Friends of the Earth Australia, together with The Rainforest Information Centre, The Australian Orangutan Project and Borneo Orangutan Survival, form a coalition called the Palm Oil Action Group (POAG).  POAG are campaigning on several fronts. 

Consumer awareness campaign

Firstly we are engaged in a consumer awareness campaign to raise the profile of Palm Oil and educate the public about its destructive impacts.  A consumer brochure has been produced to further this aim.  We are asking consumers to write to supermarkets and food manufacturers requesting that they disclose what products they sell contain palm oil and to pressure them to follow their supply chains to ensure that where they do use palm oil that it is sourced sustainably. 

We also request that they correctly label the use of palm oil in their products as ‘palm oil’, not ‘vegetable oil’ as is now often the case.  To back up the request for mandatory labelling of palm oil, we are awaiting the processing of an application registered with FSANZ. 

Last year Friends of the Earth held a small forum on Palm Oil and biofuels in Melbourne with speakers from the Australian Conservation Foundation, a Melbourne Zoo keeper who had worked in Kalimantan, rescuing orangutans from Oil Palm plantations and a representative from the Melbourne Biodiesel club.  An audio podcast of the event can be downloaded.

Corporate engagement

Secondly, POAG members have directly engaged with supermarket representatives and food manufacturers to put our position forward and to pressure them into taking action.  Proof that campaigns like POAG can make are a difference are evident when looking at recent moves by ASDA supermarkets in the United Kingdom who are banning the sale of products containing palm oil unless it can be proven that the palm oil is sourced sustainably.

Lobbying politicians

Thirdly, on the national front our members have been writing to their federal members to get the issue of palm oil and deforestation onto the agenda.  Our efforts combined with that of other groups could perhaps be seen to be making a small difference with announcements from the previous government about the ‘Global Initiative on Forests and Climate’ and statements that indicate Australia will take a lead role on acting on palm oil issues. 

Like other groups, we wait to see the details of such proposals and see if the action on the ground by the new government reflects the positive sentiments in the statements before giving too much praise away.

RSPO policy critique

Finally, on the international stage, the Round Table On Sustainable Palm Oil is an initiative that we are closely watching to determine if it will deliver any concrete way forward to further our objectives or if it a smoke screen to green wash Palm Oil’s image to provide a near business as usual scenario and a green light for more large scale Oil Palm monoculture. 

Whilst the RSPO objectives are noble, their current actions and flawed certification processes give us cause to worry that it may escalate deforestation of certain forested areas.  Perhaps the best reflection on the RSPO is by some of its key members who have been accused of breaching RSPO guidelines by not respecting customary rights, acquiring land without consultation or customary landowner consent, not providing adequate compensation for impacted land owners and lacking transparency.

A warning on biofuels

The recent push to use supposed environmentally friendly bio-fuels is of great concern to us, as palm oil is a prime candidate as biofuel feed stock.  We are concerned that increased demand for palm oil will only lead to more deforestation and according to recent studies, actually produce up to ten times more greenhouse gas emission through deforestation and forest fires than are saved through the burning of a biofuel in comparison to petro-diesel fuel.  Several press releases on this topic have been picked up by local media to make our views heard.

For further information visit the POAG website  or contact us by email.