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Palm Oil Detectives Oct 10, 2021

Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying

Telling outright lies over and over again to consumers until they are believed as truth

Greenwashing by Lying

Blatant lies that appear in advertising or on social media. The lie could be falsifying support from respected authorities or individuals on environmental issues. Or the lie could be research with ambiguous results being made to sound positive. Sometimes, it is a clear and obvious lie.

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#Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying: Telling outright lies to #consumers until they are believed as truth. #palmoil lobbyists and global food companies lie about ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing

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Greenwashing: Endangered species

Reality: Endangered species

Greenwashing: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers

Reality: Human rights, land-grabbing and livelihoods for workers

An open letter from Friends of the Earth and 100 Human Rights NGOs

Greenwashing: Deforestation and fire

Greenwashing: Lies and denialism in the media

Reality: Deforestation and fire

Explore the Series

Further reading: greenwashing and deceptive marketing

Say thanks for this guide by donating to my Ko-Fi

Greenwashing:

RSPO certification protects endangered species living in tropical rainforests

RSPO marketing materials make grand claims that are not supported by any evidence at all.

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1660543540378697729?s=20

The team from Chester Zoo encourage children to save endangered species by buying sustainable palm oil.

Lyrics: ‘We have a choice – and it’s sustainable palm oil’

https://youtu.be/1jHNiRJ9OgI

Michelle Desilets, Manager of Orangutan Land Trust explains in this video that ‘deforestation is prohibited by the RSPO’.

What she does not mention is that none of the RSPO’s members have actually stopped deforestation in the 17 years since it began.

https://youtu.be/cJLP0SzoUdY

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1200683887497756672?s=20

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/894844642327502848?s=20

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1281240693285875712?s=20

https://twitter.com/griffjane/status/1301407429373165568?s=20

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1305809870281732096?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1246908272931753988?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1002860521215942656?s=20

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1414519913457270794?s=20

https://youtu.be/HkcZrJiudRc

Reality: “Sustainable” Palm Oil does not stop biodiversity loss

“In the plantation, the calls of birds and beasts are replaced by a deathly silence, which is particularly eerie in the glaring heat of the midday sun. Sounds of life are replaced by sounds of death—roaring bull-dozers, gnawing chainsaws, the crackle of illegal burning, and the rumble of overloaded trucks carrying oil palm fruit and timber.”.

~ Dr Sophie Chao. In the Shadow of the Palms, pp. 45.

Currently certified grower supply bases and concessions in Sumatra and Borneo are located in large mammal’s habitat and in areas that were biodiverse tropical forests less than 30 years ago. We suggest that certification schemes claim for the “sustainable” production of palm oil just because they neglect a very recent past of deforestation and habitat degradation.

Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Alena Velichevskaya, Certified “sustainable” palm oil took the place of endangered Bornean and Sumatran large mammals habitat and tropical forests in the last 30 years, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 742, 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140712.

Oil palm plantations support much fewer species than do forests and often also fewer than other tree crops. Further negative impacts include habitat fragmentation and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.

Emily B. Fitzherbert, Matthew J. Struebig, Alexandra Morel, Finn Danielsen, Carsten A. Brühl, Paul F. Donald, Ben Phalan, How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?,
Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol 23, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012.

We found that certified plantation concessions that are committed to deforestation-free production are limited in their ability to prevent further biodiversity loss, due to the past conversion of forest habitats to plantations. Concession holders can improve forest habitats through corridor development and other measures, which would mitigate, but not prevent, further biodiversity loss.

Hideyuki Kubo, Arief Darmawan, Hendarto, André Derek Mader,
The effect of agricultural certification schemes on biodiversity loss in the tropics,
Biological Conservation, Volume 261, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109243.

We uncover the global patterns of oil palm expansion and find that global oil palm expansion has a very high degree of potential conflict with local biodiversity. Globally, 99.9% of oil palm plantations overlapped with Conservation Priority Zones (CPZs) and oil palm plantations encroached on 231 protected areas.

Le Yu, Yue Cao, Yuqi Cheng, Qiang Zhao, Yidi Xu, Kasturi Kanniah, Hui Lu, Rui Yang & Peng Gong (2022) A study of the serious conflicts between oil palm expansion and biodiversity conservation using high-resolution remote sensing, Remote Sensing Letters, DOI: 10.1080/2150704X.2022.2063701

https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

We found a high overlap between areas of high oil palm suitability and areas of high conservation priority for primates. Overall, we found only a few small areas where oil palm could be cultivated in Africa with a low impact on primates (3.3 Mha, including all areas suitable for oil palm). These results warn that, consistent with the dramatic effects of palm oil cultivation on biodiversity in Southeast Asia, reconciling a large-scale development of oil palm in Africa with primate conservation will be a great challenge.

Small room for compromise between oil palm cultivation and primate conservation in Africa
Giovanni Strona, Simon D. Stringer, Ghislain Vieilledent, et. al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018), 115 (35) 8811-8816; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1804775115

As of 2019, more than 60% of the palm oil plantations in the study area were in Key Biodiversity Areas. KBAs are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. RSPO-certified plantations, comprising 63% of the total cultivated area assessed, did not produce a statistically significant reduction in deforestation and appear to be ineffective at reducing encroachment into ecologically sensitive areas in Guatemala.

Calli P. VanderWilde, Joshua P. Newell, Dimitrios Gounaridis, Benjamin P. Goldstein,
Deforestation, certification, and transnational palm oil supply chains: Linking Guatemala to global consumer markets, Journal of Environmental Management,
Volume 344, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118505

There was no significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032, 2018.

“The big message is that oil palm is bad for biodiversity, in every sense of the word — even when compared to damaged rainforests that are regenerating after earlier logging or clearing.”

Professor Bill Laurance, James Cook University. ‘Palm oil plantations are bad for wildlife great and small’. The Conversation.

We analyse consequences of the globally important land-use transformation from tropical forests to oil palm plantations. Species diversity, density and biomass of invertebrate communities suffer at least 45% decreases from rainforest to oil palm.

