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Sustainable Palm Oil Manifesto

Type 
Supply chain sustainability initiative, Voluntary commitment
Stakeholders involved 
Private sector
Commodity focus 
Palm oil

50 Other powerbrokers

All other powerbrokers should use their unique positions to enable and promote a rapid transition to a zero deforestation economy.

Profile 

The Sustainable Palm Oil Manifesto (SPOM) is an initiative of five palm oil producers, which together produce around nine percent (9%) of the world’s palm oil: Sime Darby, Kuala Lumpour Kepong Berhad, IOI Corporation Berhad, Musim Mas and Asian Agri. Other signatories include global palm oil trader Cargill and Apical. The initiative, announced in July 2014, does not currently have the support or participation of NGOs and has been heavily criticized for trying to weaken the existing threshold for no-deforestation. SPOM claims to go beyond the sustainability standards established by the RSPO but rather than stopping forest clearance, reportedly will allow for continued deforestation during the time in which members of the Manifesto study tools to determine what forests to develop or protect under the high carbon stock (HCS) approach Institutional investors representing over half a trillion dollars in assets under management have called on the group to adopt an immediate moratorium on deforestation and to support the industry in establishing traceable, deforestation-free palm oil supply chains. Greenpeace has also criticized the SPOM commitments because they do not cover all traded oil, or minority shareholdings. Following this pressure, SPOM members announced in September 2014 an immediate moratorium on the clearance of high carbon stock (HCS) forests, whilst they carry out a year-long study that aims to establish a threshold for defining what constitutes HCS forests.

Disclaimer

This assessment has been carried out following the methodology developed for the Forest 500 project, available here. Please see our disclaimer applicable to all information contained within this site and our citation guidance for advice on how to cite data presented here or elsewhere on this site.

Please contact us with any concerns or feedback about this or other assessments included in the Forest 500.

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  • About
    • How do we identify the 500?
    • How do we rank the 500?
    • Supporters
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Rankings
    • Companies
    • Financial institutions
    • Jurisdictions
    • Other powerbrokers
  • Progress
    • Company Trends
    • Financial Institution Trends
    • Jurisdiction Trends
  • Blog
  • Reports