© FLAVIO FORNERSUSTAINABLE
PALM OIL

Palm oil is one of the most widely used vegetableoils in the world. It is used as a cooking oil andas a source of energy. It can also be found as aningredient in half the products on supermarket
shelves—from snacks and chips, to cookies andbreads, cosmetics and lotions, soaps and detergents,
even pet food. You have probably used palm oil
today without even realizing it.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOWABOUT PALM OIL.
As you can tell from its wide range of uses, palm
oil is incredibly versatile. But it is also an extremely
efficient crop, producing more oil per hectare thanany other major oi. In fact, switching from palm oil tosoy, sunflower or canola oil would require up to ninetimes as much land to produce the same amount ofoil.
These are just a few of the reasons global demandfor palm oil has nearly tripled since 2000. While thisexceptional growth has provided work for millions
of growers, including more than three million
smallholders who depend on the crop for theirlivelihoods, it has also posed unprecedented threats
to forests, wildlife and communities in the areas
where it is grown and harvested.
We’ve seen tropical forests converted to oil palm
plantations. And peatlands—wetlands with carbonrich soils—drained and burned for cultivation. This
results in significant greenhouse gas emissions
that contribute to climate change, as well as thedestruction of habitats for endangered species like

© FLAVIO FORNER

the orangutan. At the same time, conflict between
companies and communities over land rights
and worker health and safety issues in oil palm
production continues. But this does not have to be
the case.

THE CHALLENGE
Oil palm cultivation covers almost 20 million
hectares. And it’s estimated that 60% of
this area has replaced primary forests.
Conservation International (CI) is working withpartners at all levels, from production to market,
to support a new paradigm for sustainable palm
oil production—where improved cultivation
meets increasing demand while supporting
the livelihoods of producers and protecting thevital natural resources we all depend upon.
Approximately 85% of global palm oil
supply comes from Indonesia and Malaysia,
but cultivation is steadily expanding into
areas within Africa and Latin America—
some of the richest regions in biodiversity.
With global demand for vegetable oils
projected to exceed 300 million tonnes by
2050, the need for sustainable production ofthis important commodity is clear andbecoming increasingly urgent. But what does

© ROB MCNEIL

sustainable palm oil look like?

SustainablePalm Oil
The sustainability of palm oil comes
down to three questions:
Where is it grown?
How is it grown?
Who is benefiting from it?

© ARUN ROISRI© FLAVIO FORNER

WHERE, HOW, WHO?
Where is sustainable palm oil grown? Sustainable palm oil does not
replace important forests, peatlands or other sensitive ecosystems.
This requires improved land use planning, which aims to break thelink between oil palm expansion and deforestation by: (1) increasing
productivity on existing palm oil plantations, (2) concentrating
expansion on degraded lands with lower carbon and biodiversity value,and (3) innovating new production models that generate sustainable
livelihoods and create value for forest conservation.
How is sustainable palm oil grown? Companies and producersemploy the best available agricultural practices to improve yields
on existing plantations and pursue continuous improvement. Bestpractices minimize negative impacts to nature while maximizing
positive impacts on production, profitability, people and ecosystems.
And they encourage market access for smallholders, creating
community resilience in producing areas.
Who benefits from it? Sustainable palm oil production prioritizes
communities, so that palm oil production provides lasting livelihoodand development benefits while maintaining or enhancing thevital ecosystem services communities rely on. This is based on afundamental respect for human rights, including the principles for Free,
Prior and Informed Consent—which recognize the rights of indigenous© CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL/PHOTO BY TORY READ

peoples to give or withhold their consent to proposed projects that will
impact their lands, communities, resources or livelihoods. It includes
collaborative, equitable participation in decision making and ensuresthat those directly and indirectly impacted by oil palm production areable to thrive.

To learn more about sustainable palm oilgo to:www.conservation.org/palmoil

Where WeWork
CI works to promote sustainable palm oil at multiple levels. We engage
with companies and policymakers in key consumer markets, such as theU.S. and EU. And we work on the ground in strategic production regions
throughout South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. We focus ourefforts on places with extraordinary concentrations of natural wealthbut where mounting pressure from resource demands, ecosystemdegradation and climate change threaten to compromise© ELFSTROM

nature’s ability to provide for humanity.

