land Trust explains in this video that ‘deforestation is prohibited by the RSPO’.

    What she does not mention is that none of the RSPO’s members have actually stopped deforestation in the 17 years since it began.

    https://youtu.be/cJLP0SzoUdY

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    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1200683887497756672?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/894844642327502848?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1281240693285875712?s=20

    https://twitter.com/griffjane/status/1301407429373165568?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1305809870281732096?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1246908272931753988?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1002860521215942656?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1414519913457270794?s=20

    https://youtu.be/HkcZrJiudRc

    Reality: “Sustainable” Palm Oil does not stop biodiversity loss

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    “In the plantation, the calls of birds and beasts are replaced by a deathly silence, which is particularly eerie in the glaring heat of the midday sun. Sounds of life are replaced by sounds of death—roaring bull-dozers, gnawing chainsaws, the crackle of illegal burning, and the rumble of overloaded trucks carrying oil palm fruit and timber.”.

    ~ Dr Sophie Chao. In the Shadow of the Palms, pp. 45.

    Currently certified grower supply bases and concessions in Sumatra and Borneo are located in large mammal’s habitat and in areas that were biodiverse tropical forests less than 30 years ago. We suggest that certification schemes claim for the “sustainable” production of palm oil just because they neglect a very recent past of deforestation and habitat degradation.

    Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Alena Velichevskaya, Certified “sustainable” palm oil took the place of endangered Bornean and Sumatran large mammals habitat and tropical forests in the last 30 years, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 742, 2020,
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140712.

    Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.

    Emily B. Fitzherbert, Matthew J. Struebig, Alexandra Morel, Finn Danielsen, Carsten A. Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.

    We found that certified plantation concessions that are committed to deforestation-free production are limited in their ability to prevent further biodiversity loss, due to the past conversion of forest habitats to plantations. Concession holders can improve forest habitats through corridor development and other measures, which would mitigate, but not prevent, further biodiversity loss.


    Hideyuki Kubo, Arief Darmawan, Hendarto, André Derek Mader,
    The effect of agricultural certification schemes on biodiversity loss in the tropics,
    Biological Conservation, Volume 261, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109243.

    We uncover the global patterns of oil palm expansion and find that global oil palm expansion has a very high degree of potential conflict with local biodiversity. Globally, 99.9% of oil palm plantations overlapped with Conservation Priority Zones (CPZs) and oil palm plantations encroached on 231 protected areas.

    Le Yu, Yue Cao, Yuqi Cheng, Qiang Zhao, Yidi Xu, Kasturi Kanniah, Hui Lu, Rui Yang & Peng Gong (2022) A study of the serious conflicts between oil palm expansion and biodiversity conservation using high-resolution remote sensing, Remote Sensing Letters, DOI: 10.1080/2150704X.2022.2063701

    https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

    We found a high overlap between areas of high oil palm suitability and areas of high conservation priority for primates. Overall, we found only a few small areas where oil palm could be cultivated in Africa with a low impact on primates (3.3 Mha, including all areas suitable for oil palm). These results warn that, consistent with the dramatic effects of palm oil cultivation on biodiversity in Southeast Asia, reconciling a large-scale development of oil palm in Africa with primate conservation will be a great challenge.

    Small room for compromise between oil palm cultivation and primate conservation in Africa
    Giovanni Strona, Simon D. Stringer, Ghislain Vieilledent, et. al.
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018), 115 (35) 8811-8816; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1804775115

    As of 2019, more than 60% of the palm oil plantations in the study area were in Key Biodiversity Areas. KBAs are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. RSPO-certified plantations, comprising 63% of the total cultivated area assessed, did not produce a statistically significant reduction in deforestation and appear to be ineffective at reducing encroachment into ecologically sensitive areas in Guatemala.

    Calli P. VanderWilde, Joshua P. Newell, Dimitrios Gounaridis, Benjamin P. Goldstein,
    Deforestation, certification, and transnational palm oil supply chains: Linking Guatemala to global consumer markets, Journal of Environmental Management,
    Volume 344, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118505

    There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032, 2018.

    “The big message is that oil palm is bad for biodiversity, in every sense of the word — even when compared to damaged rainforests that are regenerating after earlier logging or clearing.”

    Professor Bill Laurance, James Cook University. ‘Palm oil plantations are bad for wildlife great and small’. The Conversation.

    We analyse consequences of the globally important land-use transformation from tropical forests to oil palm plantations. Species diversity, density and biomass of invertebrate communities suffer at least 45% decreases from rainforest to oil palm.

    Barnes, A., Jochum, M., Mumme, S. et al. Consequences of tropical land use for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nat Commun 5, 5351 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6351

    Palm oil also poses a global risk for zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19

    Taking into account the human population growth, we find that the increases in outbreaks of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases from 1990 to 2016 are linked with deforestation, mostly in tropical countries, and with reforestation, mostly in temperate countries. We also find that outbreaks of vector-borne diseases are associated with the increase in areas of palm oil plantations.

    Outbreaks of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases Are Associated With Changes in Forest Cover and Oil Palm Expansion at Global Scale
    (2021) Morand Serge, Lajaunie Claire, Frontiers in Veterinary Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2021.661063
    DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.661063

    Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

    Fire started within orangutan habitats and destroyed them – this was not investigated by the RSPO

    The team used map data from @globalforests and @UMBaltimore, #sentinel2 images from @esa, concession boundaries from @RSPOtweets and #fire hotspot data (#VIIRS) from @NASAEarth.

    Originally tweeted by Adina Renner (@adinarenner) on May 10, 2021.

    Read more

    Asia: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    Africa: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    Papua New Guinea & West Papua: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    South America: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    Greenwashing

    ‘Europeans have destroyed their forests for agriculture, so why can’t we do the same in the tropics? Stopping our economic development is hypocrisy and colonialism’

    ‘Sustainable palm oil helps the livelihood of workers on RSPO certified palm oil plantations.‘

    Back to top ↑

    Research analysing media and social media messages around palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia finds that palm oil lobbyists use an ‘Us’ Versus ‘Them’ narrative, in other words, they invoke colonial racism to justify continued deforestation and ecocide.

    Four mutually complementary narratives were used by Indonesian and Malaysian media to construe denialism These denialist narratives appeal to a nationalist sentiment of ‘us’ – palm oil-producing developing countries – and ‘them’ – western developed countries producing research critical of the industry.

    Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

    We had the luck to be born into a developed country, I believe we need to acknowledge the right of lesser-developed countries to develop. We simply have no right to tell a country like Indonesia to forgo economic development, but we can help to steer that development in a sustainable direction.

    Michelle Desilets, Director, Orangutan Land Trust. The Switch Report, 2014

    RSPO advertisement from social media, with a focus on promoting better workers rights under certified palm oil. An RSPO advertisement targeting the Indian market in 2021 by the RSPO showing supposed benefits for palm oil workers.

    https://youtu.be/2ugIE0UJYc4

    Social media messaging by palm oil lobbyists reflects a focus on ‘Us’: poor, palm oil producing nations, versus ‘Them’: the ‘greedy, already developed West.

    https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1295253527191642113?s=20

    https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1420662530863550464?s=20

    https://twitter.com/palm_eu/status/1440943483410386945?s=20

    https://twitter.com/emeijaard/status/1191961097294757889?s=20

    https://twitter.com/palmoilmonitor/status/1445795527560515587?s=20

    https://twitter.com/CIFOR/status/1016759321701552133?s=20

    Reality: Human rights abuses and landgrabbing are ongoing for “sustainable” palm oil

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    University of Michigan 2023 study: RSPO plantations do not reduce deforestation in Guatemala

    Read more

    A 2021 Investigation by Global Witness found that palm oil companies in Papua New Guinea are alleged to have been involved in corruption, child labour, tax evasion, deforestation, worker deaths and paying police to assault villagers.

    The palm oil from these mills in Papua New Guinea is used by RSPO members Colgate-Palmolive, Kelloggs, General Mills, Nestle, Hersheys, Danone, PZ Cussons – finds its way into our weekly supermarket shop.

    Read report

    https://twitter.com/earthsight/status/1192827396451438592?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

    https://twitter.com/Rainforest_RIN/status/1541428640491212801?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

    A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry finds extensive greenwashing of human rights abuses

    Read more

    Certified goods improve the price and income of sale for certified goods, but they do not advance equity, income or assets for workers

    We identified 64 conflicts that involved RSPO member companies, of which 17 prompted communities to convey their grievances to the RSPO’s conflict resolution mechanism…We conclude that—on all counts—the conflict resolution mechanism is biased in favor of companies. The result of these biases is that the actual capacity of the RSPO’s mechanism to provide a meaningful remedy for rural communities’ grievances remains very limited. This unequal access to justice sustains conflicts between companies and communities over land.

    Afrizal, A., Hospes, O., Berenschot, W. et al. Unequal access to justice: an evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agric Hum Values 40, 291–304 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z

    We find positive effects on prices and income from sale of certified products. However, we find no change in overall household income and assets for workers. The wages for workers are not higher in certified production.

    Oya, C., Schaefer, F. & Skalidou, D. The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: a systematic review. World Dev. 112, 282–312 (2018).

    We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.

    Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

    Oil palm expansion is shaped by wider political economies and development policies.

    Market-based development policies have favored large-scale over smallholder production.

    Benefits from oil palm are unevenly distributed across rural population.

    Violence across forest frontiers has fueled conflicts linked to oil palm.

    Weak forest governance has led to significant deforestation by industrial plantations.

    A. Castellanos-Navarrete, F. de Castro, P. Pacheco,
    The impact of oil palm on rural livelihoods and tropical forest landscapes in Latin America, Journal of Rural Studies,
    Volume 81, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.047.

    Deforestation by fire for palm oilDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography After a forest fire in Sumatra – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to retail brands

    This article argues that the form of sustainability offered by certification schemes such as the RSPO fetishes the commodity palm oil in order to assuage critical consumer initiatives in the North. This technical-managerial solution is part of a larger project: the “post-political” climate politics regime (Swyngedouw) that attempts to “green” the status quo.

    Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
    Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

    • The palm oil industry is neither sustainable nor a viable development model.
    • Certification represents a technical fix which neglects underlying dynamics of power, class, gender and accumulation.
    • The fetishised commodity ‘certified sustainable palm oil’ has no impact on the regional scale of expansion.
    • Working conditions in the plantations and mills entrench social inequality and poverty.

    From: Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
    Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

    Deforestation in West PapuaDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography

    Deforestation for palm oil: the impact of increased heat on human health

    477 villages throughout Kalimantan were surveyed about forest health benefits.

    The most frequent answer was maintenance of cool local temperatures.

    Perceptions were driven by deforestation and local temperature.

    Results point to possible threat of heat impacts on health.

    Policy should incorporate human health when considering land use.


    Nicholas H. Wolff, Yuta J. Masuda, Erik Meijaard, Jessie A. Wells, Edward T. Game,
    Impacts of tropical deforestation on local temperature and human well-being perceptions, Global Environmental Change, Volume 52, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.004.

    The False Promise of Certification, Changing Markets (2018)

    “While RSPO is often referred to as the best scheme in the sector, it
    has several shortcomings; most notably, it allows the conversion of secondary forests and the draining
    of peatlands, it has not prevented human rights violations and it does not require GHG emissions
    reductions.

    “In light of this, we call for action to reduce demand for palm oil, such as
    ditching biofuels targets, as well as channelling new plantations into non-forested areas by putting in
    place a strong moratorium on palm oil expansion to forests and peatlands. Most schemes in this sector
    should be abolished in light of their failures on multiple fronts.”

    — The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets

    The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets Download report

    MSI’s (Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives including the RSPO and Rainforest Alliance) are inadequate in detecting human rights abuses and uphold standards

    “MSIs put considerable emphasis on the standards that they set, but have not developed effective mechanisms for detecting abuses, enforcing compliance with those standards, or transparently disclosing levels of compliance. Despite the emergence of models that enable rights holders to legally enforce MSIs’ standards or to be actively engaged in monitoring companies for abuses, MSIs have not adopted them. By focusing on setting standards without adequately ensuring if members are following those standards, MSIs risk providing companies and governments with powerful reputational benefits despite the persistence of rights abuses.”

    ~ MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020)

    MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020) Download report

    The difficulty of addressing and resolving oil palm conflicts is due not only to the inadequacies of Indonesia’s legal framework regarding land and plantations but also to the way in which Indonesia’s informalized state institutions foster collusion between local power holders and palm oil companies. This collusion enables companies to evade regulation, suppress community protests and avoid engaging in constructive efforts to resolve conflicts. Furthermore, this collusion has made the available conflict resolution mechanisms largely ineffective.

    Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002

    Associated Press 2020 Report: Beauty Brands (RSPO members) L’Oreal, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson& Johnson, Unilever linked to rape on palm oil plantations

    https://twitter.com/AP/status/1330163571951611906?s=20

    https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1329701899180924928?s=20

    Associated Press Investigation (2020) finds wide-spread rape, human rights abuses and slavery on palm oil plantations for well known brands: Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Avon, Colgate Palmolive Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words

    “The expansion of oil palm plantations has created many detrimental environmental impacts, including deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land conflicts, labour conflicts, and social conflicts around plantations.

    “Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established.

    “In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic.”

    — Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer, In His Own Words.

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    Global corporates are responsible for the majority of palm oil production and deforestation risk, not smallholder farmers

    The three biggest palm oil traders: Sinar Mas, Wilmar and Musim Mas – are founding members of the RSPO. They have the biggest deforestation risk of all other palm oil companies combined. Deforestation goes against the RSPO’s rules – yet these big companies do not lose their RSPO membership or face punishment.

    Source: Insights: Indonesian Palm Oil. Trase Earth (2018)

    Search the Environmental Justice Atlas for specific companies and their human rights abuses and land-grabbing record

    Search here

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    RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector

    Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018

    Read original letter

    Letter

    During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.

    RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.

    They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:

    1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
    2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
    3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
    4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
    5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.

    Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.

    Violence is intrinsic to this model:

    • violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
    • companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
    • sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
    • Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
    • working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
    • exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
    • depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.

    RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.

    The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.

    None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.

    Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.

    On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.

    RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.

    For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.

    RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.

    Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.

    RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.

    This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.

    Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.

    Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.

    The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.

    What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.

    Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.

    For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

    As immediate steps, governments need to:

    • Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
    • Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
    • Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
    • Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.

    Signatures

    • Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
    • ActionAid, France
    • AGAPAN
      Amics arbres
    • Arbres amics
    • Amis de la Terre France
    • ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
    • Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
      Asociación Gaia El Salvador
    • Association Congo Actif, Paris
    • Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
    • Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
    • BASE IS
    • Bézu St Eloi
    • Boxberg OT Uhyst
    • Bread for all
    • Bruno Manser Fund
    • CADDECAE, Ecuador
    • Campaign to STOP GE Trees
    • CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
    • Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • CESTA – FOE El Salvador
    • CETRI – Centre tricontinental
    • Climate Change Kenya
    • Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
    • Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
    • Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
    • Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
    • Consumers Association of Penang
    • Corporate Europe Observatory
    • Cuttington University
    • Down to Earth Consult
    • El Campello
    • Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
    • Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
    • FASE ES , Brazil
    • Fédération romande des consommateurs
    • FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
    • Focus on the Global South
    • Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
    • Friends of the Earth Ghana
    • Friends of the Earth International
    • GE Free NZ, New Zealand
    • Global Alliance against REDD
    • Global Justice Ecology Project
    • Global Info
    • Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
    • GRAIN
    • Green Development Advocates (GDA)
    • CameroonGreystones, Ireland
    • Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
      Grupo ETC
    • Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
    • Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
    • Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
    • Justica Ambiental
    • Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
    • Kempityari
    • Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
    • Les gens du partage
    • LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
    • Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
    • Maiouri nature, Guyane
    • Mangrove Action Project
    • Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
    • Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
    • Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
    • Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
    • New Wind Association from Finland
    • NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
    • Oakland Institute
    • OFRANEH, Honduras
    • Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
    • ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
    • OPIROMA, Brazil
    • Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
    • Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
    • PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
    • Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
    • Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
    • Rainforest Foundation UK
    • Rainforest Relief
    • ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
    • RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
    • Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
    • REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
    • Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
    • ROBIN WOOD
    • Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
    • Salva la Selva
    • School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
    • Serendipalm Company Limited
    • Sherpa , The Netherlands
    • SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
    • The Corner House, UK
      Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
    • TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
      University of Sussex, UK
    • UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
    • WESSA
      World Rainforest Movement
    • Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana

    Epidemics and rapacity of multinational companies in Liberia

    Discussion Paper. The Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics. Release date: 12th March, 2022

    Conclusion

    https://twitter.com/CEP_LSE/status/1502238109677015044?s=20&t=CwBhOE-SLGkXtNxC9nXw5w

    This paper provides novel granular evidence on the interaction between the Ebola epidemic, deforestation, and palm oil plantations in Liberia. The palm oil multinationals, exploiting the health crisis, stepped up deforestation to increase output. The effect on deforestation is more severe in areas inhabited by politically unrepresented ethnic groups, characterized by a reduction in tree coverage by 6.5%.

    We also document an increase of more than 125% in the likelihood of
    fire events within concessions during the epidemic. This suggests that not only did the palm oil companies foster deforestation, but further that they used forest fires to do so. This is particularly harmful to the environment, and the smoke and the haze may have severe health consequences, apart from being a source of carbon dioxide.

    This deforestation was accompanied by a 150% increase in the amount of land dedicated to cultivation.

    This exploitative behaviour was highly profitable for palm oil companies, with a 1428% increase in the value of Liberian palm oil’s exports compared with the pre-Ebola period. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for local people or the local environment.

    Read more

    Greenwashing

    The RSPO prevents and stops deforestation and fires on palm oil plantations by its members

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    https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1146706666508955648?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355496891673415680?s=20

    https://twitter.com/SimamoraDupito/status/1442410921519771649?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355827449397915651?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1461673435965313025

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1173741858171830272?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1447297851038605315?s=20

    https://twitter.com/HersheyCompany/status/1447916947669192709?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169538449680031745?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1385138817309548544?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169532824375955456?s=20

    https://twitter.com/Nestle/status/1404782473221967872?s=20

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    Greenwashing

    Lies and denialism in the media about the environmental impact of palm oil

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    Research into media coverage of the environmental impact of palm oil in Indonesia shows they deny it’s causing ecocide

    We found that media reporting of the denialist narrative is more prevalent than that of the peer-reviewed science consensus-view that palm oil plantations on tropical peat could cause excessive greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the risk of fires.

    Our article alerts to the continuation of unsustainable practices as justified by the media to the public, and that the prevalence of these denialist narratives constitute a significant obstacle in resolving pressing issues such as transboundary haze, biodiversity loss, and land-use change related greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia.

    Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

    https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1448232875535388678?s=20

    https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1436104523756433434?s=20

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s administration has achieved four consecutive years of deforestation declines via land-use reforms and re-establishing a logging moratorium. This significant work culminated in 2020 when the country gained its lowest deforestation rates since monitoring began, reaching a 75% drop year-over-year.

    Luana Stephen, Intelligent Living, September 1, 2021.

    Reality: RSPO “Sustainable” Palm Oil Does Not Stop or Prevent Deforestation

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    Tweet from Bart Van Assen, former lead auditor for the RSPO and HCV admitting that the main goal of the RSPO, FSC and other certification initiatives is not to prevent deforestation. (Bart has formerly used @palmoiltruther on Twitter but now changes between @Forest4Apes or @Apes4Forests depending on times when he attempts to conceal his identity).

    Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

    Certification had no causal impact on forest loss in peatlands or active fire detection rates.

    Kimberly M. Carlson, Robert Heilmayr, Holly K. Gibbs, Praveen Noojipady et al. Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia, PNAS January 2, 2018 115 (1) 121-126 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114

    No significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

    The Neue Zuercher Zeitung used several cases to highlight where slash-and-burn techniques continue on RSPO-certified land, and where new plantations are threatening important ecosystems. These examples are representative of the huge gap between the need for environmental protection and the ever-increasing global demand for palm oil.

    Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (May 2021) (In English)

    Swiss multinational Nestlé received hundreds of thousands of alerts of forest clearing near its palm oil suppliers in 2019 via satellite monitoring.

    Nestlé identified over 1,000 cases of deforestation per day in palm oil areas. SwissInfo (2020).

    https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

    Fire outbreaks in and around palm oil concessions (often starting from slash-and-burn fires to clear land for plantations).

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    Thousands of fire alerts were recorded by Chain Reaction Research on RSPO member palm oil plantations

    The top ten palm oil traders and refiners in Indonesia all had thousands of alerts for fires in their palm oil plantations:

    • ADM
    • Unilever
    • Neste
    • Cargill
    • Bunge
    • Wilmar
    • Olam
    • AAK

    all of these companies are RSPO members

    https://youtu.be/jdYT_g9ENxw?t=1346

    A still from the Chain Reaction Research video: Which Companies are Expoosed to Deforestation Driven Fires in their Supply Chains

    A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)

    Read more

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    Explore the series

    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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    Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight greenwashing and deforestation by using your wallet as a weapon!

    Find out more

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    Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing

    1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
    2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
    3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
    4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
    5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
    6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
    7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
    8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
    9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
    10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
    11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
    12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
    13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
    15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
    16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
    17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
    18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
    19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
    20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
    2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
    3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
    4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
    5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
    6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
    7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
    8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
    9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
    11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
    12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
    13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
    15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
    16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
    18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
    19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
    20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
    21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
    2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
    3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
    4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
    5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
    6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
    7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
    9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
    10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
    11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
    12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
    13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
    15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
    16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
    17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
    18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil

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    Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying

    Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth

    Greenwashing by Lying

    Blatant lies that appear in advertising or on social media. The lie could be falsifying support from respected authorities or individuals on environmental issues. Or the lie could be research with ambiguous results being made to sound positive. Sometimes, it is a clear and obvious lie.

    Tweet this…

    #Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying: Telling outright lies to #consumers until they are believed as truth. #palmoil lobbyists and global food companies lie about ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing

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    Greenwashing: Endangered species

    Reality: Endangered species

    Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers

    Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers

    An open letter from Friends of the Earth and 100 Human Rights NGOs

    Greenwashing: Deforestation and fire

    Greenwashing: Lies and denialism in the media

    Reality: Deforestation and fire

    Explore the Series

    Further reading: greenwashing and deceptive marketing

    Say thanks for this guide by donating to my Ko-Fi

    Greenwashing:

    RSPO certification protects endangered species living in tropical rainforests

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    RSPO marketing materials make grand claims that are not supported by any evidence at all.

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1660543540378697729?s=20

    The team from Chester Zoo encourage children to save endangered species by buying sustainable palm oil.

    Lyrics: ‘We have a choice – and it’s sustainable palm oil’

    https://youtu.be/1jHNiRJ9OgI

    Michelle Desilets, Manager of Orangutan Land Trust explains in this video that ‘deforestation is prohibited by the RSPO’.

    What she does not mention is that none of the RSPO’s members have actually stopped deforestation in the 17 years since it began.

    https://youtu.be/cJLP0SzoUdY

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    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1200683887497756672?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/894844642327502848?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1281240693285875712?s=20

    https://twitter.com/griffjane/status/1301407429373165568?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1305809870281732096?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1246908272931753988?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1002860521215942656?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1414519913457270794?s=20

    https://youtu.be/HkcZrJiudRc

    Reality: “Sustainable” Palm Oil does not stop biodiversity loss

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    “In the plantation, the calls of birds and beasts are replaced by a deathly silence, which is particularly eerie in the glaring heat of the midday sun. Sounds of life are replaced by sounds of death—roaring bull-dozers, gnawing chainsaws, the crackle of illegal burning, and the rumble of overloaded trucks carrying oil palm fruit and timber.”.

    ~ Dr Sophie Chao. In the Shadow of the Palms, pp. 45.

    Currently certified grower supply bases and concessions in Sumatra and Borneo are located in large mammal’s habitat and in areas that were biodiverse tropical forests less than 30 years ago. We suggest that certification schemes claim for the “sustainable” production of palm oil just because they neglect a very recent past of deforestation and habitat degradation.

    Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Alena Velichevskaya, Certified “sustainable” palm oil took the place of endangered Bornean and Sumatran large mammals habitat and tropical forests in the last 30 years, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 742, 2020,
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140712.

    Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.

    Emily B. Fitzherbert, Matthew J. Struebig, Alexandra Morel, Finn Danielsen, Carsten A. Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.

    We found that certified plantation concessions that are committed to deforestation-free production are limited in their ability to prevent further biodiversity loss, due to the past conversion of forest habitats to plantations. Concession holders can improve forest habitats through corridor development and other measures, which would mitigate, but not prevent, further biodiversity loss.


    Hideyuki Kubo, Arief Darmawan, Hendarto, André Derek Mader,
    The effect of agricultural certification schemes on biodiversity loss in the tropics,
    Biological Conservation, Volume 261, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109243.

    We uncover the global patterns of oil palm expansion and find that global oil palm expansion has a very high degree of potential conflict with local biodiversity. Globally, 99.9% of oil palm plantations overlapped with Conservation Priority Zones (CPZs) and oil palm plantations encroached on 231 protected areas.

    Le Yu, Yue Cao, Yuqi Cheng, Qiang Zhao, Yidi Xu, Kasturi Kanniah, Hui Lu, Rui Yang & Peng Gong (2022) A study of the serious conflicts between oil palm expansion and biodiversity conservation using high-resolution remote sensing, Remote Sensing Letters, DOI: 10.1080/2150704X.2022.2063701

    https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

    We found a high overlap between areas of high oil palm suitability and areas of high conservation priority for primates. Overall, we found only a few small areas where oil palm could be cultivated in Africa with a low impact on primates (3.3 Mha, including all areas suitable for oil palm). These results warn that, consistent with the dramatic effects of palm oil cultivation on biodiversity in Southeast Asia, reconciling a large-scale development of oil palm in Africa with primate conservation will be a great challenge.

    Small room for compromise between oil palm cultivation and primate conservation in Africa
    Giovanni Strona, Simon D. Stringer, Ghislain Vieilledent, et. al.
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018), 115 (35) 8811-8816; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1804775115

    As of 2019, more than 60% of the palm oil plantations in the study area were in Key Biodiversity Areas. KBAs are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. RSPO-certified plantations, comprising 63% of the total cultivated area assessed, did not produce a statistically significant reduction in deforestation and appear to be ineffective at reducing encroachment into ecologically sensitive areas in Guatemala.

    Calli P. VanderWilde, Joshua P. Newell, Dimitrios Gounaridis, Benjamin P. Goldstein,
    Deforestation, certification, and transnational palm oil supply chains: Linking Guatemala to global consumer markets, Journal of Environmental Management,
    Volume 344, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118505

    There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032, 2018.

    “The big message is that oil palm is bad for biodiversity, in every sense of the word — even when compared to damaged rainforests that are regenerating after earlier logging or clearing.”

    Professor Bill Laurance, James Cook University. ‘Palm oil plantations are bad for wildlife great and small’. The Conversation.

    We analyse consequences of the globally important land-use transformation from tropical forests to oil palm plantations. Species diversity, density and biomass of invertebrate communities suffer at least 45% decreases from rainforest to oil palm.

    Barnes, A., Jochum, M., Mumme, S. et al. Consequences of tropical land use for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nat Commun 5, 5351 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6351

    Palm oil also poses a global risk for zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19

    Taking into account the human population growth, we find that the increases in outbreaks of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases from 1990 to 2016 are linked with deforestation, mostly in tropical countries, and with reforestation, mostly in temperate countries. We also find that outbreaks of vector-borne diseases are associated with the increase in areas of palm oil plantations.

    Outbreaks of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases Are Associated With Changes in Forest Cover and Oil Palm Expansion at Global Scale
    (2021) Morand Serge, Lajaunie Claire, Frontiers in Veterinary Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2021.661063
    DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.661063

    Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

    Fire started within orangutan habitats and destroyed them – this was not investigated by the RSPO

    The team used map data from @globalforests and @UMBaltimore, #sentinel2 images from @esa, concession boundaries from @RSPOtweets and #fire hotspot data (#VIIRS) from @NASAEarth.

    Originally tweeted by Adina Renner (@adinarenner) on May 10, 2021.

    Read more

    Asia: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    Africa: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    Papua New Guinea & West Papua: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    South America: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

    Greenwashing

    ‘Europeans have destroyed their forests for agriculture, so why can’t we do the same in the tropics? Stopping our economic development is hypocrisy and colonialism’

    ‘Sustainable palm oil helps the livelihood of workers on RSPO certified palm oil plantations.‘

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    Research analysing media and social media messages around palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia finds that palm oil lobbyists use an ‘Us’ Versus ‘Them’ narrative, in other words, they invoke colonial racism to justify continued deforestation and ecocide.

    Four mutually complementary narratives were used by Indonesian and Malaysian media to construe denialism These denialist narratives appeal to a nationalist sentiment of ‘us’ – palm oil-producing developing countries – and ‘them’ – western developed countries producing research critical of the industry.

    Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

    We had the luck to be born into a developed country, I believe we need to acknowledge the right of lesser-developed countries to develop. We simply have no right to tell a country like Indonesia to forgo economic development, but we can help to steer that development in a sustainable direction.

