La Boite Noire du Commerce de l’Huile de Palme

The report argues that Olam, a Singapore-based agribusiness, operates a 'black box' in its palm oil supply chain by concealing the identity of its suppliers, which allows the company to source oil from producers engaged in deforestation. In Gabon, the report alleges that Olam has cleared approximately 20,000 hectares of forest since 2012, violating FSC standards. In Southeast Asia, Olam's lack of transparency is linked to the 'haze' crisis caused by peatland and forest fires. The document calls for Olam to adopt a 'zero deforestation' policy, publish its supplier list, and restore destroyed habitats.

• Olam's palm oil trade grew rapidly between 2011 and 2015, with volumes increasing twenty-fold from 71,000 to 1.53 million tonnes, now representing nearly 2.5% of the global palm oil market.
• Olam maintains a lack of transparency in its supply chain; in 2015, over 99% of its palm oil came from third-party suppliers whose identities are not disclosed, preventing independent verification of environmental and human rights standards.
• Satellite analysis indicates that Olam deforested approximately 20,000 hectares of forest in its Gabonese concessions in Awala and Mouila since March 2012, which is double the 10,000-hectare limit for 'unacceptable' forest conversion set by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
• Olam's sustainability policies are criticized as being less stringent than industry norms, specifically by allowing the conversion of 'low density logged forests' and delaying the application of sustainability policies to third-party suppliers until 2020.
• The report links the 'haze' crisis in Southeast Asia, which caused an estimated 100,000 deaths in 2015 and cost Indonesia over $16 billion, to the practices of unscrupulous suppliers who find a market in 'black box' traders like Olam.
• Industrial palm oil expansion threatens critical habitats for endangered great apes, including orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo, and gorillas and chimpanzees in Gabon.

APA

Mighty Earth (2016). La Boite Noire du Commerce de l’Huile de Palme. http://www.mightyearth.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Palm_Oil_Black_Box_French-print21.pdf

Chicago

Mighty Earth. La Boite Noire du Commerce de l’Huile de Palme. 2016. http://www.mightyearth.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Palm_Oil_Black_Box_French-print21.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Mighty Earth |title=La Boite Noire du Commerce de l’Huile de Palme |date=December 2016 |url=http://www.mightyearth.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Palm_Oil_Black_Box_French-print21.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mightyearth2016boite, author = {{Mighty Earth}}, title = {{La Boite Noire du Commerce de l’Huile de Palme}}, institution = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {http://www.mightyearth.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Palm_Oil_Black_Box_French-print21.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }