RSPO to force consumer goods giants to go green

Bek-Nielsen: When push comes to shove, the only thing holding them back is their fear of having to pay a slight premium.

KUALA LUMPUR: A palm oil industry watchdog will adopt rules next month that will impose fines on consumer goods companies like Unilever and Nestle if they don’t start buying more green palm oil to help curb deforestation in South-East Asia, the regulating body said.

Producers of palm oil, a commodity used in everything from ice cream to lipstick, are blamed for destroying millions of hectares of forest in South-East Asia, in part by using slash-and-burn techniques that blanketed Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in smog in September.