Eco-Business

Deforestation in Indonesia for pulpwood plantations

After sustained pressure from commodity producers and resistance from its own members, the EU Commission decided to postpone a law banning the import of commodities linked to forest loss for 12 months. Malaysian and Indonesian palm oil lobby groups welcomed the news.

A year-long investigation also found Indigenous rights violations in the Malaysian state. Malaysian and Indonesian officials recently blocked civil society representatives from participating in a key EUDR meeting in Brussels.

Booming global demand for the vegetable oil is spurring deforestation in Indonesia.

Musim Mas smallholder plantation harvest

The Singaporean palm oil exporter plans to announce more details in early October. This comes after its Malaysia-based counterpart SD Guthrie got its climate goals verified by the Science Based Targets initiative in end-2023.

Oleh Hans Nicholas Jong

Oleh Gabrielle See

Bursa Sustain

Thomson Reuters Foundation

Semua #palm oil Berita →

These smallholder farmers can become "technopreneurs" in their own right if more incentives were provided for them to adopt technology and digitisation initiatives that can help improve sustainability performance. Oleh Siti Dina Razman Pahri

New domestic policies and consumer goods manufacturers and retailers are steering Chinese suppliers toward sustainable palm oil practices. Oleh Lifeng Fang

Asia is the dominant producer and buyer of palm oil, so production standards in Indonesia and Malaysia and the policies of palm buyers in the region will determine the next stage of its sustainability journey. Oleh Tran Quynh Chi

Malaysia is expected to launch its first local nature-based carbon credit but it faces a jurisdictional quagmire, wherein forest management is predominantly governed by state authorities. Oleh Renard Siew

Oleh Firdaus Cahyadi

Oleh Joseph D'Cruz

Oleh Guntur Cahyo Prabowo

Oleh Monika Merdekawati, Beni Suryadi dan Jason Jimmy Amadeus Palenewan

Semua #palm oil Opini →

Simon Lord and Pamela Mar on Sustainability One on One

In the first in a new video series where sustainability leaders interview each other about the toughest things about their jobs, Simon Lord of Malaysian palm oil giant Sime Darby Plantation went head to head with Pamela Mar of Hong Kong-based textile and apparel giant Fung Group.

Studio EB Smallholder fish farmers in rural Kalimantan are turning towards sustainability, with some assistance from an agribusiness company.

Jali, founder of transport cooperative Parung Jaya Cooperative, speaks to one of his drivers

Studio EB What does it mean to build a clean and fair palm oil supply chain? For drivers in Indonesia used to unsafe working conditions, this is what it could look like.

Daughter Riri Damayanti (left) and her father Syamsul Bahri (right) are colleagues at a palm oil company in South Sumatra.

Studio EB What has been the effect of this agribusiness company's dual-income policy on the households of its Indonesian workers?

Semua #palm oil Video →

Studio EB Transboundary haze pollution is back with a vengeance in Southeast Asia. The Eco-Business Podcast talks to RSPO CEO Joseph D'Cruz about what the palm oil sector can do to put out the peatland fires that have burned annually for four decades.

Palm oil farmers working with Natural Habitats

Some environmentalists would argue that there's no such thing as sustainably grown palm oil, because of the crops links to deforestation and human rights abuses. Eco-Business spoke to Monique van Wijnbergen about how palm can be done right.

Studio EB Should the priority be to stop all child labour on palm oil plantations? Or to address the root causes of child labour?

Studio EB Smallholders have taken much of the blame for this year's haze-causing forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan. How can they be motivated to switch to more sustainable, fire-free production methods?

Semua #palm oil Podcast →