Barnes, A., Jochum, M., Mumme, S. et al. Consequences of tropical land use for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Nat Commun 5, 5351 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6351

Palm oil also poses a global risk for zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19

Taking into account the human population growth, we find that the increases in outbreaks of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases from 1990 to 2016 are linked with deforestation, mostly in tropical countries, and with reforestation, mostly in temperate countries. We also find that outbreaks of vector-borne diseases are associated with the increase in areas of palm oil plantations.

Outbreaks of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases Are Associated With Changes in Forest Cover and Oil Palm Expansion at Global Scale
(2021) Morand Serge, Lajaunie Claire, Frontiers in Veterinary Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2021.661063
DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.661063

Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

Fire started within orangutan habitats and destroyed them – this was not investigated by the RSPO

The team used map data from @globalforests and @UMBaltimore, #sentinel2 images from @esa, concession boundaries from @RSPOtweets and #fire hotspot data (#VIIRS) from @NASAEarth.

Originally tweeted by Adina Renner (@adinarenner) on May 10, 2021.

Asia: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Africa: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Papua New Guinea & West Papua: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

South America: Species Endangered by Palm Oil Deforestation

Greenwashing

‘Europeans have destroyed their forests for agriculture, so why can’t we do the same in the tropics? Stopping our economic development is hypocrisy and colonialism’

‘Sustainable palm oil helps the livelihood of workers on RSPO certified palm oil plantations.‘

Research analysing media and social media messages around palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia finds that palm oil lobbyists use an ‘Us’ Versus ‘Them’ narrative, in other words, they invoke colonial racism to justify continued deforestation and ecocide.

Four mutually complementary narratives were used by Indonesian and Malaysian media to construe denialism These denialist narratives appeal to a nationalist sentiment of ‘us’ – palm oil-producing developing countries – and ‘them’ – western developed countries producing research critical of the industry.

Liu, Felicia & Ganesan, Vignaa & Smith, Thomas. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy. 114. 162-169. 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.07.004.

We had the luck to be born into a developed country, I believe we need to acknowledge the right of lesser-developed countries to develop. We simply have no right to tell a country like Indonesia to forgo economic development, but we can help to steer that development in a sustainable direction.

Michelle Desilets, Director, Orangutan Land Trust. The Switch Report, 2014

RSPO advertisement from social media, with a focus on promoting better workers rights under certified palm oil. An RSPO advertisement targeting the Indian market in 2021 by the RSPO showing supposed benefits for palm oil workers.

https://youtu.be/2ugIE0UJYc4

Social media messaging by palm oil lobbyists reflects a focus on ‘Us’: poor, palm oil producing nations, versus ‘Them’: the ‘greedy, already developed West.

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1295253527191642113?s=20

https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1420662530863550464?s=20

https://twitter.com/palm_eu/status/1440943483410386945?s=20

https://twitter.com/emeijaard/status/1191961097294757889?s=20

https://twitter.com/palmoilmonitor/status/1445795527560515587?s=20

https://twitter.com/CIFOR/status/1016759321701552133?s=20

Reality: Human rights abuses and landgrabbing are ongoing for “sustainable” palm oil

University of Michigan 2023 study: RSPO plantations do not reduce deforestation in Guatemala

A 2021 Investigation by Global Witness found that palm oil companies in Papua New Guinea are alleged to have been involved in corruption, child labour, tax evasion, deforestation, worker deaths and paying police to assault villagers.

The palm oil from these mills in Papua New Guinea is used by RSPO members Colgate-Palmolive, Kelloggs, General Mills, Nestle, Hersheys, Danone, PZ Cussons – finds its way into our weekly supermarket shop.

Read report

https://twitter.com/earthsight/status/1192827396451438592?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

https://twitter.com/Rainforest_RIN/status/1541428640491212801?s=20&t=rnSAWHikl-a8C6GAd9n09g

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry finds extensive greenwashing of human rights abuses

Certified goods improve the price and income of sale for certified goods, but they do not advance equity, income or assets for workers

We identified 64 conflicts that involved RSPO member companies, of which 17 prompted communities to convey their grievances to the RSPO’s conflict resolution mechanism…We conclude that—on all counts—the conflict resolution mechanism is biased in favor of companies. The result of these biases is that the actual capacity of the RSPO’s mechanism to provide a meaningful remedy for rural communities’ grievances remains very limited. This unequal access to justice sustains conflicts between companies and communities over land.

Afrizal, A., Hospes, O., Berenschot, W. et al. Unequal access to justice: an evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agric Hum Values 40, 291–304 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z

We find positive effects on prices and income from sale of certified products. However, we find no change in overall household income and assets for workers. The wages for workers are not higher in certified production.

Oya, C., Schaefer, F. & Skalidou, D. The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: a systematic review. World Dev. 112, 282–312 (2018).

We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.

Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

Oil palm expansion is shaped by wider political economies and development policies.

Market-based development policies have favored large-scale over smallholder production.

Benefits from oil palm are unevenly distributed across rural population.

Violence across forest frontiers has fueled conflicts linked to oil palm.

Weak forest governance has led to significant deforestation by industrial plantations.

A. Castellanos-Navarrete, F. de Castro, P. Pacheco,
The impact of oil palm on rural livelihoods and tropical forest landscapes in Latin America, Journal of Rural Studies,
Volume 81, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.047.

Deforestation by fire for palm oilDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography After a forest fire in Sumatra – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography Research: Palm Oil Deforestation and its connection to retail brands

This article argues that the form of sustainability offered by certification schemes such as the RSPO fetishes the commodity palm oil in order to assuage critical consumer initiatives in the North. This technical-managerial solution is part of a larger project: the “post-political” climate politics regime (Swyngedouw) that attempts to “green” the status quo.

Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

The palm oil industry is neither sustainable nor a viable development model.
Certification represents a technical fix which neglects underlying dynamics of power, class, gender and accumulation.
The fetishised commodity ‘certified sustainable palm oil’ has no impact on the regional scale of expansion.
Working conditions in the plantations and mills entrench social inequality and poverty.