EuropeUnited StatesLiberia
EcuadorBrazil© JEFF YONOVER

CI Palm Oil WorkTo learn more about where CI works go to:www.conservation.org/where© JEFF YONOVERIndonesia

CI’sApproach
We focus on growing supply, promoting
demand, and strengthening policies
for sustainable palm oil. This work is
supported through ongoing and active
engagement in key industry andsustainability dialogues.

© ARUN ROISRI© FLAVIO FORNER

We work with producers to grow the supply of sustainable palm oil.
CI works in established cultivation areas in Indonesia and Brazil, as well as expanding frontier areas in places
like Liberia, to develop and test models of sustainable cultivation most relevant to those producing regions.
This reflects our integrated approach to sustainable production—one that combines conservation, production
improvements and constructive engagement with governments and communities aimed at building local
capacity for sustainable oil palm cultivation. Through this work, CI aims to help communities adopt moresustainable production practices and increase the amount of palm oil they produce, while protecting forestsand improving livelihoods.

AGROPALMA &CONSERVATION
CI has partnered with Agropalma, the largest
producer of palm oil in Brazil, for more than
10 years to demonstrate the impacts of moresustainable production practices on local
biodiversity. CI and Agropalma developed
monitoring protocols to assess the impact
such as jaguars, the giant armadillo and thegolden parakeet—and also developed a55,000 hectare forest preserve. For every
hectare of Agropalma oil palm farm, 1.6
hectares of rainforest is protected.

Check out our video to see what
Agropalma and CI are up to:www.bit.ly/2LOFjEx© CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL/PHOTO BY KIM MCCABEof palm oil plantations on native wildlife—

INNOVATIVE MODELS FOR SUSTAINABLE
PRODUCTION IN THE FRONTIER OF LIBERIAFor more than a decade, CI has worked with communities, companies
and government partners to protect forests and to improve livelihoods
in Liberia. At the national level as part of the Tropical Forest Alliance2020’s Africa Palm Oil Initiative (APOI), CI has supported theGovernment of Liberia to convene the Oil Palm Technical Working
Group, a multi-stakeholder platform aimed at bringing civil society,policymakers and the private sector together to develop nationalprinciples for responsible oil palm. Announced at Marrakech, theseprinciples set a pathway for the country based on national definitions
for sustainable certification under RSPO and landscape planningconsiderations based on the principles of High Carbon Stock (HCS)and High Conservation Value (HCV).
CI is working with producers and communities at the landscapelevel in northwest Liberia as part of the Global Environment Facility’s
Good Growth Partnership for sustainable commodities. The goal ofthis partnership is to pilot a new approach to oil palm production—
one based on integrated and participatory landscape planning,smallholder-driven oil palm production, food security, communitybased conservation and the creation of sustainable livelihoods and© PETE OXFORD/ILCP

green jobs.

We partner with companies to promote demand for sustainable palm oil.
CI recognizes the critical role that end users play in driving improved practices in palm oil supply chains. Demand
signals from companies that process palm oil or that use palm oil in their products can create powerful incentives
for producers to convert to more sustainable practices, as well as strengthen market-based sustainability
initiatives such as the RSPO. CI works with companies to create these signals by encouraging public commitments
to sourcing 100% certified sustainable palm oil, incorporating targets for physical sourcing and ensuring alignment
with commitments to No Deforestation, Peat or Exploitation (NDPE). We also encourage downstream companies
to collaborate across the palm oil supply chain, ensuring their voice is part of the sustainability dialogue andhelping bring innovation and investment to key sourcing regions. By working with producers, manufacturers andretailers to understand market and supply chain barriers, we can identify and support a pathway that companies
can adopt to achieve sustainable sourcing commitments.

SAVE FORESTS, LIVE BETTER
Since 2004, CI has strategically advised
Walmart on incorporating environmental
sustainability into its business. By helping
green the supply chain of the world’s largest
retailer—including strengthening theirsustainable palm oil sourcing commitments
and providing tools and resources for
implementation—this work sets a precedent
that’s good for both business and the future© BENJAMIN DRUMMOND

of life on Earth.

