Palm Oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil in the world today. It is estimated to be in roughly half of all consumer goods on supermarket shelves in the United States and Europe. It is also likely that palm oil companies are financed by your pension, retirement fund, or bank.
But palm oil also drives some of the worst environmental and human rights crises on the planet and is one of the leading causes of global rainforest destruction. Climate chaos, Indigenous rights violations, land grabbing, child labor, worker exploitation, and animal extinction are all caused by those looking to get rich off this commodity.
In Liberia, West Africa, a company called GVL is destroying rainforests that are home to chimpanzees, hippos, and thousands of people who have lived and worked upon these lands for generations. GVL is owned by the second largest palm oil conglomerate in the world — and financed by several US asset managers, including BlackRock, the world’s largest investment firm.
In Indonesia, food giant Indofood has been documented destroying peatlands and rainforests and systematically exploiting its workers. The largest privately held company in Indonesia, Indofood has yet to adopt a “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation” policy. In March 2019, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) terminated Indofood’s sustainability certificates and membership for failing to address worker exploitation on its plantations. Indofood is also financed by several US asset managers, including, you guessed it: BlackRock.
BlackRock has proclaimed itself a leader in responsible investing. But BlackRock is among the top global investors in all of the industries that drive deforestation. There is no room for conflict palm oil in responsible investment.
Tell BlackRock to cut ties with conflict palm oil in Liberia, drop Indofood from its portfolios, and phase out its financing of conflict palm oil.