Agribusiness giant Bunge has joined the growing ranks of companies that have established zero deforestation policies for their palm oil supply chains, reports mongabay.com.
On (27 October), Bunge said it will bar palm oil produced at the expense of peatlands, rainforests, and local communities. However the company didn’t provide a timeline for implementation.
“We are currently in the process of developing an implementation plan in collaboration with suppliers and expect to release it in the coming months,” a Bunge spokesperson told mongabay.com.
Environmentalists nonetheless welcomed the move as a step toward improved sustainability of the palm oil sector.
“Bunge is joining the second green revolution that is breaking the link between agriculture and deforestation,” said Glenn Hurowitz, chairman of the Forest Heroes campaign which has been pushing palm oil producers, buyers, and traders — including Bunge — to adopt zero deforestation policies.
- Sign up for Aliran's free daily email updates or weekly newsletters or both
- Make a one-off donation to Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara, CIMB a/c 8004240948
- Make a pledge or schedule an auto donation to Aliran every month or every quarter
- Become an Aliran member
“Bunge’s announcement sends a clear message to rogue actors in the palm oil industry that you can’t escape the push for forest and peat conservation. Customers want products made in an environmentally responsible way, period.”
Lucia von Reusner, Shareholder Advocate for Green Century Capital Management, a firm that offers green mutual funds and pressures companies to adopt forest-friendly safeguards, agreed.
“Companies and their investors increasingly recognise that destroying rainforests and driving climate change is unacceptable business practice,” she said in a statement. “Bunge’s new palm oil policy sends a strong signal that markets are rapidly shifting away from unsustainable deforestation.”
Lael Goodman, an analyst with Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group that is also campaigning for greener palm oil, added that Bunge’s commitment is significant because a disproportionate (amount) of the palm oil it sources is from recently cleared peatlands in Malaysian Borneo.
“Our hope is that Bunge’s leadership will have real implications limiting palm oil plantation expansion onto peatlands in Malaysia,” said Goodman in a statement.
The Malaysian palm oil industry has been particularly slow in committing to zero deforestation. Industry officials have in fact criticised such policies and companies that sign them.
Bunge’s move follows in the footsteps of other agribusiness goliaths Wilmar and Cargill, whose policies apply across all their commodity supply chains.
Von Reusner’s urged Bunge to also extend its commitment to its other businesses. “We also urge Bunge to extend this commitment across all of its commodities, since the risks associated with deforestation are not unique to palm oil alone.”
Commodity production for export and trade is the biggest driver of tropical deforestation. Accordingly, green groups have increasingly targeted the world’s most influential companies, asking them to adopt policies that bar forest conversion.
Source: mongabay.com
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
Just like the present administrators at Putrajaya, their need for wealth is of utmost important therefore you may call or shout from anywhere and on any ground, they will never be heard. That is the reason why after years of repeated calls after calls nothing is ever done to impede the deforestation. The same thing at the same time years after years the burning keeps going . the only way to go about the situation is to have the present regime replaced and you will only then begin to see improvements.