Investigative report uncovered links to illegal supplies of palm oil from Sumatra.
What is happening?
A report that reveals palm oil sources is published by Eyes on the Forest (an NGO coalition). This report and its press release, released July 19 2018, implicate the global palm oil supply chain with illegal palm oil, including that of Singapore. Illegal palm oil is defined as palm oil grown within national parks and other conservation areas. The four biggest palm oil producers, namely Wilmar, Royal Golden Eagle, Musim Mas and Golden Agri Resources, have each been linked to, directly and indirectly, sourcing illegal palm oil. At least 75% of palm oil products in the world are produced by these four companies and many well-known multinational companies source directly or indirectly from them.
What does this mean?
If your palm oil supplier is sourcing from the companies implicated in the report (such as the four mentioned), then there is a high chance that illegal palm oil exists in your supply chain. Your company may have zero-deforestation goals, however, if this illegal palm oil is in your supply, your supply chain is then in fact involved with deforestation. This press release is being disseminated to the press.
What can we do?
Conversion to “identity preserved (IP)” RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil is the best way to ensure that your sources of palm oil are from certified sustainable, legal plantations. “Segregated (SG)” RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil provides more traceability compared with “mass balance (MB)” RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil, which provides no traceability to the source and is a mix of conventional palm oil with certified sustainable palm oil.