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

An open statement by Friends of the Earth International and the World Rainforest Movement, signed by over 100 organizations, denouncing the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) for failing to eliminate violence and environmental destruction in the industrial palm oil sector over 14 years.

• The RSPO is described as a greenwashing tool for the palm oil industry, failing to transform the sector into a sustainable one while corporate destruction and human rights abuses continue. The document asserts that the RSPO's certification principles actually promote a structural model of violence and destruction, failing to address the industry's reliance on exclusive control of large land areas and a growth paradigm based on violent land grabs.
• The industrial palm oil production model is characterized by large-scale monocultures, conversion of biodiverse forests, use of high-yielding seedlings requiring agrotoxins, precarious labor conditions, and violent land grabbing. This model results in community displacement, sexual violence and harassment against women, child labor, and the loss of food sovereignty for surrounding communities.
• The RSPO's claims regarding smallholders and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) are challenged. In 2016, 99.6% of production was corporate-controlled and 88% of certified palm oil came from corporate plantations. The document states that FPIC is not central in practice, as concessions are often guaranteed before companies contact affected communities.
• The RSPO's complaint mechanism is criticized as complex and biased against communities, particularly in land legacy conflicts, allowing companies to continue exploiting land while court proceedings drag on for decades.
• The document calls for governments to take immediate action by implementing a moratorium on plantation expansion, reducing palm oil demand (specifically stopping the use of food for fuel), respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and promoting agro-ecology over industrial agro-businesses.

APA

admin (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/

Chicago

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

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=admin |title=RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=12 November 2018 |url=https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{admin2018rspo, author = {admin}, title = {{RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2018}, month = nov, url = {https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }