Progress! Palm Oil Supplier Sinar Mas Says it Will Stop its Deforestation

Sinar Mas has earned itself quite a reputation as an environmental villain. The company's palm oil branch, Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), regularly plows down pristine rainforest and peatlands in Indonesia, pushing endangered species like orangutans and Sumatran tigers to the brink of extinction. According to Greenpeace, Sinar Mas is now turning over a new, not-yet-chopped-down leaf: The company announced today that GAR will stop all of its deforestation in Indonesia.

Sinar Mas's plan (pdf) involves working with the Indonesian Government and The Forest Trust to transition GAR into a "fully sustainable palm oil industry which will be part of a growing Indonesian economy." It also means that Indonesia's rainforests and carbon-rich peatlands — as well as the species that call these regions home — will no longer get the axe in order to make way for Sinar Mas's oil palm plantations.

The move is a huge coup for Greenpeace, which has been turning the pressure on Sinar Mas for the past year. Through its forest conservation campaigns, Greenpeace convinced major corporations like Nestle, HSBC, Burger King, and Unilever to cut their ties with Sinar Mas because of the palm oil provider's unscrupulous practices. Looks like a threat to Sinar Mas's bottom line was the push the company needed to move in a decidedly greener direction.

Obviously Sinar Mas's plan for GAR is little more than words on paper at the moment — whether or not the palm oil supplier will fully execute this scheme and truly boast a zero deforestation footprint remains to be seen. You can bet that Greenpeace and other forest conservation groups will keep a watchful eye on the company to make sure that it fulfills its eco-minded obligations.

Let's hope that Sinar Mas does as it says it will — if the company fails to follow through on its promises, it could be the death knell for the orangutan, Sumatran tiger, and other species that call Indonesian rainforests home. One of the major causes of habitat destruction in this region is oil palm plantations. Unsustainable palm oil providers (like Sinar Mas) regularly bulldoze rainforest and peatlands in order to establish new plantations, a practice that leaves a diverse array of species homeless and contributes to climate change. If Sinar Mas — the leading supplier of Indonesian palm oil — eliminates its deforestation, you can bet that it will influence the rest of the region's oil palm providers to do the same.

Even if Sinar Mas does fulfill its obligations, it doesn't mean that this company will magically become all green and shiny. GAR, Sinar Mas's palm oil branch, is just one division of this behemoth corporation. Sinar Mas also operates paper companies like Asia Pulp and Paper. Sinar Mas may be eco-fying its palm oil divisions, but its paper companies will continue to do business as usual (read: deforestation).

Sinar Mas's commitment to transform its palm oil suppliers into sustainable operations is a big win for Greenpeace, and it's certainly a huge step in the right direction. But let's not let Sinar Mas off the hook until all the corporations' divisions agree to stop contributing to Indonesia's deforestation.

While many businesses have dropped Sinar Mas after hearing about the company's environmental misdeeds, Pizza Hut and Dunkin Donuts still maintain their ties with the corporation. Cheap pizza and sugary donuts shouldn't come at the expense of pristine rainforest and endangered species. Sign Greenpeace's petition asking Pizza Hut and Dunkin Donuts to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains.

Photo credit: Chi King via Flickr