SOS Position on Palm Oil

What is palm oil?

Palm oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the fleshy fruit of oil palm trees. It is a common ingredient in many products such as food, cosmetics, cleaning products, biofuel and even animal feed. Three-quarters of total palm oil produced globally is used for food, particularly cooking oil and processed oils and fats.

Palm oil is so prevalent in our products due to its low cost and long shelf life. Oil palm trees have been hailed as a “wonder crop” due to their high yield per hectare. The trees can fruit all year round and are generally a cheap, low maintenance plant to grow. However, the palm oil industry has been heavily criticised for its role in deforestation and destructive impacts on ecosystems, wildlife and human rights.

What does palm oil have to do with orangutans?

Palm oil has been one of the most conspicuous causes of deforestation, probably because it’s so strongly associated with iconic species like orangutans. In fact, 85% of global palm oil supply comes from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Historically, rainforests have been cleared to make way for new oil palm plantations, destroying the precious homes and habitats of endangered species, like orangutans. However, more recent advances in Indonesian government policies and corporate commitments have been effective in addressing this issue. In fact, the palm oil industry is transforming far more rapidly than many other deforestation-linked commodities.

Nowadays, orangutans face a range of constraints involving the restriction and fragmentation of their habitat. However, these challenges are not solely caused by palm oil; farmlands, roads, and other human-made barriers can cut through natural landscapes and hamper connectivity between populations. This leads to orangutans being trapped in isolated pockets of forest. Unless these fragmented habitats are protected and reconnected, there is a risk that some of these populations might disappear altogether.

Should We Boycott Palm Oil?

Many consumers have been horrified to learn about the destructive practices associated with the palm oil industry, and so choose to boycott products containing palm oil. But it’s not palm oil itself that is the problem – it’s where and how it is produced, and that is what we need to change. Avoiding it altogether might actually do more harm than good.

A blanket boycott of palm oil could lead to some unintended consequences.

More deforestation, not less

Oil palms are the most productive oil crop in the world and yield up to nine times more oil than alternatives like sunflower, soybean, coconut or rapeseed. It takes around a quarter of a hectare to produce a ton of palm oil – it takes 2 hectares to produce the same amount of soybean oil – that’s 8 times as much land. 

This means that you need a lot less land to produce palm oil and meet the global demand for vegetable oils, than if you were growing alternative crops.

The demand for vegetable oils is expected to grow massively between now and 2050. If we switch to another type of edible vegetable oil, even more land will be converted for agriculture. This would lead to more deforestation and biodiversity loss – not less. Therefore, replacing palm oil is not a solution.

It’s also worth noting that these alternative oils have their own environmental footprint in parts of the world that have fragile ecosystems and endangered species. Replacing palm oil with other, less-efficient crops would only shift the problem elsewhere – transferring the problem instead of solving it.

Increasing demand for palm oil

A blanket boycott of palm oil could drive the price down, as producers look for other customers and lower their prices. This would increase the demand for palm oil in markets which have less interest in sustainability, and for less ‘visible’ uses of palm oil such as biofuels and livestock feed. Therefore removing the consumer demand for palm oil also removes the incentive for producers and manufacturers to produce sustainable palm oil.

Damaging rural communities

Palm oil is an important part of the economy in producer countries, and has helped lift millions of people out of poverty. In Indonesia, more than 8 million people rely on the palm oil industry for their livelihoods, with smallholder farmers cultivating over 40% of the oil palm plantation area.

In Sumatra, rural communities often have limited livelihood options and small-scale oil palm cultivation can provide a reliable income for some of the poorest people. The way smallholder farmers choose to grow and manage their oil palms can make a big difference to the impact it has on the landscape. For example, choosing to grow oil palms using organic or regenerative methods can help to reduce the impacts on biodiversity.

So if the answer is not to boycott palm oil, what is it?

So, what’s the answer? At SOS we believe the solution lies in sustainable palm oil. Palm oil isn’t going anywhere, and so we need to ensure that it is grown in the least damaging way possible – not at the expense of forests and other sensitive natural habitats. Instead, we need to help the industry become more sustainable by creating demand for deforestation-free palm oil.

It is crucial to support sustainable palm oil, instead of boycotting it. Here at SOS, we are not anti-palm oil, we are anti-deforestation. That’s a really important distinction.

IUCN “Palm oil and biodiversity”

What is Sustainable Palm Oil?

While there’s no denying that the palm oil industry has engaged in highly destructive practices, consumers all over the world have demanded that the products they buy don’t contribute to deforestation, and don’t threaten wildlife, people or the climate. And as a result, a lot has changed over the last two decades. 

