Risky business: Uptake and implementation of sustainability standards and certification schemes in the Indonesian palm oil sector

The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights aims to address gaps in human rights governance by setting a standard and corporate culture of respecting human rights. In Malaysia, despite growing requirements for sustainable production, the palm oil sector has been implicated in various corporate human rights violations. This article discusses how do three public listed companies in the palm oil sector in Malaysia perform their obligation to respect human rights? This article argues that while large palm oil companies have shown modest progress in realizing their human rights obligation – the lack of regulatory framework, resources, direct market pressure and membership to sustainability standards continue to serve as critical challenges in compensating the gaps in human rights governance.

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Sustainable Production Policy Impact on Palm Oil Firms’ Performance: Empirical Analysis from Indonesia

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12208750 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (20) ◽

pp. 8750

Author(s):

Noxolo Kunene ◽

Yessica C.Y. Chung

Keyword(s):

Palm Oil ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Sustainable Production ◽

Difference In Differences ◽

Production Policy ◽

Negative Effect ◽

Oil Sector ◽

The Government ◽

Sustainability Standards ◽

The Impact

Sustainable production is a key element of sustainable development. The concept was first introduced in the United Nations Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and has become an important item on the management of industries. In conjunction, the government of Indonesia introduced the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) policy in 2011 to adhere to international sustainability standards of Sustainable Palm Oil and of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). This study investigates the impact of ISPO policy on palm oil firms’ performance. Using a sample of 409 palm oil firms of the Indonesian palm oil sector for the years 2010 and 2015, we employed a regression discontinuity (RD) with a difference-in-differences approach to explore the effect of the policy on firms’ performance. The RD results show that the introduction of the policy significantly reduced large firms’ profit by IDR 75m (equivalent to USD 5250); the negative effect of the policy increased with firm size. Furthermore, there was a significant reduction in performance for firms that promptly purchased land before the policy’s ban on land expansion. These findings suggest that a punitive sustainable production policy does not sustain the palm oil sector. Nevertheless, large companies that complied with international sustainability measures ahead of the introduction of the domestic policy benefited.

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The global palm oil sector must change to save biodiversity and improve food security in the tropics

Journal of Environmental Management ◽

10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.08.021 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 203 ◽

pp. 457-466 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Badrul Azhar ◽

Norzanalia Saadun ◽

Margi Prideaux ◽

David B. Lindenmayer

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Palm Oil ◽

Oil Sector ◽

The Tropics ◽

Improve Food Security

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The non-industrial palm oil sector in Cameroon

10.17528/cifor/004859 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Nkongho R.N. ◽

Feintrenie L. ◽

Levang P.

Keyword(s):

Palm Oil ◽

Oil Sector

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The Unavoidable Palm Oil Can Be Sustainable

International Journal of Oil Palm ◽

10.35876/ijop.v3i2.50 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 29-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

GH YUE ◽

Baoqing Ye ◽

Antonius A Suwanto

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Palm Oil ◽

Oil Palm ◽

Oil Sector ◽

On Farm

The oil palm is the most productive oil-producing crop. To yield the same volume of oil that is from one hectare of palm, eight hectares of soybean are needed. Palm oil is used an ingredient in over 50% of packaged supermarket products and also as biofuels. The palm oil sector provides over 4.5 million jobs for on-farm laborers in developing countries. However, palm oil is often blamed for deforestation and loss of biodiversity. We argue that palm oil sustainability is not only about the environment and biodiversity but also about people and their prosperity. Palm oil sustainability can be achieved with joint efforts from palm oil players including the smallholders, plantation companies, governments, certification agencies, consumers and researchers.

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Towards responsible and inclusive financing of the palm oil sector

10.17528/cifor/006601 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Kusumaningtyas R. ◽

van Gelder J.W.

Keyword(s):

Palm Oil ◽

Oil Sector

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Harmonizing a Thriving World Palm Oil İndustry and Economy through Genuine Collaboration between Producers – Malaysia, Indonesia, and West Africa, and Consumers – India and China

GATR Global Journal of Business Social Sciences Review - GATR Global Journal of Business and Social Science Review (GJBSSR) Vol.7(1) Jan-Mar 2019 ◽

10.35609/gjbssr.2013.1.1(2) ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 11-16

Author(s):

Osayimwense Osa ◽

Kausar Saida

Keyword(s):

West Africa ◽

Palm Oil ◽

Emerging Economies ◽

Oil Industry ◽

The State ◽

High Demand ◽

Paper Review ◽

Oil Sector ◽

The One ◽

India And China

Objective This article probes the state of Africa's palm oil industry and economy today. Methodology/Technique Today, Malaysia, Indonesia, and West Africa are the world's major producers of palm oil; and India and China, the world's most densely populated countries, are the major consumers. However, why is it that West Africa that is naturally endowed with palm oil is the one that lags behind others in the global production of palm oil? Should this kind of natural endowment and the presence of the major world producers and the biggest consumers of palm oil not spell colossal success for global palm oil industry and economy? Findings Without an adequate demand for a commodity, supply will be limited, thus resulting in a downward supply curve. On the other hand, if there is a high demand for a commodity like palm oil, then it will be produced in abundance. Novelty Where and why it has fallen short, and what does need to be done via-a-vis the state of Malaysia's and Indonesia's palm oil sector and the presence of emerging economies like China and India against the backdrop of globalization. Type of Paper: Review Keywords: Palm oil; economy; consumption, globalization

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