Greenpeace activists prevent Sinar Mas palm oil tanker from loading in Indonesia
Greenpeace challenges RSPO to stop green-washing member companies
Dumai/Jakarta, 14 November 2008 - Greenpeace today prevented the loading of crude palm oil on the Isola Corallo, a
Rotterdam-bound tanker in Dumai, Indonesia’s main palm oil export port. Greenpeace is calling upon the Roundtable on
Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) (1), which meets in Bali next week, to take urgent action against member companies who
destroy forests and peatlands.
A Greenpeace activist was locked onto the anchor chain of the Isola Corallo for over 36 hours to stop it from moving.
The Greenpeace ship, Esperanza, then occupied the palm oil loading facility this morning to prevent the Isola Corrallo
from loading Sinar Mas palm oil. The Esperanza was finally forced off the berth by Port authority tugs after a 7-hour
face-off.
The Sinar Mas group is Indonesia’s largest palm oil company, accounting for around 10% of production. Sinar Mas is a key
member of the RSPO, which this week celebrated the first shipment to Europe of “sustainable palm oil”. However,
Greenpeace research shows that the “Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil” is little more than greenwash. One company
receiving RSPOᾠcertification - United Plantations, a supplier of Nestlé and Unilever - is involved with deforestation in
the vulnerable peatland forests of Kalimantan in Indonesia. SῩnar Mas is also invoῬved with deforestation all over
Indonesia, incῬuding in Kalimantan and Papua, and Ῠas aggressive expansion plans for the future.
“Palm oil buyers must cancel contracts with suppliers who continue deforestation and peat clearance. A moratorium on
deforestation is a prerequisite to any claims of ‘sustainable’ palm oil,” said Bustar Maitar, Greenpeace Southeast Asia
Forest Campaigner. “Next week the palm oil industry will come together in Bali for the sixth a΅nual global RSPO meeting.
We expect the RSPO to initiate urgent action against companies like Sinar Mas and United Plantations who continue to
destroy forests and peaῴlands.
RSPO certification places rules on plantations that want to become certified, but these do not fully prohibit forest
clearance, even on peatlands, which is a key element in combating climate change. In particular, the clearance,
drainage, and burning of peatland forests makes Indonesia the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world
(2). In fact, RSPO members are not obliged to change anything in their practices, until they enter the certification
process.
“With the current speed of cutting and burning forests, the Indonesian lowland rainforests will have largely disappeared
within the next 15 years (3), the standards of RSPO are insufficient and in its current form the RSPO will not solve the
problems of deforestation in South-East Asia. Both industry and government need to take uῲgent action to protect our
forests added Maitar.
Greenpeace is calling on the Indonesian government to implement an immediate moratorium on all forest conversion,
including expansion of oil palm plantations, industrial logging, and other drivers of deforestation.
Greenpeace is an independent, global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect
and conserve the environment, and to promote peace.
ends