From: Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019) World Development
Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228

Deforestation in West PapuaDeforestation – Craig Jones Wildlife Photography

Deforestation for palm oil: the impact of increased heat on human health

477 villages throughout Kalimantan were surveyed about forest health benefits.

The most frequent answer was maintenance of cool local temperatures.

Perceptions were driven by deforestation and local temperature.

Results point to possible threat of heat impacts on health.

Policy should incorporate human health when considering land use.

Nicholas H. Wolff, Yuta J. Masuda, Erik Meijaard, Jessie A. Wells, Edward T. Game,
Impacts of tropical deforestation on local temperature and human well-being perceptions, Global Environmental Change, Volume 52, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.004.

The False Promise of Certification, Changing Markets (2018)

“While RSPO is often referred to as the best scheme in the sector, it
has several shortcomings; most notably, it allows the conversion of secondary forests and the draining
of peatlands, it has not prevented human rights violations and it does not require GHG emissions
reductions.

“In light of this, we call for action to reduce demand for palm oil, such as
ditching biofuels targets, as well as channelling new plantations into non-forested areas by putting in
place a strong moratorium on palm oil expansion to forests and peatlands. Most schemes in this sector
should be abolished in light of their failures on multiple fronts.”

— The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets

The False Promise of Certification (2018) Changing Markets Download report

MSI’s (Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives including the RSPO and Rainforest Alliance) are inadequate in detecting human rights abuses and uphold standards

“MSIs put considerable emphasis on the standards that they set, but have not developed effective mechanisms for detecting abuses, enforcing compliance with those standards, or transparently disclosing levels of compliance. Despite the emergence of models that enable rights holders to legally enforce MSIs’ standards or to be actively engaged in monitoring companies for abuses, MSIs have not adopted them. By focusing on setting standards without adequately ensuring if members are following those standards, MSIs risk providing companies and governments with powerful reputational benefits despite the persistence of rights abuses.”

~ MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020)

MSI Insight Report on Monitoring and Compliance in Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) like the RSPO (2020) Download report

The difficulty of addressing and resolving oil palm conflicts is due not only to the inadequacies of Indonesia’s legal framework regarding land and plantations but also to the way in which Indonesia’s informalized state institutions foster collusion between local power holders and palm oil companies. This collusion enables companies to evade regulation, suppress community protests and avoid engaging in constructive efforts to resolve conflicts. Furthermore, this collusion has made the available conflict resolution mechanisms largely ineffective.

Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002

Associated Press 2020 Report: Beauty Brands (RSPO members) L’Oreal, Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson& Johnson, Unilever linked to rape on palm oil plantations

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1330163571951611906?s=20

https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1329701899180924928?s=20

Associated Press Investigation (2020) finds wide-spread rape, human rights abuses and slavery on palm oil plantations for well known brands: Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Avon, Colgate Palmolive Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words

“The expansion of oil palm plantations has created many detrimental environmental impacts, including deforestation, loss of biodiversity, land conflicts, labour conflicts, and social conflicts around plantations.

“Environmental damage and social injustice were reasons why the global palm oil certification, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established.

“In practice, requirements for oil palm certifications are easily violated. Lots of things are problematic.”

— Dr Setia Budhi, Dayak Ethnographer, In His Own Words.

Global corporates are responsible for the majority of palm oil production and deforestation risk, not smallholder farmers

The three biggest palm oil traders: Sinar Mas, Wilmar and Musim Mas – are founding members of the RSPO. They have the biggest deforestation risk of all other palm oil companies combined. Deforestation goes against the RSPO’s rules – yet these big companies do not lose their RSPO membership or face punishment.

Source: Insights: Indonesian Palm Oil. Trase Earth (2018)

Search the Environmental Justice Atlas for specific companies and their human rights abuses and land-grabbing record

Search here

RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector

Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018

Read original letter

Letter

During its 14 years of existence, RSPO – the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – has failed to live up to its claim of “transforming” the industrial palm oil production sector into a so-called “sustainable” one. In reality, the RSPO has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash corporate destruction and human rights abuses, while it continues to expand business, forest destruction and profits.

RSPO presents itself to the public with the slogan “transforming the markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm”. Palm oil has become the cheapest vegetable oil available on the global market, making it a popular choice among the group that dominates RSPO membership, big palm oil buyers.

They will do everything to secure a steady flow of cheap palm oil. They also know that the key to the corporate success story of producing “cheap” palm oil is a particular model of industrial production, with ever-increasing efficiency and productivity which in turn is achieved by:

Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests

Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.

Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum

Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.

Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.

Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.

Violence is intrinsic to this model:

violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.

exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.

RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.

The RSPO also fails to address the industry’s reliance on exclusive control of large and contingent areas of fertile land, as well as the industry’s growth paradigm which demands a continued expansion of corporate control over community land and violent land grabs.

None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.

Industrial use of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 15 years, with palm oil being the cheapest. This massive increase of palm oil use in part explains the current expansion of industrial oil palm plantations, especially in Africa and Latin America, from the year 2000 onward, in addition to the existing vast plantations areas in Malaysia and Indonesia that also continue expanding.

On the ground, countless examples show that industrial oil palm plantations continue to be synonymous to violence and destruction for communities and forests. Communities’ experiences in the new industrial oil palm plantation frontiers, such as Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, are similar to past and ongoing community experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia.

RSPO creates a smokescreen that makes this violence invisible for consumers and financiers. Governments often fail to take regulatory action to stop the expansion of plantations and increasing demand of palm oil; they rely on RSPO to deliver an apparently sustainable flow of palm oil.

For example, in its public propaganda, RSPO claims it supports more than 100,000 small holders. But the profit from palm oil production is still disproportionally appropriated by the oil palm companies: in 2016, 88% of all certified palm oil came from corporate plantations and 99,6% of the production is corporate-controlled.

RSPO also claims that the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is key among its own Principles and Criteria. The right to FPIC implies, among others, that if a community denies the establishment of this monoculture in its territory, operations cannot be carried out. Reality shows us, however, that despite this, many projects go ahead.

Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.

RSPO also argues that where conflicts with the plantation companies arise, communities can always use its complaint mechanism. However, the mechanism is complex and it rarely solves the problems that communities face and want to resolve.

This becomes particularly apparent in relation to land legacy conflicts where the mechanism is biased against communities. It allows companies to continue exploiting community land until courts have come to a decision. This approach encourages companies to sit out such conflicts and count on court proceedings dragging on, often over decades.

Another argument used by RSPO is that industrial oil palm plantations have lifted millions of people out of poverty. That claim is certainly questionable, even more so considering that there is also an important number of people who have been displaced over the past decades to make space for plantations.

Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.

The RSPO promise of “transformation” has turned into a powerful greenwashing tool for corporations in the palm oil industry. RSPO grants this industry, which remains responsible for violent land grabbing, environmental destruction, pollution through excessive use of agrotoxics and destruction of peasant and indigenous livelihoods, a “sustainable” image.

What’s more, RSPO membership seems to suffice for investors and companies to be able to claim that they are “responsible” actors. This greenwash is particularly stunning, since being a member does not guarantee much change on the ground. Only recently, a company became RSPO member after it was found to deforest over 27.000 hectares of rainforest in Papua, Indonesia.

Certification is structurally dependent on the very same policies and regulation that have given rise to the host of environmental devastation and community land rights violations associated with oil palm plantations. These systemic governance issues are part of the destructive economic model, and embedded in state power.

For this reason, voluntary certification schemes cannot provide adequate protection for forests, community rights, food sovereignty and guarantee sustainability. Governments and financiers need to take responsibility to stop the destructive palm oil expansion that violates the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

As immediate steps, governments need to:

Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.

Signatures

Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
ActionAid, France
AGAPAN
Amics arbres
Arbres amics
Amis de la Terre France
ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
Asociación Gaia El Salvador
Association Congo Actif, Paris
Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
BASE IS
Bézu St Eloi
Boxberg OT Uhyst
Bread for all
Bruno Manser Fund
CADDECAE, Ecuador
Campaign to STOP GE Trees
CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
CESTA – FOE El Salvador
CETRI – Centre tricontinental
Climate Change Kenya
Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
Consumers Association of Penang
Corporate Europe Observatory
Cuttington University
Down to Earth Consult
El Campello
Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
FASE ES , Brazil
Fédération romande des consommateurs
FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
Focus on the Global South
Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
Friends of the Earth Ghana
Friends of the Earth International
GE Free NZ, New Zealand
Global Alliance against REDD
Global Justice Ecology Project
Global Info
Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
GRAIN
Green Development Advocates (GDA)
CameroonGreystones, Ireland
Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
Grupo ETC
Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
Justica Ambiental
Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
Kempityari
Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
Les gens du partage
LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
Maiouri nature, Guyane
Mangrove Action Project
Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
New Wind Association from Finland
NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
Oakland Institute
OFRANEH, Honduras
Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
OPIROMA, Brazil
Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
Rainforest Foundation UK
Rainforest Relief
ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
ROBIN WOOD
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
Salva la Selva
School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
Serendipalm Company Limited
Sherpa , The Netherlands
SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
The Corner House, UK
Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
University of Sussex, UK
UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
WESSA
World Rainforest Movement
Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana

Epidemics and rapacity of multinational companies in Liberia

Discussion Paper. The Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics. Release date: 12th March, 2022

Conclusion

https://twitter.com/CEP_LSE/status/1502238109677015044?s=20&t=CwBhOE-SLGkXtNxC9nXw5w

This paper provides novel granular evidence on the interaction between the Ebola epidemic, deforestation, and palm oil plantations in Liberia. The palm oil multinationals, exploiting the health crisis, stepped up deforestation to increase output. The effect on deforestation is more severe in areas inhabited by politically unrepresented ethnic groups, characterized by a reduction in tree coverage by 6.5%.

We also document an increase of more than 125% in the likelihood of
fire events within concessions during the epidemic. This suggests that not only did the palm oil companies foster deforestation, but further that they used forest fires to do so. This is particularly harmful to the environment, and the smoke and the haze may have severe health consequences, apart from being a source of carbon dioxide.

This deforestation was accompanied by a 150% increase in the amount of land dedicated to cultivation.

This exploitative behaviour was highly profitable for palm oil companies, with a 1428% increase in the value of Liberian palm oil’s exports compared with the pre-Ebola period. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for local people or the local environment.

Greenwashing

The RSPO prevents and stops deforestation and fires on palm oil plantations by its members

https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1146706666508955648?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355496891673415680?s=20

https://twitter.com/SimamoraDupito/status/1442410921519771649?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1355827449397915651?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1461673435965313025

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1419944414751989760?s=20

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1173741858171830272?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1447297851038605315?s=20

https://twitter.com/HersheyCompany/status/1447916947669192709?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169538449680031745?s=20

https://twitter.com/RSPOtweets/status/1385138817309548544?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1169532824375955456?s=20

https://twitter.com/Nestle/status/1404782473221967872?s=20

Greenwashing

Lies and denialism in the media about the environmental impact of palm oil

Research into media coverage of the environmental impact of palm oil in Indonesia shows they deny it’s causing ecocide

We found that media reporting of the denialist narrative is more prevalent than that of the peer-reviewed science consensus-view that palm oil plantations on tropical peat could cause excessive greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the risk of fires.

Our article alerts to the continuation of unsustainable practices as justified by the media to the public, and that the prevalence of these denialist narratives constitute a significant obstacle in resolving pressing issues such as transboundary haze, biodiversity loss, and land-use change related greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia.

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1448232875535388678?s=20

https://twitter.com/CPOPC_ORG/status/1436104523756433434?s=20

Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s administration has achieved four consecutive years of deforestation declines via land-use reforms and re-establishing a logging moratorium. This significant work culminated in 2020 when the country gained its lowest deforestation rates since monitoring began, reaching a 75% drop year-over-year.

Luana Stephen, Intelligent Living, September 1, 2021.