    Michelle Desilets, Director, Orangutan Land Trust. The Switch Report, 2014

    RSPO advertisement from social media, with a focus on promoting better workers rights under certified palm oil. An RSPO advertisement targeting the Indian market in 2021 by the RSPO showing supposed benefits for palm oil workers.

    https://youtu.be/2ugIE0UJYc4

    Social media messaging by palm oil lobbyists reflects a focus on ‘Us’: poor, palm oil producing nations, versus ‘Them’: the ‘greedy, already developed West.

    https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1295253527191642113?s=20

    https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1420662530863550464?s=20

    https://twitter.com/palm_eu/status/1440943483410386945?s=20

    https://twitter.com/emeijaard/status/1191961097294757889?s=20

    https://twitter.com/palmoilmonitor/status/1445795527560515587?s=20

    https://twitter.com/CIFOR/status/1016759321701552133?s=20

    Reality: Human rights abuses and landgrabbing are ongoing for “sustainable” palm oil

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    University of Michigan 2023 study: RSPO plantations do not reduce deforestation in Guatemala

    Read more

    A 2021 Investigation by Global Witness found that palm oil companies in Papua New Guinea are alleged to have been involved in corruption, child labour, tax evasion, deforestation, worker deaths and paying police to assault villagers.

    The palm oil from these mills in Papua New Guinea is used by RSPO members Colgate-Palmolive, Kelloggs, General Mills, Nestle, Hersheys, Danone, PZ Cussons – finds its way into our weekly supermarket shop.

    Read report

    https://twitter.com/earthsight/status/1192827396451438592?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

    https://twitter.com/Rainforest_RIN/status/1541428640491212801?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

    A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry finds extensive greenwashing of human rights abuses

    Read more

    Certified goods improve the price and income of sale for certified goods, but they do not advance equity, income or assets for workers

    We identified 64 conflicts that involved RSPO member companies, of which 17 prompted communities to convey their grievances to the RSPO’s conflict resolution mechanism…We conclude that—on all counts—the conflict resolution mechanism is biased in favor of companies. The result of these biases is that the actual capacity of the RSPO’s mechanism to provide a meaningful remedy for rural communities’ grievances remains very limited. This unequal access to justice sustains conflicts between companies and communities over land.

    Afrizal, A., Hospes, O., Berenschot, W. et al. Unequal access to justice: an evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agric Hum Values 40, 291–304 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z

    We find positive effects on prices and income from sale of certified products. However, we find no change in overall household income and assets for workers. The wages for workers are not higher in certified production.

    Oya, C., Schaefer, F. & Skalidou, D. The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: a systematic review. World Dev. 112, 282–312 (2018).

    We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.

    Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

    Oil palm expansion is shaped by wider political economies and development policies.

    Market-based development policies have favored large-scale over smallholder production.

    Benefits from oil palm are unevenly distributed across rural population.

    Violence across forest frontiers has fueled conflicts linked to oil palm.

    Weak forest governance has led to significant deforestation by industrial plantations.

    A. Castellanos-Navarrete, F. de Castro, P. Pacheco,
    The impact of oil palm on rural livelihoods and tropical forest landscapes in Latin America, Journal of Rural Studies,
    Volume 81, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.047.

    Deforestation by fire for palm oilDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography After a forest fire in Sumatra – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to retail brands

    This article argues that the form of sustainability offered by certification schemes such as the RSPO fetishes the commodity palm oil in order to assuage critical consumer initiatives in the North. This technical-managerial solution is part of a larger project: the “post-political” climate politics regime (Swyngedouw) that attempts to “green” the status quo.

    Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
    Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

    • The palm oil industry is neither sustainable nor a viable development model.
    • Certification represents a technical fix which neglects underlying dynamics of power, class, gender and accumulation.
    • The fetishised commodity ‘certified sustainable palm oil’ has no impact on the regional scale of expansion.
    • Working conditions in the plantations and mills entrench social inequality and poverty.

    From: Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
    Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

    Deforestation in West PapuaDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography

    Deforestation for palm oil: the impact of increased heat on human health

    477 villages throughout Kalimantan were surveyed about forest health benefits.

    The most frequent answer was maintenance of cool local temperatures.

    Perceptions were driven by deforestation and local temperature.

    Results point to possible threat of heat impacts on health.

    Policy should incorporate human health when considering land use.


    Nicholas H. Wolff, Yuta J. Masuda, Erik Meijaard, Jessie A. Wells, Edward T. Game,
    Impacts of tropical deforestation on local temperature and human well-being perceptions, Global Environmental Change, Volume 52, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.004.

    The False Promise of Certification, Changing Markets (2018)

    “While RSPO is often referred to as the best scheme in the sector, it
    has several shortcomings; most notably, it allows the conversion of secondary forests and the draining
    of peatlands, it has not prevented human rights violations and it does not require GHG emissions
    reductions.

    “In light of this, we call for action to reduce demand for palm oil, such as
    ditching biofuels targets, as well as channelling new plantations into non-forested areas by putting in
    place a strong moratorium on palm oil expansion to forests and peatlands. Most schemes in this sector
    should be abolished in light of their failures on multiple fronts.”

    — The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets

    The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets Download report

    MSI’s (Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives including the RSPO and Rainforest Alliance) are inadequate in detecting human rights abuses and uphold standards

    “MSIs put considerable emphasis on the standards that they set, but have not developed effective mechanisms for detecting abuses, enforcing compliance with those standards, or transparently disclosing levels of compliance. Despite the emergence of models that enable rights holders to legally enforce MSIs’ standards or to be actively engaged in monitoring companies for abuses, MSIs have not adopted them. By focusing on setting standards without adequately ensuring if members are following those standards, MSIs risk providing companies and governments with powerful reputational benefits despite the persistence of rights abuses.”

    ~ MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020)

    MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020) Download report

    The difficulty of addressing and resolving oil palm conflicts is due not only to the inadequacies of Indonesia’s legal framework regarding land and plantations but also to the way in which Indonesia’s informalized state institutions foster collusion between local power holders and palm oil companies. This collusion enables companies to evade regulation, suppress community protests and avoid engaging in constructive efforts to resolve conflicts. Furthermore, this collusion has made the available conflict resolution mechanisms largely ineffective.

    Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002

    Associated Press 2020 Report: Beauty Brands (RSPO members) L’Oreal, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson& Johnson, Unilever linked to rape on palm oil plantations

    https://twitter.com/AP/status/1330163571951611906?s=20

    https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1329701899180924928?s=20

    Associated Press Investigation (2020) finds wide-spread rape, human rights abuses and slavery on palm oil plantations for well known brands: Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Avon, Colgate Palmolive Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words

    “The expansion of oil palm plantations has created many detrimental environmental impacts, including deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land conflicts, labour conflicts, and social conflicts around plantations.

    “Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established.

    “In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic.”

    — Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer, In His Own Words.

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    Global corporates are responsible for the majority of palm oil production and deforestation risk, not smallholder farmers

    The three biggest palm oil traders: Sinar Mas, Wilmar and Musim Mas – are founding members of the RSPO. They have the biggest deforestation risk of all other palm oil companies combined. Deforestation goes against the RSPO’s rules – yet these big companies do not lose their RSPO membership or face punishment.

    Source: Insights: Indonesian Palm Oil. Trase Earth (2018)

    Search the Environmental Justice Atlas for specific companies and their human rights abuses and land-grabbing record

    Search here

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    RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector

    Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018

    Read original letter

    Letter

    During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.

    RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.

    They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:

    1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
    2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
    3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
    4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
    5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.

    Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.

    Violence is intrinsic to this model:

    • violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
    • companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
    • sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
    • Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
    • working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
    • exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
    • depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.

    RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.

    The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.

    None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.

    Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.

    On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.

    RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.

    For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.

    RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.

    Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.

    RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.

    This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.

    Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.

    Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.

    The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.

    What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.

    Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.

    For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

    As immediate steps, governments need to:

    • Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
    • Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
    • Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
    • Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.

    Signatures

    • Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
    • ActionAid, France
    • AGAPAN
      Amics arbres
    • Arbres amics
    • Amis de la Terre France
    • ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
    • Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
      Asociación Gaia El Salvador
    • Association Congo Actif, Paris
    • Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
    • Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
    • BASE IS
    • Bézu St Eloi
    • Boxberg OT Uhyst
    • Bread for all
    • Bruno Manser Fund
    • CADDECAE, Ecuador
    • Campaign to STOP GE Trees
    • CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
    • Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • CESTA – FOE El Salvador
    • CETRI – Centre tricontinental
    • Climate Change Kenya
    • Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
    • Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
    • Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
    • Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
    • Consumers Association of Penang
    • Corporate Europe Observatory
    • Cuttington University
    • Down to Earth Consult
    • El Campello
    • Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
    • Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
    • FASE ES , Brazil
    • Fédération romande des consommateurs
    • FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
    • Focus on the Global South
    • Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
    • Friends of the Earth Ghana
    • Friends of the Earth International
    • GE Free NZ, New Zealand
    • Global Alliance against REDD
    • Global Justice Ecology Project
    • Global Info
    • Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
    • GRAIN
    • Green Development Advocates (GDA)
    • CameroonGreystones, Ireland
    • Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
      Grupo ETC
    • Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
    • Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
    • Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
    • Justica Ambiental
    • Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
    • Kempityari
    • Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
    • Les gens du partage
    • LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
    • Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
    • Maiouri nature, Guyane
    • Mangrove Action Project
    • Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
    • Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
    • Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
    • Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
    • New Wind Association from Finland
    • NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
    • Oakland Institute
    • OFRANEH, Honduras
    • Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
    • ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
    • OPIROMA, Brazil
    • Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
    • Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
    • PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
    • Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
    • Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
    • Rainforest Foundation UK
    • Rainforest Relief
    • ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
    • RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
    • Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
    • REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
    • Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
    • ROBIN WOOD
    • Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
    • Salva la Selva
    • School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
    • Serendipalm Company Limited
    • Sherpa , The Netherlands
    • SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
    • The Corner House, UK
      Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
    • TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
      University of Sussex, UK
    • UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
    • WESSA
      World Rainforest Movement
    • Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana

    Epidemics and rapacity of multinational companies in Liberia

    Discussion Paper. The Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics. Release date: 12th March, 2022

    Conclusion

    https://twitter.com/CEP_LSE/status/1502238109677015044?s=20&t=CwBhOE-SLGkXtNxC9nXw5w

    This paper provides novel granular evidence on the interaction between the Ebola epidemic, deforestation, and palm oil plantations in Liberia. The palm oil multinationals, exploiting the health crisis, stepped up deforestation to increase output. The effect on deforestation is more severe in areas inhabited by politically unrepresented ethnic groups, characterized by a reduction in tree coverage by 6.5%.

