Empty Promises of Sustainable Certification: Palm Oil Commodity
Fetishization in Indonesia AUTHOR: Annie Wang
ABSTRACT: This paper argues that sustainable certification schemes like the RSPO and other forms of ethical consumerism are not effective in guiding sustainable development. They fail to address the social relations behind the production of palm oil and the “greenwashing” development that is based on land-grabbing and labor exploitation. The booming palm oil industry in Indonesia exacerbates socioeconomic disparities, fails to deliver the benefits of development, and creates a massive environmental health and justice disaster. In place of RSPO and other “conscientious consumption” mechanisms, environmental justice movements, support for palm oil workers, changes in fiscal policies and transparency measures will be discussed as alternative forward. INTRODUCTION Under the guise of a “sustainable alternative,” palm oils have exploded into the biofuel industry, and become an overwhelming favorite for food and cosmetics companies due to its high versatility and relatively cheap cost of production. Now the most widely used vegetable oil in the world, palm oil has had its production increased five-fold in the last 20 years and is found in 50% of packaged items on supermarket shelves. As of 2018, global consumption has reached 72 million tons, or 20 pounds of palm oil per person (Rosner). Indonesia, the world’s leading producer of palm oil, is increasingly drawn to the economic benefits and development potential of this booming industry (see fig.1). In 2016, Indonesia exported 22.8 million tons of palm oil worth 14.4 billion USD and was claimed to have drawn ten million Indonesians out of poverty (Tyson 423). However, as Indonesia is ravaged by wildfires, both international and local NGOs increasingly denounce the terrifying ecological and social impacts of palm oil: massive biodiversity loss, gigatons of climate change inducing emissions from deforestation, environmental health hazards, poor labor conditions, and land grabbing from indigenous populations. In 2004, The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established with the “aims to transform markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm” (“RSPO.org”). This “industry-led stake-holder initiative” sets certain criteria for certified sustainable palm oil, promising to minimize the harmful environmental and social impacts and lead the way to sustainable development.
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Spring 2020 / Perennial
Can the commodification of sustainability truly offer a sustainable development panacea? This paper argues that sustainable certification schemes like the RSPO and other forms of ethical consumerism are not effective in guiding sustainable development. They fail to address the social relations behind the production of palm oil, and the “greenwashing” development that is based on land-grabbing and labor exploitation. The booming palm oil industry in Indonesia exacerbates socioeconomic disparities, fails to deliver the benefits of development, and creates a massive environmental health and justice disaster. UNVEILING RSPO’S SUSTAINABILITY CLAIMS Driven by increasing pressure from the Global North to produce sustainable palm oil, the RSPO now certifies approximately 10% of global production (Pyre 219). Palm plantations receive the certification under certain ecological and social qualifications, including preserving “High Conservation Value Forest” and avoiding establishing new plantations in areas claimed by local communities (“RSPO.org”). However, the RSPO is a “multi-stakeholder initiative” dominated by agribusiness corporations, banks and investors, and consumer manufacturers, which means that sustainability is discussed only through the lens of economics of scale and profitability. Over 90% of “certified sustainable” palm oil comes from transnational corporations on the RSPO board, the majority of which are large-scale monocultures (219). Agribusiness monocultures are extremely destructive to biodiversity and pose serious implications for
