Companies who use palm oil are under increasing pressure to become more transparent about their environmental and social impacts. This pressure is associated with increasing consumer awareness of issues such as sustainability, but is this pressure enough to demand a sustainable future using palm oil, before the environmental damage is irreversible?
For many of the companies hoping to make their products “free from deforestation”, traceability of palm oil and its derivatives is vital in understanding the supply chain and commit to sustainability.
- Member of the RSPO but refuses to disclose the percentage of which their palm oil is certified as sustainable as they do not track the journey of their palm oil back to the plantation source.
- NGOs including the Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists and the Rainforest Action Network have urged Starbucks to pioneer more environmentally conscientious moves to prevent deforestation and increase the sustainability of its supply chain. Starbucks has previously promised to work on their environmental friendliness, but as consumer awareness increases, stakeholders have less tolerance for pledges that are unsupported by evidence.
Political corruption is also an issue. For example, in Riau, the former governor, Rusli Zainal was charged because he was caught distributing illegal permits for logging in an attempt to finance his political campaign. Companies are able to avoid legislation because of the confusing and conflicting ownership structures of the land which makes it hard to enforce efficient rules regarding forestry and farming. Indonesia's president, Joko Widodo, suggests that it will take a significant amount of time to mitigate the effects of the haze and palm oil plantations. Widodo had previously promised to 'reinvigorate the economy and increase infrastructure spending', but many people have become disillusioned that change will happen as the progress is not as quick as many would like to see. Investment and a good business environment is vital to stimulate the industrialisation Widodo seeks to emulate.
No comments:
Post a Comment