Today the European Parliament voted to implement tough new palm oil resolutions, which if enforced would see its elimination from use in biofuels and enforce stricter regulations on production and certification throughout the continent.
Nestlé says it is "very concerned" by allegations that its palm oil supplier Wilmar International has again been implicated in sourcing palm oil from the protected Leuser ecosystem in Indonesia, according to a report by the Rainforest Action...
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) faced a number of well-publicised challenges last year. Consumers remain confident in the scheme, it appears, but can the same be said for the companies involved? Is this a make or break year?
Environmental and scientific organisations, including Ceres and Oxfam, have published a best practice guidance on how to improve transparency in the palm oil supply chain.
Back in 2014 I interviewed Hans Jöhr, who at the time was corporate head of agriculture at Nestlé. We had a (refreshingly) open discussion about certification schemes. Some of them are “cheating consumers” and “cannot help farmers be better farmers per...
Agri-food giant Olam has defended its palm oil operations against accusations they are a 'black box' of secrecy that funnels palm oil linked to deforestation from rogue traders to global brands like Unilever and Nestlé.
Amnesty International’s report is another dent in the reputation of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) as three of the suppliers on Wilmar's operations were RSPO-certified.
Amnesty International has uncovered “systemic” cases of child labour and labour rights abuses in Indonesian palm oil plantations operated by Wilmar, tracing the palm oil back to firms including Nestlé, Unilever and Kellogg – companies that all claim to...
Palm oil certification body RSPO needs to avoid becoming the next victim of the anti-globalisation and anti-establishment backlash that is sweeping the globe by getting closer to local growers and their communities, the body’s CEO has said.
RSPO co-chair and boss of Malaysia’s United Plantations Berhad, Dato’ Carl Bek-Nielsen gave a measured address at the opening of the organisation's RT14 conference in Bangkok.
Almost 500 products belonging to RSPO members are carrying ‘contains no palm oil’ labels, in a clear breach of the organisation’s ‘spirit’ – with the vast majority of them coming from the food industry.
At a time when the conversation around palm oil centres on deforestation, fires and habitat loss – and global demand shows no signs of abating – several companies have come together to create Palm Done Right, a new standard for ethical palm oil production....
Greenpeace's damning report on Malaysian palm oil supplier IOI, just one month after its membership of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was renewed, could be damaging for the certifier, according to one sustainability consultant.
Greenpeace activists are blocking palm oil imports from Malaysian trader IOI at Rotterdam harbour in protest at the firm's involvement in forest destruction, peatland fires and use of child labour.
A proposal to force companies to notify consumers if their product contains palm oil is likely to mislead the public and imply that it is toxic and best avoided.
Replacing tropical lowland forests with oil palm plantations can damage 11 out of 14 functions of a healthy ecosystem, some of which will be irreparable, researchers say.
Palm oil that is harvested at the right moment, pressed quickly and processed at appropriate temperatures contains insignificant levels of contaminants - if any, says the Italian Union for Sustainable Palm Oil. "This should be the standard for quality...
After less than two years in existence, the Indonesian Palm Oil Pledge has disbanded to the dismay of environmentalists who say its member companies were bullied by the Indonesian government into adopting weaker standards.
French politicians have dropped the proposed palm oil tax, leading some politicians to say the country is being blackmailed by producer countries. "We are legislating with a knife at our throats," said one.
Norway has become the latest country to sign the Amsterdam Declaration which aims to see 100% of palm oil used in Europe certified sustainable by 2020.
Confectionery products account for 1% of total packaged food that carries a sustainable palm oil label, according to new ethical labels data from Euromonitor.
Four of the world’s biggest food companies have moved swiftly to cease trading with Malaysian firm IOI after it fell foul of sustainable palm oil rules, but NGOs say it’s too little too late.
GreenPalm sustainable palm oil certificates will now offer buyers traceability back to the mill, meaning it is now the only fully inclusive supply chain open to all growers, says the trading platform. But campaigners are still calling it a "false...
Ferrero comes out top for its commitment to deforestation-free palm oil with Nestlé close behind - but other companies are simply failing, warns a Greenpeace report which ranks firms for their sustainable palm oil supply chains.
Environmental groups have welcomed the decision by Indonesia’s second-biggest oil palm grower to pledge to move away from deforestation a year after it hit headlines amid accusations of environmental destruction in its supply chain.
Having mapped the Indonesian palm oil supply chain for the last two years, the world’s second biggest oil palm plantation company, Golden Agri-Resources, says it can now trace its annual supply of more than 7m tonnes of palm oil back to 489 individual...
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil's RSPO Next allows manufacturers to demonstrate a tougher stance on deforestation, forest fires and peatland clearance – but it has been slammed by Greenpeace which says many progressive companies and governments...
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) will publish maps of all its members’ palm oil plantations – with the exception of Malaysia – in the hope closer monitoring will prevent forest fires and peat land destruction. But is this enough?
El Niño’s effect on weather patterns and China’s economic slowdown may have a significant impact on grain prices, while Asia’s main “soft” commodities will rally over the coming year, a new report predicts.
UK government:‘There is no one definition of sustainable palm oil’
Voluntary measures and government targets are great – but it is legislation that will push European palm oil users to true sustainability. The food sector could learn a lesson or two from biofuel here.
Indonesia’s forests are being ravaged by forest and peatland fires that are sparking a public health and environmental crisis – but how responsible is the palm oil industry?
Companies are increasingly demanding certified palm oil using criteria that are stricter than current RSPO standards – does the mean the RSPO certification is in danger of becoming irrelevant?
The Norwegian national investment fund has cut ties with four major Asian companies, citing the risk of ‘severe environmental damage’ as a result of palm oil plantations.
Mondelez International is on track to meet its goal of sourcing 100% traceable palm oil by the end of the year after reaching 70% traceability in 2014, says global director of sustainability Jonathan Horrell.
Reaching the goal of 100% Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) in Europe by 2020 is a big challenge with significant barriers, says RSPO, but one that is ultimately achievable with company and national commitments.
Through partnerships with small farmers, non-governmental organizations and other industry stakeholders, General Mills reports it is making progress towards its goal of sustainably sourcing 100% of its top 10 ingredients by 2020.
Cargill is on track to make its goal of completely sustainable palm oil supply by 2020, the company has said in its second palm oil progress update, summing up the efforts made so far by the US-headquartered agriculture major.
Allied Bakers, the maker of Kingsmill bread, said today that the palm oil and derivatives used in its products are now 100% sustainably sourced through physical supply chains.
The Malaysian government has launched its own sustainable palm oil certification standard – but will this add to or detract from sustainability and transparency efforts in the sector?