Reality: RSPO “Sustainable” Palm Oil Does Not Stop or Prevent Deforestation

Tweet from Bart Van Assen, former lead auditor for the RSPO and HCV admitting that the main goal of the RSPO, FSC and other certification initiatives is not to prevent deforestation. (Bart has formerly used @palmoiltruther on Twitter but now changes between @Forest4Apes or @Apes4Forests depending on times when he attempts to conceal his identity).

Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire – Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)

Certification had no causal impact on forest loss in peatlands or active fire detection rates.

Kimberly M. Carlson, Robert Heilmayr, Holly K. Gibbs, Praveen Noojipady et al. Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia, PNAS January 2, 2018 115 (1) 121-126 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114

No significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.

Morgans, C. L. et al. Evaluating the effectiveness of palm oil certification in delivering multiple sustainability objectives. Environ. Res. Lett. 13, 064032 (2018).

The Neue Zuercher Zeitung used several cases to highlight where slash-and-burn techniques continue on RSPO-certified land, and where new plantations are threatening important ecosystems. These examples are representative of the huge gap between the need for environmental protection and the ever-increasing global demand for palm oil.

Adina Renner, Conradin Zellweger, Barnaby Skinner. ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (May 2021) (In English)

Swiss multinational Nestlé received hundreds of thousands of alerts of forest clearing near its palm oil suppliers in 2019 via satellite monitoring.

Nestlé identified over 1,000 cases of deforestation per day in palm oil areas. SwissInfo (2020).

https://twitter.com/adinarenner/status/1392148610448568329?s=20

Fire outbreaks in and around palm oil concessions (often starting from slash-and-burn fires to clear land for plantations).

Thousands of fire alerts were recorded by Chain Reaction Research on RSPO member palm oil plantations

The top ten palm oil traders and refiners in Indonesia all had thousands of alerts for fires in their palm oil plantations:

ADM
Unilever
Neste
Cargill
Bunge
Wilmar
Olam
AAK

all of these companies are RSPO members

https://youtu.be/jdYT_g9ENxw?t=1346

A still from the Chain Reaction Research video: Which Companies are Expoosed to Deforestation Driven Fires in their Supply Chains

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)

Explore the series

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight greenwashing and deforestation by using your wallet as a weapon!

Find out more

Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing

A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/

A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/

Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1

Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html

Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham

Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z

Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114

Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/

Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/

Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/

Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html

Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore

Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235

Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html

Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2

EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/

Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/

Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides

Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/

Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/

Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed

Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028

Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/

Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/

Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation

Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.

Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf

Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics

Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.

Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/

Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval

Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics

Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies

Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/

How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/

International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking

Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757

Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html

Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life

Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore

Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2

Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/

Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069

Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683

Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878

Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y

Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/

Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490

Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6

Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates

Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/

Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/

Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/

Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184

Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf

World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/

World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/

Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil

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Palm Oil Detectives Sep 1, 2021

Greenwashing Tactic #5: Irrelevance and Deflection

Claiming a brand, commodity or industry is green based on irrelevant information. A common greenwashing tactic is to shift the conversation towards an irrelevant issue that deflects from the environmental issue at hand.

#Greenwashing Tactic 5. Irrelevance and Deflection: A greenwashing tactic that shifts conversation away from criticising “sustainable’ #palmoil towards an irrelevant topics #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #Fightgreenwashing @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/09/02/greenwashing-tactic-5-irrelevance-and-deflection/

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Greenwashing: Irrelevant Topics

Greenwashing: Colonial Racism

Research: Palm oil greenwashing and its link to climate denialism

Reality: RSPO Certification Doesn’t Stop Deforestation, Human Rights Abuses etc.

Reality: Global Witness report links supermarket brands (RSPO members) to palm oil plantation deaths

RSPO 14 Years of Failure to Eliminate Violence and Destruction from the Industrial Palm Oil Sector

Quote: Greenpeace: Destruction Certified (2021)

Research: Certification is a weak tool for sustainability

Explore the Series

Join the #Boycott4Wildlife

Further Reading: Palm Oil, Greenwashing and Deceptive Marketing

Say thanks for this guide by donating to my Ko-Fi

Greenwashing: Irrelevant Topics

Palm oil lobbyists steer people’s online conversations away from criticising sustainable palm oil or calling for a boycott of palm oil, towards other topics that are irrelevant

RSPO Lobbyists such as Bart Van Assen, Michelle Desilets and Jane Griffiths of Orangutan Land Trust often combine this tactic with abuse and harassment. This is done to intimidate individuals and stop them spreading awareness about the corruption of so-called ‘sustainable’ palm oil.

https://twitter.com/griffjane/status/1579405878289391616?s=20&t=2Aa75dFHQ0fwliPOX6URlw

https://twitter.com/orangulandtrust/status/1430122518900248579?s=20

https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1445646231909269511?s=20

https://twitter.com/KiwiButts/status/1578193115143290880?s=20&t=FkZDtmmXP-27Lj2hSs5IDw

https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1428697944287440900?s=20

https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1444177072323239937?s=20

https://twitter.com/orangutans/status/1151801434557636612?s=20

Greenwashing: Colonial Racism

Palm oil lobbyists divert consumers’ attention away from exposing the corruption of ‘sustainable’ palm oil.

They do this by claiming that people from wealthy nations want to halt the growth of palm oil in developing nations and that this is unfair and a form of ‘colonial racism’

The gist of this argument is:

‘Europeans have destroyed their forests for agriculture, so why can’t we do the same in the tropics? Stopping our economic development is hypocrisy and colonialism’

Four mutually complementary narratives were used by Indonesian and Malaysian media to construe denialism, which closely resemble the four climate denialist narratives identified by Elsasser and Dunlap (2013). These denialist narratives draw heavily upon information advocated by divergent knowledge communities (Goldstein 2016) and appeal to a nationalist sentiment of ‘us’ – palm oil-producing developing countries – and ‘them’ – western developed countries producing research critical of the industry.

https://twitter.com/palmoiltruther/status/1420662530863550464?s=20

https://twitter.com/palmoilmonitor/status/1445795527560515587?s=20

https://twitter.com/HypocrisyKiller/status/1343303480308469760?s=20

Michelle Desilets, Director, Orangutan Land Trust. The Switch Report, 2014

Reality

RSPO palm oil certification has not improved worker’s incomes and has not stopped human rights abuses, violence, slavery or illegal indigenous land-grabbing, since the RSPO’s inception 17 years ago

Global Witness October 2021 Report: Violence and death for palm oil connected to household supermarket brands (RSPO members)

“One palm oil firm, Rimbunan Hijau, [Papua New Guinea] negligently ignored repeated and avoidable worker deaths and injuries on palm oil plantations, with at least 11 workers and the child of one worker losing their lives over an eight-year period.