Sustainable palm oil is produced in a way which minimises environmental impacts, safeguards biodiversity and forests, and benefits people. 

Sustainable palm oil production involves helping to halt deforestation, ensuring no harm to endangered species, and reducing carbon emissions. Sustainable palm oil comes from producers (both companies and smallholder farmers) who are committed to environmental and social responsibility; and are making genuine progress towards sustainability.

In order for a plantation to be certified as sustainable, any high conservation value forests within their area of operations must be protected. This means that forest patches and corridors, which provide habitat for wildlife and enable animals like orangutans to move through the landscape, are left standing rather than being cleared.

There is now a growing movement urging consumers to choose sustainable palm oil. Sustainable palm oil –

• Protects rainforests and peatlands from deforestation. 
• Promotes biodiversity and wildlife conservation.
• Supports farming practices which minimise pollution and waste.
• Supports the livelihoods of local communities, ensuring fair and ethical labour practices. 
• Provides a more “climate-friendly” vegetable oil. If we switched the entire palm oil production to deforestation-free methods, we could see a 92% cut in greenhouse gas emissions in its production.

It is a vital part of Sumatra’s economy and for the millions of forest-edge people who earn a living from small-scale agriculture. At SOS, we believe these communities must be empowered to earn an income by enriching, not exploiting, their forest resources. 

What is the RSPO?

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is an organisation dedicated to promoting the use of sustainable palm oil products. It brings together various stakeholders – such as producers, environmental and social NGOs, retailers and manufacturers – to set the global standards for sustainable palm oil production. Companies must comply with these standards to produce Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) – helping to minimise the negative impact of palm oil cultivation on the environment and people. Since 2018, palm oil certified by the RSPO is required to be deforestation-free.

Over 90% of the palm oil imported into Europe for food is certified as sustainable.

SOS is an active member of the RSPO. We recognise that ambitious commitments need to be translated into real action on the ground. The scale of many palm oil producers, and the complexity of supply chains, is immense. It is vital that we identify, call out and hold accountable companies that do not meet their commitments to sustainable palm oil production.

How to Identify Sustainable Palm Oil

The best way to know if the palm oil you’re buying is sustainable, is to check the packaging. Whether it’s food, cosmetics, or other household goods, look for products labelled with the RSPO certification. This logo signifies that the palm oil in the product meets the organisation’s rigorous sustainability standards. You can also check the ingredients list or check the company’s website for a sustainable palm oil policy.

What is SOS Doing?

At SOS, we’re working towards a future where sustainable, deforestation-free palm oil production is the norm. We know that the journey to get there is not easy or straightforward but we also know that it is essential to realise our vision of wild orangutans thriving in resilient forests. Therefore, we are committed to driving the palm oil industry in the right direction, and support a move to sustainable palm oil. We do not support a blanket boycott of palm oil.

• Protect: We support our frontline partners in Sumatra to help forest-edge communities make a living out of orangutan-friendly, small-scale, regenerative agriculture. This includes sustainable oil palm cultivation and agroforestry. 
• Connect: We support our partners to create “corridors” between fragmented rainforest areas: reconnecting the rainforest and providing a lifeline to isolated orangutan populations.
• Rewild: We support our frontline partners on-the-ground in Sumatra to protect and restore degraded rainforests in Sumatra by planting trees and other vegetation. 

Ultimately, our collaborative work builds resilience for orangutans, ecosystems, communities, and climate through solutions that benefit both people and wildlife.

We continuously monitor and evaluate this work to generate evidence to share with the big players in the palm oil sector. This demonstrates that not only is there a viable market for sustainable palm oil, but that it has long term benefits for orangutans and rainforest conservation in Sumatra (and beyond).

You can read more about our approach in our Conservation Greenprint.

How to Make a Difference for Orangutans

By choosing certified sustainable palm oil, you can actually go beyond doing no harm – you can be part of the solution. We can break the link between palm oil and deforestation, and drive the industry in the right direction. And that is what will truly bring about positive outcomes for wildlife, forests, people and the climate.

Here are some simple steps to take, to help protect wild orangutans and their forest homes –

1. Support our work. Your donation can support a thriving future for wild orangutans and their precious rainforest homes.
2. Choose products that state they use sustainable palm oil. Support manufacturers and retailers which are committed to removing deforestation from their products.
3. Use the Palm Oil Scan app to see how major manufacturers are sourcing their palm oil ingredients. You can also use the app to alert companies that you’re checking out their scores and may be changing your buying habits as a result.
4. Join our social media campaigns to drive the industry in the right direction – start by following us on Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn. Sign up to our emails to get these updates directly in your inbox.