Stop the "oil for ape" scandal
News Release: For immediate release: 22nd February 2006
Photo Opportunity: Campaigners dressed as orang-utans will be interacting with members of the public in city centre Manchester, from 11.30am on Saturday 25th February.
On Saturday 25th February, campaigners from Manchester Friends of the Earth will be donning orang-utan costumes to demonstrate how palm oil – the hidden ingredient in thousands of everyday products – is driving the orang-utan to extinction. The life-like orang-utans will be involving Saturday shoppers in the city centre in signing postcards which call for a change in company law to require company directors to minimise the environmental and social impacts of their business, such as those caused by the palm oil trade [1].
Palm oil is found in 1 in 10 products on UK supermarket shelves, from crisps and bread to margarine, detergent and lipstick. However, demand for the oil is driving a relentless spread of oil-palm plantations. This is the most significant cause of rainforest loss in Indonesia and Malaysia and is destroying the habitat of many rare and endangered species, including the Sumatran tiger and particularly the orang-utan.
A report published in September by Friends of the Earth and the world’s leading orang-utan conservation groups concluded that without urgent intervention, the palm oil trade could cause the extinction of the orang-utan ape within 12 years [2].
As part of this deforestation, land has also been stolen from indigenous peoples by the Governments of Indonesia and Malaysia and handed over to palm oil companies. The resulting conflict has led to large numbers of human rights violations and there is irrefutable evidence that hundreds of local community activists have been tortured.
There are over 500 companies in the UK that buy and sell palm oil and palm oil products, and only a fraction of these have joined the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil – an association of business and NGO (Non Government Organisation) representatives seeking to promote sustainable palm oil. Those who have signed up include Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Asda, Boots and Marks & Spencer.
One company that is taking a responsible approach to palm oil is the Manchester based Co-op group. Its retail business has signed up to the RSPO and its insurance arm – Cooperative Insurance Services (CIS) – is trying to encourage the companies it invests in to address issues of human rights and environmental abuses in their supply chains. It has, for example, asked them to start sourcing their palm oil more sustainably and to join the RSPO.
Samantha Lacey, the Responsible Shareholding Analyst for CIS who has been working on this issue, commented:
“We fully support the work of Manchester Friends of the Earth in bringing this important issue to the attention of the public.”
Friends of the Earth wants to see a law put in place that prevents UK companies from acting in irresponsible ways (such as their complacency regarding palm oil). The group is calling on the UK Government to give company directors a legal duty to minimise their environmental impacts through the Company Law Reform Bill, the biggest shake up of company law for a generation, which will have its second reading in Parliament next month.
Helen Rimmer, campaigner with Manchester Friends of the Earth [3], said:
“UK companies and supermarkets have shown that they cannot be trusted to act responsibly in the sourcing of products such as palm oil and a change in the law is needed to stop them acting so destructively. The Government is re-writing company law at present and we currently have a rare opportunity to influence it. If we don’t take action now, we will have to explain to future generations why the orang-utan became extinct – and our only explanation will be that it happened because of corporate greed and a lack of political will.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
[1] Along with the other members of the CORE Coalition (www.corporate-responsibility.org) and the Trade Justice Movement (www.tjm.org.uk), Friends of the Earth is campaigning for changes to company law which make UK business work better for people and the planet. We are campaigning for the Company Law Reform Bill to be amended so that:
- Companies are legally required to report on their social and environmental impacts.
- Directors are legally obliged to minimise any damage their company does to local communities and the environment.
- People overseas who are harmed by the activities of a UK company are able to take action against them in a UK court.
[2] The report, “The Oil for Ape Scandal – How palm oil is threatening the orang-utan”, is published by Friends of the Earth together with the Orangutan Foundation, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation and the Sumatran Orangutan Society as members of the Ape Alliance.
For a copy of the summary or full report please go to:
Summary: www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/oil_for_ape_summary.pdf
Full report:
www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/oil_for_ape_full.pdf
[3] Manchester Friends of the Earth is a prominent pressure group, raising awareness and lobbying for policy changes at a local, regional, national and international level. The group consists entirely of volunteers, and its campaigns are funded by membership fees and individual donations. Up-to-date information is available on their website: https://www.manchesterfoe.org.uk. Manchester Friends of the Earth is part of a national network of local groups, affiliated to the national organisation (further information can be found at http://www.foe.co.uk).
[4] Pictures of orang-utan can be downloaded from: www.foe.co.uk/resource/images/orangutan_report