    We also document an increase of more than 125% in the likelihood of
    fire events within concessions during the epidemic. This suggests that not only did the palm oil companies foster deforestation, but further that they used forest fires to do so. This is particularly harmful to the environment, and the smoke and the haze may have severe health consequences, apart from being a source of carbon dioxide.

    This deforestation was accompanied by a 150% increase in the amount of land dedicated to cultivation.

    This exploitative behaviour was highly profitable for palm oil companies, with a 1428% increase in the value of Liberian palm oil’s exports compared with the pre-Ebola period. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for local people or the local environment.

    Read more

    Greenwashing

    The RSPO prevents and stops deforestation and fires on palm oil plantations by its members

    Back to top ↑

    https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1146706666508955648?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355496891673415680?s=20

    https://twitter.com/SimamoraDupito/status/1442410921519771649?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355827449397915651?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1461673435965313025

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1173741858171830272?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1447297851038605315?s=20

    https://twitter.com/HersheyCompany/status/1447916947669192709?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169538449680031745?s=20

    https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1385138817309548544?s=20

    https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169532824375955456?s=20

    https://twitter.com/Nestle/status/1404782473221967872?s=20

    Back to top ↑

    Greenwashing

    Lies and denialism in the media about the environmental impact of palm oil

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    Research into media coverage of the environmental impact of palm oil in Indonesia shows they deny it’s causing ecocide

    We found that media reporting of the denialist narrative is more prevalent than that of the peer-reviewed science consensus-view that palm oil plantations on tropical peat could cause excessive greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the risk of fires.

    Our article alerts to the continuation of unsustainable practices as justified by the media to the public, and that the prevalence of these denialist narratives constitute a significant obstacle in resolving pressing issues such as transboundary haze, biodiversity loss, and land-use change related greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia.

    Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

    https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1448232875535388678?s=20

    https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1436104523756433434?s=20

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s administration has achieved four consecutive years of deforestation declines via land-use reforms and re-establishing a logging moratorium. This significant work culminated in 2020 when the country gained its lowest deforestation rates since monitoring began, reaching a 75% drop year-over-year.

    Luana Stephen, Intelligent Living, September 1, 2021.

    Reality: RSPO “Sustainable” Palm Oil Does Not Stop or Prevent Deforestation

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    Tweet from Bart Van Assen, former lead auditor for the RSPO and HCV admitting that the main goal of the RSPO, FSC and other certification initiatives is not to prevent deforestation. (Bart has formerly used @palmoiltruther on Twitter but now changes between @Forest4Apes or @Apes4Forests depending on times when he attempts to conceal his identity).

    Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

    Certification had no causal impact on forest loss in peatlands or active fire detection rates.

    Kimberly M. Carlson, Robert Heilmayr, Holly K. Gibbs, Praveen Noojipady et al. Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia, PNAS January 2, 2018 115 (1) 121-126 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114

    No significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

    The Neue Zuercher Zeitung used several cases to highlight where slash-and-burn techniques continue on RSPO-certified land, and where new plantations are threatening important ecosystems. These examples are representative of the huge gap between the need for environmental protection and the ever-increasing global demand for palm oil.

    Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (May 2021) (In English)

    Swiss multinational Nestlé received hundreds of thousands of alerts of forest clearing near its palm oil suppliers in 2019 via satellite monitoring.

    Nestlé identified over 1,000 cases of deforestation per day in palm oil areas. SwissInfo (2020).

    https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

    Fire outbreaks in and around palm oil concessions (often starting from slash-and-burn fires to clear land for plantations).

    Back to top ↑

    Thousands of fire alerts were recorded by Chain Reaction Research on RSPO member palm oil plantations

    The top ten palm oil traders and refiners in Indonesia all had thousands of alerts for fires in their palm oil plantations:

    • ADM
    • Unilever
    • Neste
    • Cargill
    • Bunge
    • Wilmar
    • Olam
    • AAK

    all of these companies are RSPO members

    https://youtu.be/jdYT_g9ENxw?t=1346

    A still from the Chain Reaction Research video: Which Companies are Expoosed to Deforestation Driven Fires in their Supply Chains

    A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)

    Read more

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    Explore the series

    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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    Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight greenwashing and deforestation by using your wallet as a weapon!

    Find out more

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    Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing

    1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
    2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
    3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
    4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
    5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
    6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
    7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
    8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
    9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
    10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
    11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
    12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
    13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
    15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
    16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
    17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
    18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
    19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
    20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
    2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
    3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
    4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
    5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
    6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
    7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
    8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
    9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
    11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
    12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
    13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
    14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
    15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
    16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
    18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
    19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
    20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
    21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
    1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
    2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
    3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
    4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
    5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
    6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
    7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
    8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
    9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
    10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
    11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
    12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
    13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
    14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
    15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
    16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
    17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
    18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil

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  19. Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] ·

    Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to RSPO members/supermarket brands

    The RSPO is a global certification scheme for palm oil that certifies palm oil as ‘sustainable’. Yet this word means absolutely nothing, as RSPO members – the biggest supermarket brands in the world: (Unilever, Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive, L’Oreal, Avon, Mars, Mondelez, Cargill, Danone and more) continue with illegal indigenous landgrabbing, deforestation, human rights abuses, slavery and violence on their palm oil plantations.

    This is why Palm Oil Detectives advocates for a full boycott on these global brands because of their palm oil corruption. Here is some collected peer-reviewed research, OSINT and investigative journalism about these issues.

    Read #research from @EIA_News @Greenpeace @AP @NZZ @Global_Witness @crresearch @FOEInt @ECCHRBerlin how the @RSPOtweets is #greenwashing #ecocide #deforestation #extinction #illegal #landgrabbing Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on #palmoil

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    Burning Questions – Environmental Investigation Agency (2021)

    Dying for a Cookie – Greenpeace (2019)

    Who Watches the Watchmen 2 – Environmental Investigation Agency (2019)

    The RSPO: 14 Years of Failure – Friends of the Earth International (2014)

    Destruction Certified – Greenpeace (2021)

    Trading Risks ADM and Bunge – Global Witness (2021)

    Keep the Forests Standing – Rainforest Action Network (2019)

    License to Clear West Papua – Greenpeace 2021

    FMCG’s Zero-Deforestation Challenges – Chain Reaction Research (2020)

    Plantation Life Corporate Occupation in Indonesia’s Oil Palm Zone (2021)

    Planet Palm – Jocelyn Zuckerman (2021)

    Rethinking Dayak Identity – Dr Setia Budhi

    Human Rights Fitness of the Auditing and Certification Industry – ECCHR (2021)

    Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (2021)

    The True Price of Palm Oil – Global Witness (2021)

    Research: Do certified sustainable palm oil plantations support more animal species?

    Research: Does RSPO palm oil certification stop deforestation, human rights abuses, illegal land-grabbing and does it meet sustainability metrics?

    The RSPO: 14 Years of Failure – An Open Letter from Friends of the Earth and 100 Human Rights NGOs (2014)

    Which RSPO members continue to cause deforestation? – Mighty Earth (2021)

    Which supermarket brands (RSPO members) cause deforestation, human rights abuses for palm oil? Palm Oil Detectives (2021)

    Ecocide & Corruption Whistle-blowers on Twitter

    Join the #Boycott4Wildlife

    Say thanks by donating to my Ko-Fi

    Investigative journalism, OSINT investigations into the RSPO and ‘sustainable’ palm oil

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    Burning Questions – Credibility of sustainable palm oil still illusive – Environmental Investigation Agency (2021) Read report Dying for a cookie: How Mondelez’s Dirty Palm Oil is feeding the climate and extinction crisis by Greenpeace (2019) Read report Who Watches the Watchmen Part 2: The continuing incompetence of the RSPO’s assurance systems (2019) Read report The RSPO: 14 Years of Failure by Friends of the Earth International and Co-signed by 100 Indigenous and Human Rights Organisations (2014) Read report Destruction Certified by Greenpeace (2021) Read report Trading Risks ADM and Bunge and failing land and environmental rights defenders in Indonesia (2021) Read report Keep the Forests Standing: Exposing the brands driving deforestation – RAN (2020) Read report License to Clear Dark Side of Permitting in West Papua by Greenpeace (2021) Read report FMCG’s Zero-Deforestation Challenges and Growing Exposure to Reputational Risk. Chain Reaction Research (2020) Read report Plantation Life Corporate Occupation in Indonesia’s Oil Palm Zone (2021) Read report Planet Palm: How Palm Oil Ended Up In Everything and Endangered the World by Jocelyn Zuckerman (2021) Read report Rethinking Dayak Identity Dr Setia Budhi Read report Read report Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. (May 2021) https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490 Read report The True Price of Palm Oil: How global finance and household brands are fuelling deforestation, violence and human rights abuses in Papua New Guinea Read Report

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    Research: Do certified sustainable palm oil plantations support more animal species?

    Answer: NO

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    Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.

    Emily B. Fitzherbert, Matthew J. Struebig, Alexandra Morel, Finn Danielsen, Carsten A. Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.

    Currently certified grower supply bases and concessions in Sumatra and Borneo are located in large mammal’s habitat and in areas that were biodiverse tropical forests less than 30 years ago. We suggest that certification schemes claim for the “sustainable” production of palm oil just because they neglect a very recent past of deforestation and habitat degradation.

    Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Alena Velichevskaya, Certified “sustainable” palm oil took the place of endangered Bornean and Sumatran large mammals habitat and tropical forests in the last 30 years, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 742, 2020,
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140712.

    We analyse consequences of the globally important land-use transformation from tropical forests to oil palm plantations. Species diversity, density and biomass of invertebrate communities suffer at least 45% decreases from rainforest to oil palm.

    Barnes, A., Jochum, M., Mumme, S. et al. Consequences of tropical land use for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nat Commun 5, 5351 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6351

    We found that certified plantation concessions that are committed to deforestation-free production are limited in their ability to prevent further biodiversity loss, due to the past conversion of forest habitats to plantations. Concession holders can improve forest habitats through corridor development and other measures, which would mitigate, but not prevent, further biodiversity loss.

