Understanding sustainable palm oil policies

Professor Jon Lovett collaborated with Indonesian researchers to investigate how Indonesia has developed effective sustainability regulations for its palm oil industry.

Unsustainable palm oil production has been linked to deforestation, habitat loss, endangered species and unjust working conditions.

Indonesia is the largest palm oil producer, so creating a more sustainable industry is key to the health of the country’s wildlife and communities.

A new research paper outlines how a mixture of non-government organisations, market pressures, and coinciding climate policies have developed Indonesia’s approach to the palm oil industry.

In particular, the authors focus on the Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) initiative, which has created a benchmark for sustainability for palm oil producers and is now a mandatory certification.

The paper, titled ‘Sustainable pathways in Indonesia's palm oil industry through historical institutionalism’ is published in World Development Sustainability. It's co-authored by Dr Annisa Joviani Astari (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia), Professor Jon Lovett (School of Geography) and Dr Meditya Wasesa (Institut Teknologi Bandung).

Effective policy considers everyone

The researchers found that there were many factors that contributed to improved sustainability regulations in Indonesia’s palm oil industry.

Professor Lovett said: “Palm oil is an important part of the Indonesian economy and the best way to achieve the three components of sustainability – economic, social and environmental – is through collaboration and partnership.”

Non-government organisations, for example, the Orangutan Land Trust, developed frameworks and ran campaigns, which provided an understanding of sustainability, drew attention to the issues in the industry, and put pressure on the government to act.

There were market pressures, which led producers to change their practices to suit consumer preferences and were supported by organisations like Sustainable Palm Oil Choice.

Indonesia established climate change mitigation targets, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which affected the palm oil industry.

These factors all contributed to changing practices and sustainability norms and eventually to the established frameworks becoming legislation.

The researchers highlight the importance of involving a wide range of people and organisations in policymaking.

When community members, industry practitioners and non-government organisations are included, the outcomes are more likely to be appropriate and suit everyone’s needs, they have found.

Dr Astari said: “The palm oil sector in Indonesia still faces significant challenges, especially regarding its environmental impact. However, the foundation for sustainability has been initiated, and a gradual shift is occurring. This is expected to serve as a strong basis for building a sustainable palm oil industry with support from various stakeholders.”

This research could be used to show pathways to sustainability in the worldwide palm oil industry.