Fair Forests
For Nature, For Animals, For People
Fair Forests & Palm Oil
Palm oil is found in many of the products we use and foods we eat, but the industry can be extremely destructive to the environment, animals, and people. The solution to the problems with palm oil aren't always clear. Follow along as we unpacks the issues with palm oil, the truth behind sustainable palm oil labels, and pledge to join our community calling for change.
What is palm oil?
Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil derived from the fruit of oil palm trees, primarily the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). It is extremely versatile and used in a variety of everyday products from foods to cosmetics to household cleaning and toiletry products, and even biofuel.
65%
of all palm oil produced is used in food products.
of all palm oil is used in cosmetics & household products.
27%
Hover over each image above to learn more about where palm oil is used.
5% of all palm oil is used for biofuel.
Burning palm oil for fuel causes more environmental destruction that fossil fuels.
Over the last 50 years, the global production of palm oil has increased around 40 times from 2 million tonnes in the 1970s to 80 million tonnes today!
Palm oil requires tropical climates and rich soil, making Southeast Asia an ideal region for its cultivation. Most of the world's palm oil supply comes from biodiversity rich areas in Indonesia and Malaysia, with Thailand also being a significant producer.
The expansion of palm oil plantations is a major cause of deforestation in these regions, driven by high global demand and the potential for substantial economic profits.
As global demand for palm oil rises, the expansion of unregulated oil palm plantations often prioritizes profit over environmental and social concerns, leading to severe environmental damage and harm to local communities.
90%
More than
of the world's oil palm plantations are grown in
Malaysia and Indonesia
Environmental Impacts
Producing palm oil involves clearing forests and draining peatlands, causing extensive destruction to forest habitats and releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This deforestation not only reduces critical rainforests that store carbon but also destroys the habitats of endangered species.
Indonesia, for instance, has cleared about 24 million hectares of rainforest for palm oil plantations between 1990 and 2015. And the destruction of Indonesia's peatlands alone releases up to 1.8 billion tons of CO2 annually.
Biodiversity Impacts
These rainforests are home to thousands of species, including gibbons, orangutans, Sumatran tigers, pygmy elephants, and rhinos. The intensive agricultural practices used in palm oil production also contribute to severe soil erosion and water pollution. Pesticides and fertilizers used in the process can contaminate local water sources, impacting both human communities and wildlife.
Social Impacts
The rapid expansion of palm oil plantations frequently displaces Indigenous communities and small farmers, leading to conflicts over land rights and the loss of traditional livelihoods. Palm oil plantations are frequently exposed for committing numerous human rights violations, including labor exploitation, poor working conditions, low wages, and child labor.
While palm oil can provide an economic boon for producing countries, the benefits are not shared equally often disproportionately favouring large corporations at the expense of the citizens and local populations who bear the brunt of the environmental and social costs. As global demand continues to rise, this further incentivizes expansion of palm oil plantations for corporate gain, exacerbating the associated environmental and social issues.
A Real-Life Example of the
Impacts of Oil Palm Plantations
A Case Study of Tesso Nilo National Park, Indonesia
Tesso Nilo National Park, located on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, is home to some of the highest levels of plant and animal biodiversity in the world - including many threatened and endangered species.
But lucrative global demand for palm oil and laxed conservation measures have driven the park to lose vast amounts of the rich forest habitats it is meant to preserve.
Tesso Nilo National Park lost
of its total tree coverage between 2000 and 2023 to oil palm plantations.
This is a big issue for all the species that call Tesso Nilo National Park home.
What's the solution?
What can I do to make a difference?
Boycotting palm oil altogether is not effective in addressing these big issues because it will force industries to shift to other types of vegetable oil - that could create even more destruction.
Palm oil yields significantly more oil per hectare than any alternatives.
Currently, the world uses 322 million hectares for oil seed crops, about a land area the size of India.
In 2016, palm oil accounted for 36% of global vegetable oil production but used only 8.6% of the land. In contrast, during the same period of time, sunflower oil represented just 9% of production while using 8.3% of the land!
If we were to shift to using an oil like coconut oil to meet all our vegetable oil needs we would require a land area around the size of the entire country of Canada.
A lot of other oils, like coconut and soy, that are seen as alternatives to palm oil are also grown in the same tropical regions and biodiversity hot spots. Switching to other types of oil. like sunflower seed oil that is grown in areas of less value in terms of biodiversity and supporting a healthy planet, would be ineffective in meeting demand. According to the IUCN’s Palm Oil Task Force, “There are commercially available alternatives to palm oil but they tend to be economically infeasible for the scale at which palm oil is being used for food and industrial purposes”.
What is sustainable
palm oil?
