Blogposts tagged 'Rspo'

Finally! Palm oil companies recognise the value of forests

Posted by jamie - 15 November 2010 at 5:05pm - 3 Comments
Orang-utan in Indonesia
All rights reserved. Credit: Will Rose/Greenpeace
Orang-utan in Indonesia

Helen Buckland, UK director of the Sumatran Orangutan Society, reports on developments at the recent Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil meeting...

It's no secret that the palm oil industry is responsible for massive deforestation in Indonesia, but it's now gone some way towards acknowledging the value of rainforests and how vital they are for conserving endangered species, including orangutans.

With so little habitat remaining in Sumatra and Borneo, it is vital to preserve even degraded forests to ensure the survival of orangutans in the wild.

Article tagged as: deforestation, forests, GAPKI, indonesia, palm oil, rainforests, rspo

Sinar Mas gets ultimatum from RSPO over palm oil and deforestation

Posted by ianduff - 23 September 2010 at 5:03pm - 1 Comment

At last, the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is threatening action following the release last month of the independent audit commissioned by Sinar Mas, which showed that the company had been breaking Indonesian law and RSPO rules.

Article tagged as: deforestation, forests, indonesia, palm oil, rainforests, rspo, sinar mas

A defining moment for the palm oil industry as Unilever breaks link with forest destruction?

Posted by ianduff - 11 December 2009 at 1:34pm - 19 Comments

As world leaders line up in Copenhagen to agree a new climate treaty, we've also been working hard to secure a result that will have a positive impact on the global climate - by protecting Indonesia's forests.

Today we're publicly releasing new evidence that Sinar Mas, Indonesia’s biggest palm oil producer, has been persistently engaging in widespread illegal deforestation and peatland clearance. We presented presented the evidence in this dossier to one of their biggest customers, the giant Unilever corporation. Now Unilever has decided to stop buying palm oil from Sinar Mas.

Article tagged as: destructive logging, indonesia, palm oil, rspo, sinar mas, successes, unilever

Illegal forest clearance and RSPO greenwash: case studies of Sinar Mas

Publication date:  11 December, 2009

RSPO greenwash - report coverIndonesian conglomerate, the Sinar Mas group, has extensive interests in both the palm oil and pulp and paper sectors.

Download the report:
Article tagged as: co2 emissions, destructive logging, palm oil, rspo, sinar mas

Less peatlands, more palm oil, says Indonesian government

Posted by jamie - 20 February 2009 at 12:12pm - 0 Comments

Greenpeace supporters remind Hillary Clinton during her visit to Jakarta to 'cut emissions now'

Volunteers in Jakarta get the climate message to Hillary Clinton's convoy (not pictured) © Greenpeace

Our colleagues in Indonesia have been very busy this week - with visiting foreign dignitaries and an outrageous decree from their own government following in quick succession.

Article tagged as: forests, hillary clinton, indonesia, palm oil, rspo, south east asia

Palm oil companies talk while the rainforests burn

Posted by jamie - 23 December 2008 at 10:23am - 6 Comments

Fire burns through forest in Sumatra, clearing the area for plantations © Greenpeace/Novis

Fire burns through forest in Sumatra, clearing the area for plantations © Greenpeace/Novis

It's been a few weeks since the Esperanza's tour of Indonesia wrapped up with an exhausting but thrilling week of direct action focused on various palm oil tankers, and I've since left those humid equatorial climes to return to a chilly British winter. But even though the ship has moved on to other countries and campaigns, the palm oil campaign continues and in the past few weeks there have been some developments.

The most obvious has been annual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in Bali - this could have been the moment the industry got its act together and did something other than spin the usual load of greenwash over its involvement in the destruction of south east Asia's rainforests. Sadly, it was not to be. Although our ship painting/blockading actions drew a lot of attention, as did our earlier revelations about United Plantations and their 'sustainable' palm oil, no real progress was made.

Article tagged as: forests, indonesia, palm oil, rspo, sinar mas, south east asia, unilever, wilmar

United Plantations certified despite gross violations of RSPO Standards

Publication date:  18 November, 2008

This Greenpeace investigation conducted by Greenpeace Netherlands (from here on referred to as “Greenpeace”) reveals that deforestation, deep peat conversion, land disputes and illegal practices continue to occur in the plantation estates owned by a company that is RSPO certified for part of its operations.

Download the report:
Article tagged as: climate change, forests, indonesia, palm oil, rspo, sustainable palm oil, united plantations

First certified palm oil shipment just a bit of public relations lubrication?

Posted by tracy - 18 November 2008 at 12:22pm - 0 Comments

Lake Suwakai in Runtu Indonesia

This is part of Lake Suwakai, Runtu, where United Plantation's contractor constructed a road and stacked wood debris in the lake, presumably when the tidal lake was at its lowest. © Greenpeace

Article tagged as: climate change, forests, indonesia, palm oil, peatlands, rainforests, rspo, united plantations

Seven years on - but still no sustainable palm oil

Posted by jossc - 11 November 2008 at 1:19pm - 2 Comments

Oil palm saplings

Indonesia: oil palm saplings are still replacing peatlands and rainforest

Cooking oil, chocolate, soap, washing powder, cosmetics and biofuels are just a few of the hundreds of products reliant on one key ingredient - palm oil. Demand for this versatile oil is rising rapidly. Today 80 per cent of world production comes from plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia. Palm oil is the leading cause of destruction in Indonesia, where it is spelling disaster for local communities, biodiversity, and climate change as palm plantations encroach further and further into rainforest and critical peatland areas.

These issues are meant to be addressed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the self-regulating industry body created in 2001 to develop sustainable solutions to palm oil production. To date, despite seven years of existence, no "sustainable" palm oil has entered the market place appearing in products of its members (who include household names like Boots and BP). But that's supposedly now about to change as the first certified palm oil shipment from Malaysia arrives this week in Rotterdam.

Article tagged as: deforestation, indonesia, malaysia, palm oil, peatlands, rainforests, rspo

Some good news for Indonesia's rainforests

Posted by saunvedan - 19 August 2008 at 9:33am - 3 Comments

AmazonThe Governor of the province of Riau on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia has pledged to halt deforestation, which could help protect Riau's vast peatlands and forests that store 14.6 billion tonnes of carbon. Just to give you an estimate of what that figure means, it's the equivalent of an entire year's greenhouse gas emissions for the entire planet. Moreover, aside from being an important carbon store, this area is also important for biodiversity and critical for the people that depend upon these forests for their survival.

Article tagged as: deforestation, indonesia, moratorium, palm oil, peatlands, riau, rspo, sumatra
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