Updated article A new scorecard that ranks the palm oil sourcing commitments of 30 top companies in the packaged food, fast food, and personal care sectors shows that 24 of them have […]
Donuts, deodorants, and deforestation
Fast food companies score worst on palm oil sourcing
The US-based Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has analysed the palm oil sourcing commitments of 30 top companies in the packaged food, fast food, and personal care sectors and found that 24 […]
ARTICLE UPDATE
I have updated my article on Procter & Gamble to add a comment from the company. There are also now additional photos from Greenpeace at the end of the article. Readers can […]
Greenpeace urges Procter & Gamble to clean up its palm oil supply chain
Greenpeace International has launched a new petition calling on the multi-national company Procter & Gamble to clean up its supply chain and manufacture only forest-friendly products. According to Greenpeace, Procter & Gamble […]
Activists commend Kellogg, but urge swift action on palm oil
The US-based Rainforest Action Network has welcomed the new sustainable palm oil commitment made by the food manufacturing company Kellogg, but says fast implementation is needed “to eliminate conflict palm oil from […]
Kellogg makes new sustainable palm oil commitment
The multinational food manufacturing company Kellogg has made a commitment to only buy palm oil that is fully traceable and has been produced in an “environmentally responsible manner”. It says its suppliers […]
Scientists call for action to stop palm oil deforestation
The US-based Union of Concerned Scientists has just published a new infographic about the deforestation caused by oil palm cultivation and has called on palm oil companies to improve sustainability standards and […]
Environmentalists urge Indonesian minister to halt new spatial plan
Leuser Ecosystem: Photo by Paul Hilton Environmental activists are calling on the Indonesian Home Affairs Minister to halt plans to open up large areas of protected forests in Sumatra for road building, […]
Palm oil company fined millions of dollars for destroying Sumatran forest
Tripa burning in 2012; photo by Carlos Quiles. An Indonesian court has found the palm oil company PT Kallista Alam guilty of illegally burning large swathes of the Tripa peat forest, which […]
STOP PRESS
Palm oil company fined millions of dollars for destroying Sumatran forest An Indonesian court has found the palm oil company PT Kallista Alam guilty of illegally burning large swathes of the Tripa […]
Campaigners want world heritage protection for Sumatran forest
(Photo by Paul Hilton.) An international campaign is underway to prevent further destruction of the Leuser Ecosystem in Aceh, northern Sumatra. Environmentalists are appealing for the ecosystem to be declared a UNESCO […]
Palm oil drives deforestation in Indonesia
The palm oil sector was the single largest driver of deforestation in Indonesia between 2009 and 2011, accounting for about a quarter of the country’s forest loss, Greenpeace International has revealed in […]
Indonesian fishermen risk life and limb diving for sea cucumbers
Sea cucumbers are a popular delicacy throughout Asia. On the international market, they sell for hundreds of US dollars a kilo, but Indonesian divers who supply them earn as little as 20 […]
Indonesia’s slash-and-burn haze spreads again
The slash-and-burn haze that blanketed areas of Sumatra and also shrouded Singapore and western Malaysia last month is spreading again. Singapore is being spared for the moment, but, in Malaysia, areas of […]
Major earthquake strikes Indonesia
Rescuers are searching for survivors of a 6.1-magnitude earthquake in the north Sumatran province of Aceh in Indonesia. Officials say 24 people have been killed and 249 injured. Unofficial reports speak of […]
World music rocks the rainforest
Borneo’s 16th annual Rainforest World Music Festival, held in the Sarawak Cultural Village near Kuching, brought together musicians and dancers from five continents. Audiences were treated to some powerful performances and a […]
New call from Greenpeace for action on fires
Greenpeace International today released new photographic and satellite evidence of peatland fires in and around the palm oil concession areas of Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) members operating in the Indonesian […]
Smog from Sumatra fires spreads to Thailand
The haze from slash-and-burn fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has now spread to southern Thailand. Several districts in Narathiwat, Songkhla and Satun provinces were blanketed in smog this morning (Tuesday). […]
Greenpeace tells plantation companies to accept responsibility for fires in Sumatra
As fires rage on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and the resulting haze continues to blanket large areas of Malaysia, Greenpeace International has called on palm oil and pulp and paper companies […]
Slash-and-burn fires cause pollution haze
Western Malaysia is shrouded in a dangerous haze caused by illegal slash-and-burn fires on timber and oil palm plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia. There is a state of emergency in the worst affected […]
