Jakarta, Wednesday 19 September 2018 – Palm oil suppliers to the world’s largest brands, including Unilever, Nestlé, Colgate-Palmolive and Mondelez, have destroyed an area of rainforest almost twice the size of Singapore in less than three years, according to a new investigation by Greenpeace International.
Greenpeace International assessed deforestation by 25 major palm oil producers and found that:
- 25 palm oil groups had cleared over 130,000ha of rainforest since the end of 2015
- 40% of deforestation (51,600ha) was in Papua, Indonesia – one of the most biodiverse regions on earth and until recently untouched by the palm oil industry
- 12 brands were sourcing from at least 20 of the palm oil groups: Colgate-Palmolive, General Mills, Hershey, Kellogg’s, Kraft Heinz, L’Oreal, Mars, Mondelez, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever
- Wilmar, the world’s largest palm oil trader, was buying from 18 of the palm oil groups
The investigation exposes the total failure of Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm oil trader, to break its links to rainforest destruction. In 2013, Greenpeace International revealed that Wilmar and its suppliers were responsible for deforestation, illegal clearance, fires on peatland and extensive clearance of tiger habitat. Later that year, Wilmar announced a groundbreaking ‘no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation’ policy. Yet Greenpeace’s analysis found that Wilmar still gets its palm oil from groups that are destroying rainforests and stealing land from local communities.
“Palm oil can be produced without destroying rainforests. But our investigation shows that the palm oil Wilmar trades is still utterly contaminated with rainforest destruction. Household brands like Unilever, Nestlé, Colgate-Palmolive and Mondelez promised their customers they’d only use clean palm oil but they haven’t kept that promise. Brands must fix this problem once and for all by cutting Wilmar off until it can prove its palm oil is clean,” said Kiki Taufik, head of Greenpeace’s global Indonesia forests campaign.
In addition to deforestation, the 25 individual cases in the report include evidence of exploitation and social conflicts, illegal deforestation, development without permits, plantation development in areas zoned for protection and forest fires linked to land clearance. It is also the most comprehensive assessment of deforestation in Papua, Indonesia.
“Papua is one of the most biodiverse places on earth, and its pristine forests had until recently been spared the destruction happening elsewhere in Indonesia. But now the palm oil industry is moving in and clearing forest at an alarming rate. If we don’t stop them then Papua’s beautiful forests will be destroyed for palm oil just like Sumatra and Kalimantan,” said Taufik.
Palm oil impacts on environment, people and climate
- Half of the Bornean orangutan population has been wiped out in just 16 years, with habitat destruction by the palm oil industry a leading driver. More than three-quarters of Tesso Nilo national park, home to tigers, orangutans and elephants, has been converted into illegal palm oil plantations. Globally, 193 species classified as Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable, are threatened by palm oil production.
- The plantation sector – palm oil and pulp – is the single largest driver of deforestation in Indonesia. Around 24 million hectares of rainforest was destroyed in Indonesia between 1990 and 2015, according to official figures released by the Indonesian government [1].
- Deforestation and peatland destruction are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change. This has pushed Indonesia into the top tier of global emitters, alongside the United States of America and China.
- Plantation development is a root cause of Indonesia’s forest and peatland fires. In July 2015, devastating blazes spread in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua. These fires produced a haze that affected millions of people across Southeast Asia. Researchers at Harvard and Columbia Universities estimate that the smoke from 2015 Indonesian fires may have caused 100,000 premature deaths. The World Bank calculated the cost of the disaster at US$16bn.
- Wilmar International and other palm oil companies are regularly accused of exploiting workers, children and local communities.
Photos and video are available here
NOTES
[1] Figures cover loss of natural forest. Sources:
1990–2012: MoEF (2016b) Table Annex 5.1, pp90–1 – gross deforestation 21,339,301ha
2012–2013: MoEF (2014) Lampiran 1, Tabel 1.1 – gross deforestation 953,977ha
2013–2014: MoEF (2015) Lampiran 1, Tabel 1.1 – gross deforestation 567,997ha
2014–2015: MoEF (2016a) Lampiran 1, Tabel 1.1 – gross deforestation 1,223,553ha
Contacts
Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org
Sol Gosetti, International Communications Coordinator, Indonesia Forest campaign, sol.gosetti@greenpeace.org, +44 (0) 7380845754