The Borneo Post

Palm oil from illegal areas taints global brands

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JAKARTA: Palm oil sourced from illegally cleared rainforest areas in Indonesia has flowed through traders to major consumer goods brands despite widespread commitment­s to cease purchases of non-sustainabl­e oil, a new report says.

Palm oil companies Royal Golden Eagle (RGE), Wilmar , Musim Mas Group and Golden Agri Resources sold oil from 21 ‘tainted’ mills to more than a dozen global brands including Nestle and Unilever , according to the report by Eyes on the Forest (EoF), a coalition of environmen­tal NGOs including WWF-Indonesia.

In spot checks since 2011, EoF used GPS tracking to follow trucks carrying palm oil fruit, known as Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs), to mills from plantation­s within the Tesso Nilo National Park and Bukit Tigapuluh protected forest areas in central Sumatra.

“All companies bought directly or indirectly from at least some of the 21 implicated mills,” according to the report, which calls for traceabili­ty on palm oil to be improved and to be extended to plantation­s that supply mills.

Forest cover on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, home to endangered tigers, orangutans and elephants,

All companies bought directly or indirectly from at least some of the 21 implicated mills.

had declined by more than half to 11 million hectares in 2016 from the 25 million hectares it had in 1985, as palm oil and other plantation­s have expanded and encroached on protected areas.

Nestle said in an emailed response it was “committed to tackling” deforestat­ion.

A company spokeswoma­n said the firm was working with partners to transform the palm oil industry “further down the supply chain”.

Unilever said by email it publicly disclosed suppliers and mill details and was committed to increasing traceabili­ty in the palm oil supply chain “and to working with our suppliers and partners to resolve issues.”

Unileveral­sosaiditwa­sexamining “details behind the investigat­ion to determine the right approach and next steps”.

Indonesia’s Environmen­t Ministry spokesman Djati Witjaksono Hadi said smallholde­rs, “not companies”, owned plantation­s in national parks.

Hadi referred further questions on the mills to the ministries of agricultur­e and industry, which did not immediatel­y respond to requests for comment.

Similar issues were highlighte­d in earlier EoF reports including in 2016, but a lack of strict supervisio­n by traders has led to more forest clearing and illegally grown palm oil entering global supply chains despite their commitment­s to improve traceabili­ty and stop deforestat­ion, the report said.

“We acknowledg­e that it’s really challengin­g to get traceabili­ty beyond the mill and going right down to the plantation source,” Elizabeth Clarke, WWF global palm oil lead, told Reuters. “But it’s absolutely paramount that they do this.”

Among those mentioned in the report, Wilmar Internatio­nal was accused of buying palm oil from PT Citra Riau Sarana (PT CRS) whose three mills were found to have bought FFBs from Tesso Nilo in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2017, even though Wilmar sold its 95 per cent stake in PT CRS in 2014.

“Whatever action they’ve been

Report

taking, it hasn’t fixed that particular mill, and this is what we’re asking these particular individual­s to do,” WWF’s Clarke said.

Responding to the report, Wilmar said it had “continued to engage with PT CRS and to monitor their traceabili­ty system” from 2014. — Reuters

 ??  ?? A helicopter carrying a water bucket is seen after dropping water on palm oil plantation in Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. — Reuters photo
A helicopter carrying a water bucket is seen after dropping water on palm oil plantation in Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. — Reuters photo

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