PepsiCo, Walmart, investors call for stronger palm oil standard
Forest cleared for an oil palm plantation in Sarawak, Malaysia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Major global brands and a network of activist investors have joined together to call on…
South African Airways bans all wildlife trophies from flights
Wildlife trophy room. Photo by: Fabio Venni/Creative Commons 2.0. Trophy hunters may need to find another flight home, as South African Airlines (SAA) has announced a new ban on any…
Indonesian forestry giant calls for stronger forest moratorium
Peat forest canopy in Riau, Indonesia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), an Indonesian forestry giant that was once one of the biggest targets for environmentalists…
Archer Daniels Midland to demand suppliers stop chopping down forests
While deforestation for soy production in the Brazilian Amazon has slowed since the establishment of a deforestation moratorium in 2006, clearing for soy has increased sharply in recent years in…
Forestry giant’s zero deforestation commitment put to test
First of its kind audit of world's largest pulp and paper producer yields mixed results Arara Abadi acacia plantation near Pekanbaru, Riau, Sumatra. All photos by Rhett A. Butler. An…
Brazil’s soy moratorium dramatically reduced Amazon deforestation
Deforestation for soy in the Brazilian Amazon and cerrado. Data from Gibbs et al 2015, photo by Rhett A. Butler. Click image to enlarge. The moratorium on forest conversion established…
A landmark year for forests (commentary)
About one year ago today, I was pretty down. It was Thanksgiving night, and the Forest Heroes campaign, which I chair, had been running a big global campaign to persuade…
Fashion industry making progress in cutting deforestation from clothing
Pulp and paper plantation in Sumatra. Photo by Rhett Butler. Several more clothing companies have committed to eliminate fiber produced via destruction of endangered forests, adding momentum to a zero…
Despite high deforestation, Indonesia making progress on forests, says Norwegian official
Norwegian ambassador to Indonesia Stig Traavik commutes to the office by bike every day. Jakarta's poor air quality pushes many residents to wear face masks on a daily basis. Despite…
Cargill commits to zero deforestation across entire global supply chain: all commodities
Destruction of rainforest in Malaysia for palm oil production. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Cargill, one of the world's largest agricultural companies, has extended its zero deforestation commitment for palm…
Krispy Kreme, Dunkin’ Donuts to cut palm oil linked to deforestation
Fire burning on an oil palm plantation in Malaysia Two of the world's largest doughnut brands this week committed to sourcing safeguards that move them toward eliminating deforestation from their…
Plantation companies agree to process to define zero deforestation commitments
Deforestation for oil palm in Sumatra A group of palm oil and timber companies that have pledged to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains have agreed to establish a standard…
Scientists name new endangered species after the company that will decide its fate
Aerial view of cement quarry and limestone hill home to a number of species found nowhere else including a new snail. Photo by: Ong Poh Teck/Basteria. Scientists have discovered a…
ConAgra adopts greener palm oil policy
Forest conversion for an oil palm plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia. Photos by Rhett Butler. U.S. food giant ConAgra has adopted a new sourcing policy that will exclude palm oil produced…
Cargill to cut off suppliers who don’t provide deforestation-free palm oil
Most palm oil is produced from a species of African palm that is now grown widely across Southeast Asia. The crop's high productivity makes it the most profitable form of…
New palm oil sustainability manifesto met with criticism from environmentalists
Oil palm fresh fruit bunches in Aceh, Indonesia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. This week several palm oil giants — Sime Darby Plantation, Musim Mas Group, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad…
APP won’t acquire companies that continue to destroy forests
APP supplier concession in Riau Province Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) will not acquire companies that continue to destroy forests, according to a new procedure for association introduced by the…
APP: Indonesia needs a new business model
Aida Greenbury, Asia Pulp & Paper's Managing Director Sustainability, says Indonesia needs to work toward a model that encourages forest protection. An APP acacia timber plantation in Riau. In response…
Greenpeace rates companies’ zero deforestation commitments
Greenpeace has released a basic rating system to gauge the strength of companies' zero deforestation commitments related to palm oil sourcing. The rating system, dubbed the Tiger Challenge, incorporates five…
Singapore: companies must accept responsibility in addressing haze crisis
Thick smog blankets Singapore's skyline on 06/18/2013 when the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI), Singapore's main index for air pollution, hit record levels. © Ferina Natasya / Greenpeace. Corporations will have…
Oxfam: Despite zero deforestation pledges, big food companies remain weak on climate commitments
Oxfam notes that the combined emissions from the Big 10 are greater than those from Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway) and would rank as "the 25th most polluting…
Zero-deforestation commitments pose acute challenges for commercial giants in the palm oil industry
Nothing can ruin the intensely enjoyable experience of digging into a spoonful of the delectable hazelnut spread, Nutella, than turning over the can to examine its ingredient list. Right there,…
Ag giant ADM boosts greener palm oil
Oil palm plantation in Riau on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Photos by Rhett Butler. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) will join a growing list of companies committing to stricter standards…
APP commits to conserve, restore 1M ha of Indonesian forest; WWF pledges support
An area of rainforest APP has pledged to protect in Riau Province, on the island of Sumatra. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), Indonesia's largest pulp…
Cargill commits to zero deforestation, but environmentalists have questions
Oil palm fruit. All photos by Rhett Butler. After years of criticism from environmental groups, Cargill says it will establish policies to eliminate deforestation, peatlands conversion, and social conflict from…
Procter & Gamble, Cargill pledge to cut deforestation linked to palm oil
Deforestation for oil palm in Riau, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Photo by Rhett Butler. Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Cargill today announced new measures to cut deforestation from…
Grocery giant commits to zero-deforestation policy for palm oil sourcing
Chopping down rainforests and orangutan habitat for palm oil production in Malaysia Safeway has become the latest company to establish a policy that excludes deforestation-linked palm oil from its products.…
General Mills, Colgate-Palmolive announce deforestation-free policies for palm oil sourcing
Environmentalists say greener palm oil is better for orangutans, whose habitat in Malaysia and Indonesia is being rapidly destroyed for oil palm plantation. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Two consumer…
Indian food giant to source deforestation-free palm oil
Rainforest destruction for palm oil production in Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Orkla, a Nordic conglomerate that owns MTR Foods, one of India's major food companies, has established a…
Will zero deforestation commitments save Indonesia’s forests?
This is an expanded version of A New Leaf in the Rainforest: Longtime Villain Vows Reform, which ran on Yale e360 last week. This story was originally developed in January…