    Hideyuki Kubo, Arief Darmawan, Hendarto, André Derek Mader,
    The effect of agricultural certification schemes on biodiversity loss in the tropics,
    Biological Conservation, Volume 261, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109243.

    Research: Does RSPO palm oil certification stop deforestation, human rights abuses, illegal land-grabbing and does it meet sustainability metrics?

    Answer: NO

    Ans

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    https://twitter.com/earthsight/status/1192827396451438592?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

    Chain Reaction Research

    February 2021

    2020’s Top Deforesters for Oil Palm in Southeast Asia: A Lower Rate of Deforestation, but the Same Culprits

    Read report

    We find positive effects on prices and income from sale of certified products. However, we find no change in overall household income and assets for workers. The wages for workers are not higher in certified production.

    Oya, C., Schaefer, F. & Skalidou, D. The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: a systematic review. World Dev. 112, 282–312 (2018).

    There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032, 2018.

    This article argues that the form of sustainability offered by certification schemes such as the RSPO fetishes the commodity palm oil in order to assuage critical consumer initiatives in the North. This technical-managerial solution is part of a larger project: the “post-political” climate politics regime (Swyngedouw) that attempts to “green” the status quo.

    Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
    Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

    • The palm oil industry is neither sustainable nor a viable development model.
    • Certification represents a technical fix which neglects underlying dynamics of power, class, gender and accumulation.
    • The fetishised commodity ‘certified sustainable palm oil’ has no impact on the regional scale of expansion.
    • Working conditions in the plantations and mills entrench social inequality and poverty.

    From: Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
    Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

    “Both Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) schemes are failing to ensure that palm oil is being produced and traded legally, let alone sustainably. They cannot be relied upon by overseas consumers concerned about their role in the global chain that leads to deforestation.”

    Deceased Estate: Illegal palm oil wiping out Indonesia’s national forest, Greenpeace Indonesia, Oct 2021

    Read report Deceased Estate: Illegal palm oil wiping out Indonesia’s national forest, Greenpeace Indonesia, Oct 2021

    No significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. (2018), Morgans, C. L. et al. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032.

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    RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector

    Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018

    Read original letter

    Letter

    During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.

    RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.

    They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:

    1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
    2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
    3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
    4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
    5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.

    Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.

    Violence is intrinsic to this model:

    • violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
    • companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
    • sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
    • Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
    • working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
    • exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
    • depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.

    RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.

    The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.

    None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.

    Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.

    On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.

    RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.

    For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.

    RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.

    Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.

    RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.

    This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.

    Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.

    Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.

    The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.

    What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.

    Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.

    For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

    As immediate steps, governments need to:

    • Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
    • Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
    • Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
    • Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.

    Signatures

    • Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
    • ActionAid, France
    • AGAPAN
      Amics arbres
    • Arbres amics
    • Amis de la Terre France
    • ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
    • Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
      Asociación Gaia El Salvador
    • Association Congo Actif, Paris
    • Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
    • Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
    • BASE IS
    • Bézu St Eloi
    • Boxberg OT Uhyst
    • Bread for all
    • Bruno Manser Fund
    • CADDECAE, Ecuador
    • Campaign to STOP GE Trees
    • CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
    • Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • CESTA – FOE El Salvador
    • CETRI – Centre tricontinental
    • Climate Change Kenya
    • Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
    • Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
    • Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
    • Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
    • Consumers Association of Penang
    • Corporate Europe Observatory
    • Cuttington University
    • Down to Earth Consult
    • El Campello
    • Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
    • Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
    • FASE ES , Brazil
    • Fédération romande des consommateurs
    • FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
    • Focus on the Global South
    • Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
    • Friends of the Earth Ghana
    • Friends of the Earth International
    • GE Free NZ, New Zealand
    • Global Alliance against REDD
    • Global Justice Ecology Project
    • Global Info
    • Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
    • GRAIN
    • Green Development Advocates (GDA)
    • CameroonGreystones, Ireland
    • Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
      Grupo ETC
    • Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
    • Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
    • Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
    • Justica Ambiental
    • Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
    • Kempityari
    • Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
    • Les gens du partage
    • LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
    • Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
    • Maiouri nature, Guyane
    • Mangrove Action Project
    • Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
    • Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
    • Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
    • Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
    • New Wind Association from Finland
    • NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
    • Oakland Institute
    • OFRANEH, Honduras
    • Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
    • ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
    • OPIROMA, Brazil
    • Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
    • Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
    • PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
    • Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
    • Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
    • Rainforest Foundation UK
    • Rainforest Relief
    • ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
    • RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
    • Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
    • REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
    • Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
    • ROBIN WOOD
    • Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
    • Salva la Selva
    • School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
    • Serendipalm Company Limited
    • Sherpa , The Netherlands
    • SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
    • The Corner House, UK
      Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
    • TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
      University of Sussex, UK
    • UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
    • WESSA
      World Rainforest Movement
    • Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana

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    Which RSPO members continue to cause deforestation?

    Have a look at these quarterly and at-a-glance reports by Mighty Earth, they show the RSPO members (palm oil manfacturers, traders, processors and retail brands) at the centre of deforestation. Click on image to go to most recent report. This information below is a stark contrast to the greenwashing WWF Palm Oil Scorecard, which allocates many of these same brands with a ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ label and encourages people to buy from them! We call out this form of greenwashing and #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife!

    View the Palm Oil Tracker View the latest Rapid Response Report

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    Retailers and banks at the heart of palm oil deforestation

    Source: Rainforest Action Network (RAN)’s March 2020 Whitepaper

    Greenpeace:

    The True Cost of Palm Oil & Wood Pulp (2019)

    https://palmoildetectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/greenpeace-palm-oil-and-wood-pulp-2019.pdf

    Read report

    Greenpeace

    How Unilever and other global brands continue to fuel Indonesia’s fires (2019)

    https://palmoildetectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/mondelez-nestle-p-and-g-unilever-bad.pdf

    Read report

    Chain Reaction Research

    Loopholes in the palm oil supply chain allow RSPO members to continue to destroy forests with fire July 2020

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlXmWWql6AM

    Chain Reaction Research

    Retailers and FMCG Giants do not take deforestation seriously enough to warrant change (2020)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2_uu4EOyqQ

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    Which brands cause deforestation, human rights abuses for palm oil?

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    Boycott Palm Oil

    Learn how to boycott palm oil this Halloween in America, the UK and Australia

    Read more

    Brands

    PepsiCo

    Read more

    Brands

    Procter & Gamble

    Read more

    Brands

    PZ Cussons

    Read more

    Brands

    Danone

    Read more

    Boycott Palm Oil

    Brands Using Deforestation Palm Oil

    Read more

    Brands

    Kelloggs/Kellanova

    Read more

    Brands

    Mondelēz

    Read more

    Brands

    Johnson & Johnson

    Read more

    Brands

    L’Oreal

    Read more

    Brands

    Nestlé

    Read more

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    Ecocide & Corruption Whistle-blowers on Twitter

    With so much misinformation, greenwashing and BS out there. It is difficult to know who is telling the truth.

    Here’s a list of NGOS, individuals and media outlets you can trust for clear information that exposes the corruption going on around so-called ‘sustainable’ palm oil, deforestation and many other issues.

    Also these media outlets, individuals and NGOs regularly cover other topics like deforestation for soy, meat, gold, timber, cocoa, coffee and other commodities. They also expose corruption, abuse, violence and death of indigenous people, land grabs etc and how this links to global companies.

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    There are now literally thousands of people who are a passionate supporters and activists in the #Boycott4Wildlife – This list is not ignoring these people, you are all amazing people and the contribution you are making is very important!. However this list here focuses on people or NGOs who publish and produce news, research, books, photojournalism, podcasts or TV documentaries. So that everyone else knows who to listen to in the gigantic social media cacophony.

    @AP

    @amazonwatch

    @AuroraGroupScot

    @BarbaraNavarro

    @BennyWenda

    @BentalaRakyat

    @bmfonds

    @Cen4infoRes

    @Cleve_Hicks

    @CorpJusticeUK

    @craigjones17

    @crresearch

    @degrowth_info

    @drbirute

    @earthsight

    @EcocideLaw

    @ECCHRBerlin

    @EIA_News

    Farm Land Grab (website)

    @FOEInt

    @Forests_Finance

    @FreeWestPapua

    @fnierula

    @ForensicArchi

    @geckoproj

    @Global_Witness

    @GRAIN_org

    @greenpeaceUK

    @GreenwashEarth

    @georgecmcgavin

    @GlobalCanopy

    @HRW

    @IfNotUs_ThenWho

    @IllicitFlows

    @INTERPOL_EC

    @IsabellaGuerrin

    @joceylnzuck

    @KlausRiede

    @LandConflicts

    @macarangatweets

    @merdeka_wp

    @mongabay

    @NZZ

    @OFIOffice

    @OCCRP

    @Rainforest_RIN

    @RichardSsuna

    @robertocgatti

    @sarawak_report

    @StandMighty

    @SteadyStateEcon

    @StopEcocideNL

    @sumofus

    @the_ecologist

    @TuK_Indonesia

    @TruthinAd

    @TraseEarth

    @RettetRegenwald

    @RainforestResq

    @RainforestNORW

    @UE

    @wpinvestigates

    @VeronicaKoman

    @YaleE360

    @WorldRainforest

    @WinnieCheche

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    Use your wallet as a weapon and boycott the brands destroying rainforests for palm oil! It’s the #Boycott4Wildlife

    Join the Boycott4Wildlife

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    Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded

    Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.

    Say thanks on Ko-Fi

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    #auditFraud #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #brandMarketing #consumerBoycott #consumerRights #deforestation #ecocide #extinction #fraud #greenwashing #illegal #landRights #landgrabbing #palmoilTweet #research #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #slavery #violence #wildlife #wildlifeActivism

    #wildlifeactivism #wildlife #violence #slavery #rspogreenwashing #rspo
  20. Palm Oil Detectives @[email protected] ·

    Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to RSPO members/supermarket brands

    The RSPO is a global certification scheme for palm oil that certifies palm oil as ‘sustainable’. Yet this word means absolutely nothing, as RSPO members – the biggest supermarket brands in the world: (Unilever, Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive, L’Oreal, Avon, Mars, Mondelez, Cargill, Danone and more) continue with illegal indigenous landgrabbing, deforestation, human rights abuses, slavery and violence on their palm oil plantations.