Sustainable palm oil refers to palm oil that has been certified by a larger body as meeting specific standards relating to its impact on the environment and/or more broad standards relating to the treatment of workers and the wellbeing of local communities.
These include standards relating to respect for Indigenous peoples and their customary right to land, treatment of smallholders, social and environmental safeguards, labour standards, gender and discrimination, and transparent and affective complaint and resolution process.
The leading approach to mitigating biodiversity loss is certifications and initiatives that protect forests and other significant areas for conservation.
Although the ever increasing and lucrative demand for palm oil can pressure areas that are set aside for conservation to be turned into plantations. Just check out our case study of Tesso Nilo national park as an example.
Not all certification schemes are created equal in their standards or their enforcement of those standards.
We are sitting down with several sustainable palm oil certification groups to get a behind the scenes look at what they prioritize within their certification, and what they let slide.
There are many different indicators that can be examined to understand the priorities and shortcomings of various certifications.
A 2017 report by the Forest Peoples Programme, comparing leading palm oil certification standards on the basis of social and human rights issues, found that the RSPO set the strongest standards, while the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) standard was the weakest with very little support for people and communities. We can assess the success of palm oil certifications in other ways including their deforestation policies, the land they cover, the destruction of ecosystems, or your own personal values surrounding these issues.
At the end of the day, know that sustainable palm oil labels from different companies don’t mean the same thing.
Even within certain certification organizations, optional standard components can mean that products sharing the same sustainability label may not have been produced with the same environmental and ethical principles.
So what? How do we know where to stand on this issue if there are so many problems with palm oil but sustainable palm oil is so difficult to define?
The best thing we can do is know what is in the products and foods we use and understand where those ingredients come from.
There are some areas such as biofuel, and some foods and cosmetics, where alternatives to palm oil can and should be used.
The IUCN’s Palm Oil Task force states that there is still limited evidence to suggest whether sustainability initiatives, like certification, are effective due to the lack of clarity surrounding most sustainability standards. However, they do argue that a complete ban on palm oil would have a negative impact on biodiversity through driving the conversion of even more land into other types of oil with lower yields.
Check the ingredient list!
When you’re doing your shopping or looking at the products you use be sure to skim the ingredient list.
Palm oil can be disguised as a number of ingredient names such as Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate, Hyrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, and Palmityl Alcohol.
Step 1
Know what products contain palm oil
Step 2
Look For Better Alternatives
Opt for the choice with the lowest environmental impact
Look for options that are free from oils, such as palm, soy, and coconut, that are grown in areas of high environmental importance.
One way to do this is by buying local, as many products products produced on a smaller scale may not contain palm oil.
By opting for better alternatives, we aren't driving the vegetable oil industry to oils that require even more land and environmental destruction to meet the same demand.
Step 3
If you have to use palm oil, make sure it follows a reputable certification standard
Download the PalmOil Scan app on the app store or google play. Supported in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore, this app uses a barcode scanner to instantly identify if a product is RSPO certified. You can also search for a keyword using the “Search a Keyword” feature.
Know the labels!
There are many certification schemes that establish standards to ensure that palm oil is produced to a high level of environmental sustainability and ethics. We've sat down with a number of labelling groups to understand their processes and what they truly stand for.
Tap on each label to learn more about their certification!
Do some research!
If a product isn't clearly labelled, or to find out more about the standards of the label, do some quick research on the company that makes it.
Use the handy tools and resources to quickly find out if the palm oil is uncertified:
As a consumer you have the power of choice, to put your decisions behind corporations that adhere to high standards of sustainability.
Take Action
The biggest challenge to sustainable palm oil, the main tool we have to fighting the problems with palm oil, is the limited consumer demand for sustainable palm oil. The more consumers purchase sustainable palm oil, the more governments, companies, and farmers will see that it pays off to invest in protecting the environment, people, and animals.
Every action you take as a consumer has an impact on the direction of the palm oil industry
If you come across a company that does not use sustainable palm take action!
Reach out to the company and explain why you are against unsustainable palm oil and that you will not purchase their product if it does not adhere to high sustainability practices.
You have the power to find the solution
We've talked about the blurry definitions of sustainable palm oil, and that no certification perfectly avoids negative impacts on communities and the environment. Research into solutions like lab grown palm oil, agroforestry, and biodegradable vegetable oils is ongoing. But the future is wide open, and you have the power to take this problem and develop new innovations to solve it.
Need help getting started? Take our pledge!
Become part of a community of individuals committed to coming together to create a big change. When you commit to only using sustainable palm oil and following up with brands that are falling short we'll send you an editable letter template that can be sent to companies, urging them to adopt higher palm oil sustainability standards.