“Tainted palm oil from Papua New Guinea plantations was sold to household name brands, all of them RSPO members including Kellogg’s, Nestlé, Colgate, Danone, Hershey’s and PZ Cussons and Reckitt Benckiser”

The true price of palm oil: How global finance funds deforestation, violence and human rights abuses in Papua New Guinea – Global Witness, 2021

Read report

https://twitter.com/Global_Witness/status/1446177252832681986?s=20

https://twitter.com/GreenpeaceUK/status/1444977893965238274?s=20

https://twitter.com/EIA_News/status/1306208749825163265?s=20

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1330163320566018053?s=20

https://twitter.com/GreenpeaceUK/status/1427199556916293635?s=20

RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector

Friends of the Earth and 100 other human rights and environmental NGOS co-signed this letter in 2018

Read original letter

Letter

Planting on a large-scale and in monoculture, frequently through conversion of tropical biodiverse forests

Using “high yielding” seedlings that demand large amounts of agrotoxics and abundant water.

Squeezing cheap labour out of the smallest possible work force, employed in precarious conditions so that company costs are cut to a minimum

Making significant up-front money from the tropical timber extracted from concessions, which is then used to finance plantation development or increase corporate profits.

Grabbing land violently from local communities or by means of other arrangements with governments (including favourable tax regimes) to access land at the lowest possible cost.

Those living on the fertile land that the corporations choose to apply their industrial palm oil production model, pay a very high price.

Violence is intrinsic to this model:

violence and repression when communities resist the corporate take over of their land because they know that once their land is turned into monoculture oil palm plantations, their livelihoods will be destroyed, their land and forests invaded. In countless cases, deforestation caused by the expansion of this industry, has displaced communities or destroyed community livelihoods where
companies violate customary rights and take control of community land;
sexual violence and harassment against women in and around the plantations which often stays invisible because women find themselves without possibilities to demand that the perpetrators be prosecuted;
Child labour and precarious working conditions that go hand-in-hand with violation of workers’ rights;
working conditions can even be so bad as to amount to contemporary forms of slavery. This exploitative model of work grants companies more economic profits while allowing palm oil to remain a cheap product. That is why, neither them or their shareholders do anything to stop it.

exposure of workers, entire communities and forests, rivers, water springs, agricultural land and soils to the excessive application of agrotoxics;
depriving communities surrounded by industrial oil palm plantations of their food sovereignty when industrial oil palm plantations occupy land that communities need to grow food crops.

RSPO’s proclaimed vision of transforming the industrial oil palm sector is doomed to fail because the Roundtable’s certification principles promote this structural violent and destructive model.

None of RPSO’s eight certification principles suggests transforming this industry reliance on exclusive control over vast areas of land or the growth paradigm inherent to the model.

Concessions are often guaranteed long before the company reaches out to the affected communities. Under these circumstances, to say that FPIC is central to RSPO is bluntly false and disrespectful.

Indigenous communities have in fact lost their fertile land, forests and rivers to oil palm plantations, adversely affecting their food, culture and local economies.

As immediate steps, governments need to:

Put in place a moratorium on palm oil plantations expansion and use that as a breathing space to fix the policy frameworks;
Drastically reduce demand for palm oil: stop using food for fuel;
Strengthen and respect the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to amongst others, self-determination and territorial control.
Promote agro-ecology and community control of their forests, which strengthens local incomes, livelihoods and food sovereignty, instead of advancing industrial agro-businesses.

Signatures

Aalamaram-NGOAcción Ecológica, Ecuador
ActionAid, France
AGAPAN
Amics arbres
Arbres amics
Amis de la Terre France
ARAARBA (Asociación para la Recuperación del Bosque Autóctono)
Asociación Conservacionista YISKI, Costa Rica
Asociación Gaia El Salvador
Association Congo Actif, Paris
Association Les Gens du Partage, Carrières-sous-Poissy
Association pour le développement des aires protégées, Swizterland
BASE IS
Bézu St Eloi
Boxberg OT Uhyst
Bread for all
Bruno Manser Fund
CADDECAE, Ecuador
Campaign to STOP GE Trees
CAP, Center for Advocacy Practices
Centar za životnu sredinu/ Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
CESTA – FOE El Salvador
CETRI – Centre tricontinental
Climate Change Kenya
Coalición de Tendencia Clasista. (CTC-VZLA)
Colectivo de Investigación y Acompañmiento Comunitario
Collectif pour la défense des terres malgaches – TANY, Madagascar
Community Forest Watch, Nigeria
Consumers Association of Penang
Corporate Europe Observatory
Cuttington University
Down to Earth Consult
El Campello
Environmental Resources Management and Social Issue Centre (ERMSIC) Cameroon
Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
FASE ES , Brazil
Fédération romande des consommateurs
FENEV, (Femmes Environnement nature Entrepreneuriat Vert).
Focus on the Global South
Forum Ökologie & Papier, Germany
Friends of the Earth Ghana
Friends of the Earth International
GE Free NZ, New Zealand
Global Alliance against REDD
Global Justice Ecology Project
Global Info
Gobierno Territorial Autónomo de la Nación Wampís , Peru
GRAIN
Green Development Advocates (GDA)
CameroonGreystones, Ireland
Groupe International de Travail pour les Peuples Autochtones
Grupo ETC
Grupo Guayubira, Uruguay
Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC Instituto Mexicano de Gobernanza Medioambiental AC
Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People (PIDP), DRC
Justica Ambiental
Justicia Paz e Integridad de la Creacion. Costa Rica
Kempityari
Latin Ambiente, http://www.latinambiente.org
Les gens du partage
LOYOLA SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY, MANILA
Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste, AC
Maiouri nature, Guyane
Mangrove Action Project
Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands
Movimento Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho
Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
Nature-d-congo de la République du Congo
New Wind Association from Finland
NOAH-Friends of the Earth Denmark
Oakland Institute
OFRANEH, Honduras
Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated (OLSSI)
ONG OCEAN : Organisation Congolaise des Ecologistes et Amis de la Nature et sommes basés en RD Congo.
OPIROMA, Brazil
Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México
Paramo Guerrrero Zipaquira
PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)
Quercus – ANCN, Portugal
Radd (Reseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable) , Cameroon
Rainforest Foundation UK
Rainforest Relief
ReAct – Alliances Transnationales
RECOMA – Red latinoamericana contra los monocultivos de árboles
Red de Coordinacion en Biodiversidad , Çosta Rica
REFEB-Cote d’Ivoire
Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
ROBIN WOOD
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
Salva la Selva
School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
Serendipalm Company Limited
Sherpa , The Netherlands
SYNAPARCAM, Cameroon
The Corner House, UK
Towards Equitable Sustainable Holistic Development
TRAFFED KIVU ,RD. CONGOUNIÓN UNIVERSAL DESARROLLO SOLIDARIO
University of Sussex, UK
UTB ColombiaWatch Indonesia!
WESSA
World Rainforest Movement
Youth Volunteers for the Environment Ghana

