The RSPO closed the case on First Resources. Indonesian forests kept falling for palm oil (commentary)
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) — as the name suggests — sets itself up as the arbiter of what is sustainable in the palm oil industry. For that to work, it has to do two things. First, it has to make sensible rules about what is and isn’t sustainable. Second, it has to […]
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has closed a long-standing investigation into Indonesian palm oil producer First Resources, despite evidence showing the company's continued involvement in deforestation. The RSPO, which sets sustainability rules for the palm oil industry, failed to enforce its own standards, according to a new investigation and court records.
First Resources, an RSPO member and major palm oil producer, had pledged "zero deforestation" in 2015 and gained access to markets closed to unsustainable palm oil through its RSPO membership. Allegations of the company controlling other groups that were still clearing rainforests were first brought to the RSPO in 2017. Despite these reports, the RSPO's Complaints Panel issued its final ruling in December 2025, concluding that First Resources had not violated its sustainability commitments.
This case highlights the RSPO's inability to effectively police its own rules and ensure that companies engaging in unsustainable practices are held accountable.
Written by urgent.news from Mongabay's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
