Brands including Nestlé and Procter & Gamble have said they conducted investigations after an environmental group said palm oil sourced from an illegally cleared wildlife reserve in Indonesia may have found its way into their supply chains.
Rainforests within the legally protected wildlife reserve had been cleared to make way for palm oil plantations during the last eight years, according to the US-based Rainforest Action Network (RAN).
The organisation cited satellite images that it says reveal deforestation in the area.
The group shared images which it said showed stretches of cleated brown land cut into the lush green expanse of Indonesia’s Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, with rows of young palm trees now planted along its border.
Some images – which RAN said were taken during a field investigation in February 2024 – showed that oil palm seedlings were planted on the burnt ground surrounded by falling trees in the reserve, according to the report published on Monday.
The wildlife reserve has lost 2,609 hectares (6,447 acres) of forest since 2016, with palm trees now growing on 645 hectares of the cleared area, RAN said.
Reuters could not independently confirm these findings.
Brands
RAN said its investigation found that fresh fruit bunches from the illegal plantations were sold to mills PT Global Sawit Semesta (GSS) and PT Aceh Trumon Anugerah Kita (ATAK).
Both of these mills subsequently supplied products to major brands, including Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Mondelēz and PepsiCo, according to the RAN report.
Companies typically source palm oil form Indonesian mills through intermediaries.
A Nestlé spokesperson said it promptly engaged with its direct supplier regarding GSS to investigate RAN’s findings, adding that by the end of 2023, 96% of its palm oil was ‘deforestation free.’
The spokesperson said, “Should there be a need to find remedies, we will take necessary action.”
Procter & Gamble old Reuters that it had conducted an investigation following RAN’s findings and immediately suspended sourcing from both GSS and ATAK.
Other companies, including Mondelēz and Pepsi, did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
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