    This is why Palm Oil Detectives advocates for a full boycott on these global brands because of their palm oil corruption. Here is some collected peer-reviewed research, OSINT and investigative journalism about these issues.

    Read #research from @EIA_News @Greenpeace @AP @NZZ @Global_Witness @crresearch @FOEInt @ECCHRBerlin how the @RSPOtweets is #greenwashing #ecocide #deforestation #extinction #illegal #landgrabbing Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on #palmoil

    Tweet

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    Burning Questions – Environmental Investigation Agency (2021)

    Dying for a Cookie – Greenpeace (2019)

    Who Watches the Watchmen 2 – Environmental Investigation Agency (2019)

    The RSPO: 14 Years of Failure – Friends of the Earth International (2014)

    Destruction Certified – Greenpeace (2021)

    Trading Risks ADM and Bunge – Global Witness (2021)

    Keep the Forests Standing – Rainforest Action Network (2019)

    License to Clear West Papua – Greenpeace 2021

    FMCG’s Zero-Deforestation Challenges – Chain Reaction Research (2020)

    Plantation Life Corporate Occupation in Indonesia’s Oil Palm Zone (2021)

    Planet Palm – Jocelyn Zuckerman (2021)

    Rethinking Dayak Identity – Dr Setia Budhi

    Human Rights Fitness of the Auditing and Certification Industry – ECCHR (2021)

    Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (2021)

    The True Price of Palm Oil – Global Witness (2021)

    Research: Do certified sustainable palm oil plantations support more animal species?

    Research: Does RSPO palm oil certification stop deforestation, human rights abuses, illegal land-grabbing and does it meet sustainability metrics?

    The RSPO: 14 Years of Failure – An Open Letter from Friends of the Earth and 100 Human Rights NGOs (2014)

    Which RSPO members continue to cause deforestation? – Mighty Earth (2021)

    Which supermarket brands (RSPO members) cause deforestation, human rights abuses for palm oil? Palm Oil Detectives (2021)

    Ecocide & Corruption Whistle-blowers on Twitter

    Join the #Boycott4Wildlife

    Say thanks by donating to my Ko-Fi

    Investigative journalism, OSINT investigations into the RSPO and ‘sustainable’ palm oil

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    Burning Questions – Credibility of sustainable palm oil still illusive – Environmental Investigation Agency (2021) Read report Dying for a cookie: How Mondelez’s Dirty Palm Oil is feeding the climate and extinction crisis by Greenpeace (2019) Read report Who Watches the Watchmen Part 2: The continuing incompetence of the RSPO’s assurance systems (2019) Read report The RSPO: 14 Years of Failure by Friends of the Earth International and Co-signed by 100 Indigenous and Human Rights Organisations (2014) Read report Destruction Certified by Greenpeace (2021) Read report Trading Risks ADM and Bunge and failing land and environmental rights defenders in Indonesia (2021) Read report Keep the Forests Standing: Exposing the brands driving deforestation – RAN (2020) Read report License to Clear Dark Side of Permitting in West Papua by Greenpeace (2021) Read report FMCG’s Zero-Deforestation Challenges and Growing Exposure to Reputational Risk. Chain Reaction Research (2020) Read report Plantation Life Corporate Occupation in Indonesia’s Oil Palm Zone (2021) Read report Planet Palm: How Palm Oil Ended Up In Everything and Endangered the World by Jocelyn Zuckerman (2021) Read report Rethinking Dayak Identity Dr Setia Budhi Read report Read report Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. (May 2021) https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490 Read report The True Price of Palm Oil: How global finance and household brands are fuelling deforestation, violence and human rights abuses in Papua New Guinea Read Report

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    Research: Do certified sustainable palm oil plantations support more animal species?

    Answer: NO

    Back to top ↑

    Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.

    Emily B. Fitzherbert, Matthew J. Struebig, Alexandra Morel, Finn Danielsen, Carsten A. Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
    Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.

    Currently certified grower supply bases and concessions in Sumatra and Borneo are located in large mammal’s habitat and in areas that were biodiverse tropical forests less than 30 years ago. We suggest that certification schemes claim for the “sustainable” production of palm oil just because they neglect a very recent past of deforestation and habitat degradation.

    Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Alena Velichevskaya, Certified “sustainable” palm oil took the place of endangered Bornean and Sumatran large mammals habitat and tropical forests in the last 30 years, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 742, 2020,
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140712.

    We analyse consequences of the globally important land-use transformation from tropical forests to oil palm plantations. Species diversity, density and biomass of invertebrate communities suffer at least 45% decreases from rainforest to oil palm.

    Barnes, A., Jochum, M., Mumme, S. et al. Consequences of tropical land use for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nat Commun 5, 5351 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6351

    We found that certified plantation concessions that are committed to deforestation-free production are limited in their ability to prevent further biodiversity loss, due to the past conversion of forest habitats to plantations. Concession holders can improve forest habitats through corridor development and other measures, which would mitigate, but not prevent, further biodiversity loss.

    Hideyuki Kubo, Arief Darmawan, Hendarto, André Derek Mader,
    The effect of agricultural certification schemes on biodiversity loss in the tropics,
    Biological Conservation, Volume 261, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109243.

    Research: Does RSPO palm oil certification stop deforestation, human rights abuses, illegal land-grabbing and does it meet sustainability metrics?

    Answer: NO

    Ans

    Back to top ↑

    https://twitter.com/earthsight/status/1192827396451438592?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

    Chain Reaction Research

    February 2021

    2020’s Top Deforesters for Oil Palm in Southeast Asia: A Lower Rate of Deforestation, but the Same Culprits

    Read report

    We find positive effects on prices and income from sale of certified products. However, we find no change in overall household income and assets for workers. The wages for workers are not higher in certified production.

    Oya, C., Schaefer, F. & Skalidou, D. The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: a systematic review. World Dev. 112, 282–312 (2018).

    There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032, 2018.

    This article argues that the form of sustainability offered by certification schemes such as the RSPO fetishes the commodity palm oil in order to assuage critical consumer initiatives in the North. This technical-managerial solution is part of a larger project: the “post-political” climate politics regime (Swyngedouw) that attempts to “green” the status quo.

    Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
    Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

    • The palm oil industry is neither sustainable nor a viable development model.
    • Certification represents a technical fix which neglects underlying dynamics of power, class, gender and accumulation.
    • The fetishised commodity ‘certified sustainable palm oil’ has no impact on the regional scale of expansion.
    • Working conditions in the plantations and mills entrench social inequality and poverty.

    From: Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
    Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

    “Both Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) schemes are failing to ensure that palm oil is being produced and traded legally, let alone sustainably. They cannot be relied upon by overseas consumers concerned about their role in the global chain that leads to deforestation.”

    Deceased Estate: Illegal palm oil wiping out Indonesia’s national forest, Greenpeace Indonesia, Oct 2021

    Read report Deceased Estate: Illegal palm oil wiping out Indonesia’s national forest, Greenpeace Indonesia, Oct 2021

    No significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

    Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. (2018), Morgans, C. L. et al. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032.

    Back to top ↑

    RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector

    Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018

    Read original letter

    Letter

    During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.

    RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.

    They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:

    1. Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests
    2. Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.
    3. Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum
    4. Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.
    5. Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.

    Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.

    Violence is intrinsic to this model:

    • violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
    • companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
    • sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
    • Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
    • working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.
    • exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
    • depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.

    RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.

    The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.

    None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.

    Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.

    On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.

    RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.

    For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.

    RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.

    Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.

    RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.

    This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.

    Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.

    Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.

    The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.

    What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.

    Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.

    For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

    As immediate steps, governments need to:

    • Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
    • Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
    • Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
    • Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.

    Signatures

    • Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
    • ActionAid, France
    • AGAPAN
      Amics arbres
    • Arbres amics
    • Amis de la Terre France
    • ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
    • Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
      Asociación Gaia El Salvador
    • Association Congo Actif, Paris
    • Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
    • Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
    • BASE IS
    • Bézu St Eloi
    • Boxberg OT Uhyst
    • Bread for all
    • Bruno Manser Fund
    • CADDECAE, Ecuador
    • Campaign to STOP GE Trees
    • CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
    • Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • CESTA – FOE El Salvador
    • CETRI – Centre tricontinental
    • Climate Change Kenya
    • Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
    • Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
    • Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
    • Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
    • Consumers Association of Penang
    • Corporate Europe Observatory
    • Cuttington University
    • Down to Earth Consult
    • El Campello
    • Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
    • Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
    • FASE ES , Brazil
    • Fédération romande des consommateurs
    • FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
    • Focus on the Global South
    • Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
    • Friends of the Earth Ghana
    • Friends of the Earth International
    • GE Free NZ, New Zealand
    • Global Alliance against REDD
    • Global Justice Ecology Project
    • Global Info
    • Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
    • GRAIN
    • Green Development Advocates (GDA)
    • CameroonGreystones, Ireland
    • Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
      Grupo ETC
    • Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
    • Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
    • Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
    • Justica Ambiental
    • Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
    • Kempityari
    • Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
    • Les gens du partage
    • LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
    • Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
    • Maiouri nature, Guyane
    • Mangrove Action Project
    • Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
    • Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
    • Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
    • Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
    • New Wind Association from Finland
    • NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
    • Oakland Institute
    • OFRANEH, Honduras
    • Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
    • ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
    • OPIROMA, Brazil
    • Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
    • Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
    • PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
    • Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
    • Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
    • Rainforest Foundation UK
    • Rainforest Relief
    • ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
    • RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
    • Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
    • REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
    • Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
    • ROBIN WOOD
    • Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
    • Salva la Selva
    • School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
    • Serendipalm Company Limited
    • Sherpa , The Netherlands
    • SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
    • The Corner House, UK
      Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
    • TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
      University of Sussex, UK
    • UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
    • WESSA
      World Rainforest Movement
    • Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana

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    Which RSPO members continue to cause deforestation?

