Perhaps I can help them. The core issues are simple to explain and for most people to understand.

The palm oil industry has been responsible for destroying millions of hectares of rainforest and wiping out tens of millions of animals in the process.

The palm oil industry is responsible for the deaths of many thousands of orangutans and about 1000 currently being cared for in rescue centers.

Such facts may not be of any concern to these companies, but they matter to consumers who have every right to insist the products they use or consume do not contribute to such wholesale and wanton environmental destruction. Consumers have a choice, as do palm oil companies; you can be either part of the problem or part of the solution. Customers are increasingly using their buying power to avoid being part of the problem.

Finally, there is the question of integrity and trust. Even Rountable on Sustainable Palm Oil  (RSPO) members working, in theory at least, to quite stringent regulations, have been caught breaking the rules.

Now, if any palm oil company thinks a consumer would for a second trust a “certificate” conjured up by a bunch of RSPO renegades sat around a table in either Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur, it could prove to be a very expensive error of judgment on their part.

The really smart palm oil companies will comply fully with the RSPO, it makes good commercial sense to do so, and it is these same companies who will reap the benefits of increased sales as more and more customers move their business to them.

Sean Whyte
England

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