Eco-Business

Environmentalists warn the plan to increase palm oil content in biodiesel will mean more deforestation, despite its association with renewables.

Palm oil trade certifier Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is facing scrutiny for a new standard that NGOs say weakens the protection of forests. RSPO says revision to its approach addresses implementation challenges.

The RSPO has ruled that PT Inecda, a Samsung subsidiary, violated its sustainability standards by failing to obtain consent from an Indigenous community in Sumatra before clearing forests for palm oil plantations.

Environmental innovation competition The Earthshot Prize recently unveiled this year’s shortlist. Eco-Business quizzes three finalists about Asia's funding environment and the barriers they face in scaling their ideas.

By Robin Hicks

By Louise Hunt

By Vincent Tan

By Robin Hicks

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If policymakers and ESG proponents fail to ensure that the ESG agenda is equitable and credible – directly benefiting working class and rural communities – the credibility of ESG will deteriorate further. By Dr Pieter E. Stek

The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) can help protect nature and biodiversity but requires careful cooperation. By Jack Hurd

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. By Siti Dina Razman Pahri

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

By Tran Quynh Chi

By Renard Siew

By Firdaus Cahyadi

By Joseph D'Cruz

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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.

EB Studio 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

EB Studio 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.

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

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Podcast on RSPO's new principles and criteria for certifying palm oil as environmentally and socially sustainable.

EB Studio The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has released new criteria for certifying responsibly grown palm oil. What's changed and how does RSPO respond to criticism that the new standard lowers the bar for deforestation?

EB Studio 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.