Certification is a weak tool to address global forest and ecosystem destruction.
By improving the image of forest and ecosystem risk commodities and so stimulating demand, certification risks actually increasing the harm caused by the expansion of commodity production.
Certification schemes end up greenwashing products linked to deforestation, ecosystem destruction and rights abuses.

Greenpeace: destruction certified

Destruction Certified by Greenpeace 2021 Read full report

Oya, C., Schaefer, F. & Skalidou, D. The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: a systematic review. World Dev. 112, 282–312 (2018).

Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nat Food (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

Join the #Boycott4Wildlife and fight deforestation and greenwashing by using your wallet as a weapon!

Find out more

Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing

A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/

A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/

Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html

Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/

Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2

Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides

Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028

Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/

Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/

Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.

Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf

Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics

Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/

Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics

How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/

International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking

Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757

Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html

Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life

Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2

Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/

Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069

Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683

Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y

Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/

Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/

World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/

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#advertising #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #brandBoycotts #branding #consumerRights #Fightgreenwashing #FightgreenwashingTweet #greenwashing #OrangutanLandTrust #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing

Palm Oil Detectives Oct 21, 2021

Ten Tactics of ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil Greenwashing

What is greenwashing?

At the end of the 20th century, environmental problems began to arise from unchecked capitalist growth. Out of-control global corporates needed strong storytelling and PR to support their continued exponential growth.

The marketing and PR tactics employed to justify the continued growth of these brands and products despite their destruction, is known as:

Greenwashing

There has never been a more urgent time for consumers to wake up to the devastation wrought by global supermarket brands for palm oil

Here’s 10 different ways #consumers are deceived by so-called ‘sustainable’ #palmoil which is a multi-billion $ lie. #Fightgreenwashing with your wallet! #deforestation #extinction #Boycottpalmoil

Here is a ten-part series abt #greenwashing by ‘sustainable’ #palmoil lobbyists, certified #palmoil is a greenwashing lie according to @greenpeaceUK @EIA_News @foeint @sumofus @mightyearth @NZZ @AP #Boycottpalmoil

Jump to section

1. Greenwashing with Hidden Trade-Off

2. Greenwashing with No Proof

3. Greenwashing with Vagueness

4. Greenwashing with Fake Labels

5. Greenwashing with Irrelevance & Deflection

6. Greenwashing by Lesser of Two Evils

7. Greenwashing by Lying

8. Greenwashing with Design & Words

9. Greenwashing with Partnerships, Sponsorships & Research Funding

10. Greenwashing by Gaslighting, Stalking, Harassment & Attempting to Discredit Critics

Explore the Series

Further Reading on Palm oil Greenwashing and Deceptive Marketing

Send in examples to me

Say thanks for this guide by donating to my Ko-Fi

1. Greenwashing with a Hidden Trade Off

Claiming a brand or commodity is ‘green’ using a narrow definition or series of characteristics

For example, when a brand talks about satellite monitoring to stop palm oil deforestation, however deforestation continues to take place or perhaps even accelerate in spite of this, that’s ‘Hidden Trade-Off’

Share this insight on Twitter…

Greenwashing Tactic #1: Hidden Trade Off: Claiming a brand or commodity is ‘green’ using a narrow definition or set of characteristics. #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing

2. Greenwashing with No Proof

Claiming a brand or commodity is ‘green’ without any supporting evidence

Making baseless claims is one of the easiest greenwashing tactics. For example when an advertisement claims that a product has several environmental benefits, but the company can’t back up these claims with any scientific data or evidence.

Share this insight on Twitter…

Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof: Claiming a #brand or #commodity is sustainable without any evidence. We’ve had enough of #greenwashing lies to sell so-called ‘sustainable’ #palmoil #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing #Boycott4Wildlife

3. Greenwashing with Vagueness

Claiming a brand or commodity is ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ based on broad generalisations, unclear language or vague statements

For example having vague requirements for certification schemes like the RSPO that are easily manipulated or where loopholes or vagueness in certification standards can be exploited by RSPO members.

Read more 10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing – Tactic 3 Vagueness

Share this insight on Twitter…

Greenwashing Tactic #3: Vagueness: Claiming a brand or commodity is green by using vague generalisations or by having vague guiding principles which are subject to #corruption. We #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing

4. Greenwashing with Fake Labels

Claiming a brand or commodity is green based on unreliable, ineffective endorsements or eco-labels such as the RSPO, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or FairTrade coffee and cocoa.