To learn more about CI’s work withWalmart go to:www.conservation.org/Walmart

We engage with governments to strengthen policies
that support sustainable palm oil production.
Through years of building relationships on the ground, CI has become a trusted partner to local and nationalgovernments, playing a leading role in the development of national and international policy incentives forsustainable palm oil. We are working with governments to strengthen policies for where and how palm oil isproduced. We work with local and national governments to support spatial planning for palm production,
provide agricultural training programs for smallholder producers and inform the development of policy
standards through our scientific expertise. CI also provides advice and guidance to partners on how
emerging policies and standards will affect palm oil markets. In doing so, CI is able to bridge the needs ofdifferent stakeholder groups, helping to ensure policies and standards are both feasible and effective inraising the sustainability bar for the palm oil industry.

SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES PARTNERSHIP (SLP)In Indonesia, CI’s Sustainable Landscapes Partnership (SLP), promotes conservation andsustainable production of palm oil and other key commodities produced in the region. In doing so,
CI works with provincial and district governments in North Sumatra to strengthen and implement
policies which affect where and how oil palm is grown. Key accomplishments of the initiative haveincluded developing strategic environmental assessments to inform North Sumatra’s 2017 green
spatial plan for implementing low emission development that supports management of forests andpeatland; supporting community livelihoods by training 5,500 local farmers, who have had a 30%
increase in yields and improved access to markets; creating Sustainable Investment Action Plans(SIAP) for three districts as well as the province to support investment in sustainable commodities;© FLAVIO FORNER

and working with partners to implement sustainable forest management plans.

To learn more about CI’s Sustainable Landscapes Partnership go to:www.conservation.org/SLP

We actively engage in industry initiatives and sustainability dialogues.
CI is an active member of both the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the High Carbon StockApproach (HCSA) Steering Group, recognizing the importance of these forums for engaging the entire range ofpalm oil stakeholders in a dialogue for continuous improvement and advancing sustainability throughout the entire
sector. We also participate in several leading initiatives, such as the Accountability Framework. These platforms
offer an important engagement opportunity, reaching across all industry stakeholder groups and providing a forum
for innovation that we both contribute to and learn from as CI looks to incorporate sustainable palm oil into ourbroader vision and strategy for long-term forest and ecosystem protection
and sustainable community livelihoods.

ENGAGING IN THE RSPO
CI is a member of the North American Sustainable Palm Oil Network (NASPON), anRSPO working group. This platform facilitates collaboration and knowledge sharing tohelp transition the North American market to 100% certified sustainable palm oil.

ENGAGING IN THE HCSA
CI is a member of the High Forest Cover and Protection Working Groups of the HCSA,
which seek to find solutions for some of the most pressing conservation challenges
for palm oil, including how do you balance the urgent need for development andconservation in the palm oil frontier areas in Africa, Latin America and parts ofSoutheast Asia, and how do you ensure that key forest and conservation areas aren’t© JESSICA SCRANTON

just identified and set aside, but actively managed and protected.

NATURE IS SPEAKING.
CI IS LISTENING.
Join the effort! To meet growing demand for palm oil while avoiding thepotential negative impacts on communities and the environment, we must
engage in constructive and dedicated partnerships throughout the industry.
CI is committed to expanding our efforts with major buyers, traders,producers, producer associations and others to increase the adoption andproduction of sustainable palm oil as the norm in global trading markets.
And we are actively seeking new partners and support for this work.
We need the active and vocal support of informed individuals to continue tobring this important issue to light. We encourage individuals to take action.
Learn more about palm oil—the issues associated with its production, as wellas the efforts of communities, NGOs, companies and governments
to make the industry more sustainable.
Thank the companies that have taken steps toward a more sustainable
future and hold them accountable to their commitments. Ask companies
that have not yet stepped up to do so and let them know this issue isimportant to consumers. And look for the RSPO logo at the grocery store to
support the market for sustainable palm oil.
Please contact us for more information on how you can join our efforts totransform the palm oil market. With your support, we can continue to protect
the nature that people need to survive and thrive.

Contact: John Buchanan,Vice President, Sustainable Production
jbuchanan@conservation.org
To learn more about our work in sustainablepalm oil go to: www.conservation.org/palmoil