Protect Orangutans! Demand sustainable, deforestation-free palm oil!

Orangutan Outreach has joined forces with nearly 100 other conservation organizations who are committed to driving the palm oil industry in the right direction, and support a move to sustainable palm oil rather than a blanket boycott.

Palm oil produced according to the standards set by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) or Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG), as of 2018, is required to be deforestation-free. Manufacturers, retailers and traders all over the world have made bold commitments to removing deforestation from their supply chains – some are making swifter progress than others towards meeting these commitments. There are no quick fixes, but the following actions will go a long way to cleaning up the palm oil industry:

  • Palm oil producers must stop converting forests, peatlands and other sensitive natural habitats to oil palm plantations. Instead, they should increase yields on existing plantations, and any expansion should be restricted to degraded land that is not classified as High Conservation Value or High Carbon Stock. They also need to be transparent about their production methods and avoid labour, land and human rights violations.
  • Companies manufacturing or selling products made with palm oil and its derivatives need to investigate their suppliers and only source palm oil from responsible growers, ensuring their supply chain is traceable, and communicating honestly with their customers about their progress on their journey to using solely sustainable palm oil.
  • We expect the RSPO and its members to adhere to the criteria and take action when there is evidence of non-compliance.
  • Consumers can support retailers and manufacturers which are committed to removing deforestation from their products, join social media campaigns to drive the industry in the right direction, and support conservation organizations who are working to break the link between palm oil and deforestation.

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There is no denying that the rapid expansion of the palm oil industry over the last 30 years has had a catastrophic environmental and social impact across Southeast Asia, South America and Africa. Consumers all over the world have been horrified to learn about the destructive practices rife within the industry, and the orangutan has become an emblem for the clash between development and conservation.

Boycotting palm oil is a legitimate expression of consumers’ social and environmental concerns, but the question we urge individuals and businesses to ask themselves is:

Will this action help wildlife, forests and communities?

The problem with a blanket boycott is that it punishes indiscriminately. It removes the market for palm oil from those companies which are making genuine efforts and progress towards sustainability, as well as those which aren’t. And if we remove the market for sustainable palm oil, we also remove the incentive for companies to abide by the better management practices which reduce the footprint of the industry – in terms of impacts on wildlife, forests, climate and human rights.

A blanket boycott of palm oil could lead to the following unintentional consequences:

More deforestation, not less

If the international market for palm oil disappears, palm oil companies and smallholder farmers alike could switch to producing an alternative crop. Oil palms are the most productive oil crop in the world, producing around 35% of global vegetable oil supplies on less than 10% of the total land under oil crops . A switch to another type of edible vegetable oil (such as soybean oil) would require up to nine times as much land to produce the same yield. This will increase natural habitat loss, species loss and other impacts.

Increasing demand

A blanket boycott of palm oil could drive the price of palm oil down. This could increase demand, especially in markets which have less interest in sustainability. This reduces the incentive to produce environmentally sustainable palm oil.

All agriculture has an impact: bananas, beef, cane sugar, chocolate, coconuts, coffee, pineapples, soybeans, tea and vanilla are all produced in previously forested tropical areas.

With over 4.5 million people in Indonesia alone relying on the palm oil industry as their primary source of income, palm oil is here to stay. What we need to do is ensure that it is cultivated in the least damaging way possible. Oil palms do not need to be grown at the expense of forests and other sensitive natural habitats. Instead we need to break the link between development and the degradation of natural ecosystems.

The conservation organisations committed to driving the palm oil industry in the right direction, and support a move to sustainable palm oil and not a blanket boycott are:

Sumatran Orangutan Society
San Diego Zoo Global
Orana Wildlife Park
Great Plains Zoo
Orangutan Land Trust
Conservation Medicine
Detroit Zoological Society
Zoo Knoxville
Chester Zoo
Houston Zoo
Lubee Bat Conservancy
Santa Barbara Zoo
WWF
Copenhagen Zoo
Perth Zoo
Verify Humanity
Conservation International
The Living Rainforest
Oregon Zoo
Audubon Nature Institute
World Land Trust
Beauval Nature
Wildlife Conservation Network
Zoo New England
Jane Goodall Institute Australia
Naples Zoo
Jenkinson’s Aquarium
WildCats Conservation Alliance
Borneo Futures
Zoos Victoria
Oklahoma City Zoo
Borneo Rhino Alliance
Yayasan Orangutan Sumatera Lestari
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Zoos South Australia
Save the Orangutan
Global Canopy
Woodland Park Zoo
Columbus Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo
Hutan KOCP
British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Orangutan Republik Foundation
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Borneo Nature Foundation
Wild Planet Trust
Seratu Aatai
Crocodiles of the World
Earthworm Foundation
Wildlife Reserves Singapore
Borneo Child Aid
Indianapolis Zoo
Zoological Society of London
Dartmoor Zoological Society
PM Haze Toronto Zoo
Solidaridad
Taronga Conservation Society Australia
Tulsa Zoo
Paradise Wildlife Park/Zoological Society of Hertfordshire
Orangutan Outreach
Wellington Zoo
Kansas City Zoo
The Big Cat Sanctuary
Global Environment Centre
Auckland Zoo
Little Rock Zoo
Aidenvironment Asia
Orangutan Veterinary Aid
National Marine Aquarium
Blank Park Zoo
Chicago Zoological Society / Brookfield Zoo
Orangutan Conservancy
The Deep
Staten Island Zoo
Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park
Danau Girang Field Centre
Bristol Zoological Society
Wild Welfare
Amici della Terra Onlus
Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre
National Wildlife Federation
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
International Elephant Foundation
Borneo Wildlife Preservation
Forever Sabah
Fondation Ensemble
Save Orangutans Now
Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP)
Saint Louis Zoo
Twycross Zoo
Marwell Wildlife
Ocean Conservation Trust
Save the Rhino International
Yorkshire Wildlife Park
Malaysian Primatological Society