Most certifications and eco-labels add a ‘green sheen’ to brands. Yet according to Greenpeace – even the most respected certifications in the world rarely have a positive environmental and social impact.

Share this insight on Twitter…

Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels: Claiming a brand or commodity is green by using fake certifications such as @RSPOtweets that do not stop #deforestation #landgrabbing. We #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife #FightGreenwashing

5. Greenwashing with Irrelevance & Deflection

Claiming a brand, commodity or industry is green based on irrelevant information

A common greenwashing tactic is to shift the conversation towards a an irrelevant issue that deflects from the environmental issue at hand.

For example, palm oil lobbyists steer online conversations away from criticising ‘sustainable’ palm oil or calling for a boycott of palm oil, towards other topics that are irrelevant.

Read more 10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing – Tactic 5 Irrelevance deflecti on

Share this insight on Twitter…

#Greenwashing Tactic #5: Irrelevance and Deflection: A common greenwashing tactic is to shift the conversation away from criticising sustainable #palmoil towards an irrelevant topic. #FightGreenwashing #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil

6. Greenwashing by Lesser of Two Evils

Claiming that brand, commodity or industry is greener than others in the same category in order to excuse ecocide, deforestation, human rights and animal rights abuses

For example, the main justification for using palm oil over other oil crops by palm oil lobbyists is: “Palm oil uses less land than other oil crops. Therefore, even though this crop is causing indigenous land-grabbing, ecocide, deforestation, fires, species extinction and causing air and water pollution – it’s still better than other oils”

Read more 10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing – Tactic 6 Lesser of Two Evils

Share this insight on Twitter…

#Greenwashing Tactic #6: Lesser of Two Evils: Claiming a commodity or industry is #greener than others in the same category, to excuse #ecocide #humanrights #animalrights abuses #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing

7. Greenwashing by Lying

Telling outright lies over and over to consumers, or skillfully omitting the truth in statements, until the lies are believed as truth

Brands and food agriculture lobbyists generate blatant lies that appear in advertising or on social media. The lie could be falsifying support from respected authorities or individuals on environmental issues. The lie could also be a turn of phrase which ‘massages the truth’ for consumers.

‘Deforestation by fire is prohibited for RSPO members’

Yet in reality, deforestation is allowed to continue by palm oil traders, manufacturers within that certification scheme.

Read more 10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing – Tactic 7 Lying

Share this insight on Twitter…

#Greenwashing Tactic #7 Lying: Telling outright lies over again to #consumers until they are believed as truth. This is commonly done by #palmoil lobbyists and global food companies #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing

8. Greenwashing with Design & Words

Using design principles and greenwashing language in order to trigger emotional and unconscious responses in consumers

Some examples of greenwashing design include:

Hand-drawn typography and fonts.
Pastel colours or blue and green hues.
Hand-drawn or vintage and nostalgic animals and children illustrations in packaging and advertising design that bring to mind children’s books.
Happy, uplifting and nostalgic music.
Visual storytelling involving nature.

Read more 10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing – Tactic 8 Design and Words

Share this insight on Twitter…

Greenwashing Tactic #8: #Design and #Words: Using subliminal design principles and #greenwashing #language to convey ‘greenness’ to #consumers. We #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing

9. Greenwashing with Partnerships, Sponsorships & Research Funding

Using corporate partnerships, sponsorships and research funding to give a commodity, an industry, certification scheme or supermarket brand a ‘greener’ reputation

Global supermarket brands that are members of the RSPO provide sponsorship money to Zoos, city councils in the UK and small businesses in order to push the lie of sustainable palm oil to school children and unaware consumers.

Corporate partnerships, sponsorships and research funding are easy ways to gain legitimacy and win consumer trust.

Read more 10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing – Tactic 9 Partnerships Sponsorships

Share this insight on Twitter…

#Greenwashing Tactic #9: Using #corporate #partnerships, #sponsorships and #research #funding to give a #commodity, #industry or
a #brand a ‘greener’ reputation. #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing #Boycott4Wildlife

10. Greenwashing by Gaslighting, Harassment, Stalking and Attempting to Discredit Critics

Attempting to humiliate, gaslight, discredit, harass and stalk any vocal critics of a brand, commodity or industry certification in order to scare individuals into silence.

Greenwashing’s most insidious and darkest form is the attempt to discredit, humiliate, harass, abuse and stalk individuals in order to stop them from sharing information with others about corporate corruption.

Targets of this kind of greenwashing could be researchers, conservationists, activists, investigative journalists, whistle-blowers or concerned and aware consumers who delve too deeply into issues, such as corruption in the palm oil industry.

Read more 10 Tactics of Sustainable Palm Oil Greenwashing – Tactic 10 Gaslighting Abuse

Share this insight on Twitter…

#Greenwashing Tactic #10: #Gaslighting #harassment #stalking attempting to discredit critics of an industry, certification scheme or commodity. We #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing

Explore the series

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

#Fightgreenwashing in the products and brands you buy!

We concerned consumers of the #Boycott4Wildlife movement says NO to the bloated, toxic industrial complex that underlies all of our consumer goods.

#Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil #FightGreenwashing

Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing

A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/

A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/

Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html

Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/

Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2

Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides

Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028

Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/

Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/

Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.

Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf

Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics

Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/

Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics

How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/

International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking

Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757

Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html

Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life

Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2

Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/

Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069

Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683

Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y

Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/

Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/

World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/

Have you come across greenwashing like this online or in person?

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#1 #10 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #advertising #animalrights #auditFraud #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #BoycottpalmoilTweet #brand #brandBoycotts #branding #commodity #consumerRights #consumers #corporate #corporateCapture #corruption #deforestation #Design #ecocide #extinction #Fightgreenwashing #FightgreenwashingTweet #funding #Gaslighting #greener #greenwash #greenwashing #harassment #HumanRights #industry #landgrabbing #language #lobbying #OrangutanLandTrust #palmoil #partnerships #research #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #sponsorships #stalking #Words