The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s updated standards aim to improve smallholder inclusion as EUDR kicks in. But decline in credit prices – which growers heavily rely on to recoup certification costs – sparks fears of financial strain.
Global Witness warns that mining for green energy is fuelling conflict and human rights abuses in Asia and elsewhere, urging tougher standards and protections.
New domestic policies and consumer goods manufacturers and retailers are steering Chinese suppliers toward sustainable palm oil practices.
Oleh
Lifeng Fang
Neglecting to address the mining industry’s human rights violations and environmental destruction could undermine the bloc’s efforts to ensure access to raw materials and to mitigate climate change.
Oleh
Johanna Sydow
Superpower rivalry at APEC with China and the US vying for influence in the Pacific expected to put extra pressure on the alliance.
Oleh
Aravind Yelery
As Singapore-based salad bar chain SaladStop! marks its 10th anniversary, co-owner Katherine Desbaillets talks to Eco-Business about phasing out meat, food waste and single-use packaging, and dealing with customers who refuse to pay 10 cents for a plastic bag.
In the first in a new video series where sustainability leaders interview each other about the toughest things about their jobs, Simon Lord of Malaysian palm oil giant Sime Darby Plantation went head to head with Pamela Mar of Hong Kong-based textile and apparel giant Fung Group.
Studio EB
What does it mean to build a clean and fair palm oil supply chain? For drivers in Indonesia used to unsafe working conditions, this is what it could look like.
Fishermen are often cut off from land for weeks out at sea. But a new technology enables them to be connected with loved ones, while boosting the traceability of their catch.
The climate non-profit's head Sherry Madera insists there are just 450 questions, not over 5,500 as some industry players have cited, in its new questionnaire, which has faced pushback for failing to ease disclosure burden as intended.
Studio EB
Transboundary haze pollution is back with a vengeance in Southeast Asia. The Eco-Business Podcast talks to RSPO CEO Joseph D'Cruz about what the palm oil sector can do to put out the peatland fires that have burned annually for four decades.
Former Monetary Authority of Singapore sustainability chief Darian McBain and recruiter Paddy Balfour tell the Eco-Business podcast why people are exaggerating their ESG expertise and why that's a problem in a key region for sustainable development.
Why is there so much secrecy and controversy around sand extraction? Eco-Business speaks to Madhumitha Ardhanari to find out more about the narrative surrounding sand in Singapore, the largest importer of sand in the world.