Marketplace Advisory on Asia Pulp & Paper
In February 2013, Indonesia’s largest pulp and paper producer, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), announced a “revolutionary” new Forest Conservation Policy: they would stop pulping natural tropical rainforests for paper,…
Setting the Record Straight: Cargill and Tripa Forest Controversy
Although there are no major fires still tearing through the Tripa peat forest in Sumatra — the densest remaining Sumatran orangutan habitat in the world — updates from our allies on…
Abandon Ship! Even The Palm Oil Industry Is Distancing Itself From Alan Oxley’s Lies
You might not believe it, but apparently there is a point beyond which even the palm oil industry isn’t willing to stretch the truth. And Alan Oxley just blew right…
What is Sustainable Palm Oil? Part Two
The first blog post in this series explored the environmental, social, transparency and enforcement weaknesses of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the dominant certification standard for palm oil…
Land Lost in Lies: Smallholder Schemes Gone Wrong
I’ve spent the past week visiting our partners in Indonesia and interviewing frontline communities directly impacted by the palm oil industry. The stories I’ve heard are haunting — tales of human…
The World’s Second Oldest Profession
Some people will say anything for money. Sometimes, this comes back to bite you, especially when you get called out. By famous scientists, no less. Take for example the great…
Tale of a Thousand Sleuths
Fellow detectives and friends, it’s not every day you get to bust out your magnifying glass and scope out your local bookstore, but next week that is what over a…
Rainforests Or Big Business: Who Will Win In Jakarta?
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) 8th Annual Meeting is coming up November 8-11th in Jakarta. RAN’s rainforest agribusiness team will be there. Indonesia is the world’s 3rd largest…
Cargill Destroys Rainforests at Twins-Rangers Game
This past Sunday in Minneapolis, something unusual happened during the local Twins baseball game. Unhappy with the way one of their hometown corporations (and the largest privately owned in the…
Cargill Back Pedals on Rainforest Track
In response to Cargill’s recent announcement stating that they would ignore their promise to take action on widely known rainforest destroyer Sinar Mas, RAN sent out a press release calling…