    Have a look at these quarterly and at-a-glance reports by Mighty Earth, they show the RSPO members (palm oil manfacturers, traders, processors and retail brands) at the centre of deforestation. Click on image to go to most recent report. This information below is a stark contrast to the greenwashing WWF Palm Oil Scorecard, which allocates many of these same brands with a ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ label and encourages people to buy from them! We call out this form of greenwashing and #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife!

    View the Palm Oil Tracker View the latest Rapid Response Report

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    Retailers and banks at the heart of palm oil deforestation

    Source: Rainforest Action Network (RAN)’s March 2020 Whitepaper

    Greenpeace:

    The True Cost of Palm Oil & Wood Pulp (2019)

    https://palmoildetectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/greenpeace-palm-oil-and-wood-pulp-2019.pdf

    Read report

    Greenpeace

    How Unilever and other global brands continue to fuel Indonesia’s fires (2019)

    https://palmoildetectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/mondelez-nestle-p-and-g-unilever-bad.pdf

    Read report

    Chain Reaction Research

    Loopholes in the palm oil supply chain allow RSPO members to continue to destroy forests with fire July 2020

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlXmWWql6AM

    Chain Reaction Research

    Retailers and FMCG Giants do not take deforestation seriously enough to warrant change (2020)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2_uu4EOyqQ

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    Which brands cause deforestation, human rights abuses for palm oil?

    Back to top ↑

    Boycott Palm Oil

    Learn how to boycott palm oil this Halloween in America, the UK and Australia

    Read more

    Brands

    PepsiCo

    Read more

    Brands

    Procter & Gamble

    Read more

    Brands

    PZ Cussons

    Read more

    Brands

    Danone

    Read more

    Boycott Palm Oil

    Brands Using Deforestation Palm Oil

    Read more

    Brands

    Kelloggs/Kellanova

    Read more

    Brands

    Mondelēz

    Read more

    Brands

    Johnson & Johnson

    Read more

    Brands

    L’Oreal

    Read more

    Brands

    Nestlé

    Read more

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    Ecocide & Corruption Whistle-blowers on Twitter

    With so much misinformation, greenwashing and BS out there. It is difficult to know who is telling the truth.

    Here’s a list of NGOS, individuals and media outlets you can trust for clear information that exposes the corruption going on around so-called ‘sustainable’ palm oil, deforestation and many other issues.

    Also these media outlets, individuals and NGOs regularly cover other topics like deforestation for soy, meat, gold, timber, cocoa, coffee and other commodities. They also expose corruption, abuse, violence and death of indigenous people, land grabs etc and how this links to global companies.

    Back to top ↑

    There are now literally thousands of people who are a passionate supporters and activists in the #Boycott4Wildlife – This list is not ignoring these people, you are all amazing people and the contribution you are making is very important!. However this list here focuses on people or NGOs who publish and produce news, research, books, photojournalism, podcasts or TV documentaries. So that everyone else knows who to listen to in the gigantic social media cacophony.

    @AP

    @amazonwatch

    @AuroraGroupScot

    @BarbaraNavarro

    @BennyWenda

    @BentalaRakyat

    @bmfonds

    @Cen4infoRes

    @Cleve_Hicks

    @CorpJusticeUK

    @craigjones17

    @crresearch

    @degrowth_info

    @drbirute

    @earthsight

    @EcocideLaw

    @ECCHRBerlin

    @EIA_News

    Farm Land Grab (website)

    @FOEInt

    @Forests_Finance

    @FreeWestPapua

    @fnierula

    @ForensicArchi

    @geckoproj

    @Global_Witness

    @GRAIN_org

    @greenpeaceUK

    @GreenwashEarth

    @georgecmcgavin

    @GlobalCanopy

    @HRW

    @IfNotUs_ThenWho

    @IllicitFlows

    @INTERPOL_EC

    @IsabellaGuerrin

    @joceylnzuck

    @KlausRiede

    @LandConflicts

    @macarangatweets

    @merdeka_wp

    @mongabay

    @NZZ

    @OFIOffice

    @OCCRP

    @Rainforest_RIN

    @RichardSsuna

    @robertocgatti

    @sarawak_report

    @StandMighty

    @SteadyStateEcon

    @StopEcocideNL

    @sumofus

    @the_ecologist

    @TuK_Indonesia

    @TruthinAd

    @TraseEarth

    @RettetRegenwald

    @RainforestResq

    @RainforestNORW

    @UE

    @wpinvestigates

    @VeronicaKoman

    @YaleE360

    @WorldRainforest

    @WinnieCheche

    Back to top ↑

    Use your wallet as a weapon and boycott the brands destroying rainforests for palm oil! It’s the #Boycott4Wildlife

    Join the Boycott4Wildlife

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    Get brand changes in your inbox

    Enter your email address

    Sign Up

    Back to top ↑

    Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded

    Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.

    Say thanks on Ko-Fi

    Back to top ↑

    #auditFraud #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #brandMarketing #consumerBoycott #consumerRights #deforestation #ecocide #extinction #fraud #greenwashing #illegal #landRights #landgrabbing #palmoilTweet #research #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #slavery #violence #wildlife #wildlifeActivism

    #auditfraud #boycott4wildlife #boycottpalmoil #brandmarketing #consumerboycott #consumerrights
  21. Alam ☮ 🕊 @aalam ·

    -keygen -Y verify -f allowed_signers -I [email protected] -n "factory images" -s DEVICE_NAME-install-VERSION.zip.sig < DEVICE_NAME-install-VERSION.zip
    ssh-keygen -Y verify -f allowed_signers -I [email protected] -n "factory images" -s frankel-install-2026050900.zip.sig < frankel-install-2026050900.zip
    bsdtar xvf frankel-install-2026050900.zip
    cd frankel-install-2026050900/
    bash flash-all.sh
    sudo fastboot flashing lock

    #ssh
  22. Alam ☮ 🕊 @aalam ·

    echo 'acfdcccb123a8718c46c46c059b2f621140194e5ec1ac9d81715be3d6ab6cd0a platform-tools_r35.0.2-linux.zip' | sha256sum -c

    bsdtar xvf platform-tools_r35.0.2-linux.zip

    export PATH="$PWD/platform-tools:$PATH"
    sudo fastboot version 35.0.2-12147458
    sudo adb devices -l
    sudo fastboot flashing unlock

    curl -O releases.grapheneos.org/allowe
    curl -O releases.grapheneos.org/franke
    curl -O releases.grapheneos.org/franke
    curl -O releases.grapheneos.org/franke

  23. Alam ☮ 🕊 @aalam ·

    Installed Graphene OS on Pixel 10 with 44 with commands, no browser.
    PIXEL - Power and Volume Down to boot (Unlock/Lock)

    Install Android tools:

    dnf install android-tools bsdtar
    git clone github.com/M0Rf30/android-udev
    cd android-udev-rules
    cat install.sh
    sudo bash install.sh
    sudo rm -f /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules
    sudo bash install.sh
    sudo systemctl restart systemd-udevd.service

    sudo adb devices -l
    curl -O dl.google.com/android/reposito

    CLI Guide: grapheneos.org/install/cli

    #grapheneos #fedora
  24. Alam ☮ 🕊 @aalam ·

    Mozilla 's is just junk translation management software

    pontoon.mozilla.org/

    First no way to hide 100% files, search yourself between 100% or any less

    Then if your files with few lines and opened few of them, it will block you with too many opened files, even when half is saved, but next string will not be saved without any notification.

    Damned Lies has option to hide completed modules, easier for localizers

    l10n.gnome.org

    #pontoon #gnome
  25. Alam ☮ 🕊 @aalam ·

    Installed Aurora on Lenovo Laptop, learned during Flock Video session.

    !

    Aurora and Project BlueFin:

    The next generation Linux workstation, designed for reliability, performance, and sustainability.

    getaurora.dev

    projectbluefin.io

    #flocktofedora #fedora #projectbluefin #aurora #linux
  26. Alam ☮ 🕊 @aalam ·

    KDE and both apps are stop working together again with KDE Plasma (wayland) Fedora 40. with Fedora 39, switched from ibus to xkb input method for the same reason.

    Good news is that There are lof of work by KDE volunteers for migrate to KF6 recently, like:

    invent.kde.org/sdk/lokalize/-/

    Really Appreciate the efforts. Hopefully that will help to fix the input issue.

    #lokalize #ibus
  27. Alam ☮ 🕊 @aalam ·

    Ending the day with deployment of WebSploit.

    and :linux:

    #kali_linux #parrotsecurityos
  28. Alam ☮ 🕊 @aalam ·

    Feb 21 - International Mother Language Day

    Open Source Software are the best with human languages, Internalization (i18n) support - by the people for the people to the people.

    Please try any Linux distribution, KDE, GNOME, Libreoffice, Firefox, GIMP and lot of more.

    unesco.org/en/days/mother-lang

    #motherlanguage #opensource
  29. Alam ☮ 🕊 @aalam ·

    Eastern Panjabi/Punjabi localization has been completed 80% for Gnome 45.

    Punlinux Team (punlinux.org) started as university project in 2003 with Gursharn Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Narinder Singh, Sushil Kumar and we are still providing all possible support for open source projects with Punjabi language.

    #gnome45 #punjabi #humanlanguages
  30. România @[email protected] ·

    europesays.com/ro/176995/ Dans de senzație al viitorului ministru al Sănătăţii din guvernul Peter Magyar, în fața Parlamentului. Aclamat de mulțime ca un star rock #BreakingNews #BreakingNews #CeleMaiPopulareSubiecte #dans #FeaturedNews #FeaturedNews #Headlines #Internațional #LatestNews #LatestNews #ministru #News #RO #Română #Romania #Romanian #sanatate #senzatie #StarRock #Știri #Titluri #TopStories #TopStories #ungaria #video #World #WorldNews #WorldNews

    #worldnews #world #video #ungaria #topstories #titluri
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