Jakarta – WALHI National Executive, WALHI Central Kalimantan, and TuK INDONESIA held a protest titled "RSPO is Greenwashing!". The protest took place in conjunction with the RSPO 2026 Regional Meeting in Jakarta.
The RSPO is a sustainability certification scheme that claims to uphold the principles of environmentally and socially responsible palm oil production. However, these claims are questionable given that the RSPO continues to maintain certifications for its members who are currently involved in forest and land fires, human rights violations, and ecological damage. This clearly creates a contradiction between the sustainability claims established through certification and the reality of palm oil industry practices that contribute to environmental destruction. Therefore, WALHI and TuK INDONESIA view the RSPO as an organization greenwashing.
"This initiative is intended to raise public awareness – particularly among buyers, financiers, brands, and consumers – that certification does not guarantee a product's sustainability," said Linda Rosalina, Executive Director of TuK INDONESIA. Ironically, this year's RSPO Annual Meeting was held with great fanfare while the people were struggling to extinguish forest and land fires and cope with toxic smoke. "The RSPO and its members should not be in Jakarta; rather, they should be at the sites of the forest and land fires. They must ensure that the fires are extinguished immediately and that the people are granted their right to a healthy environment. The RSPO and its members must be held accountable for violating the constitutional rights of the Indonesian people," Linda continued.
TuK INDONESIA urges financiers, in particular banks and investors, to conduct reviews and due diligence on the financing that has been provided to RSPO members. To no longer consider RSPO certification as an indicator of green economic activity. And to urge brands and buyers to conduct due diligence and ensure supply chain traceability all the way down to the plantation level, without relying on RSPO certification. Brands and buyers must cease purchasing from suppliers proven to be involved in forest and land fires and human rights violations, and who have failed to make corrective actions, while also taking responsibility for environmental restoration and ensuring the rights of affected communities are upheld.
WALHI's analysis identifies companies implicated in forest and land fires and registered as RSPO members. There are 14 corporate groups and one company implicated in forest and land fires based on heatspot analysis with a high confidence level (above 80%) and field findings: 1) Genting Plantation Berhad; 2) SD Guthrie Berhad; 3) Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad; 4) United Plantations Bhd; 5) First Resources Limited; 6) Golden Agri Resources; 7) Musim Mas Holdings Pte. Ltd.; 8) Wilmar International Limited; 9) PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk; 10) Bumitama Agri Ltd.; 11) PT Prime Agri Resources Tbk.; 12) PT Sumber Tani Agung Resources Tbk; 13) PT Sawit Sumbermas Sarana; 14) PT Triputra Agro Persada Tbk; and 15) PT Palmina Utama.
"This situation indicates that sustainability certification risks becoming a tool for greenwashing when the labels awarded actually help companies build an environmentally friendly image without guaranteeing the prevention of damage or the remediation of the resulting impacts. Certification should not serve as a shield for corporations to avoid accountability for forest and land fires. On the contrary, companies proven to have violated environmental standards must face strict sanctions, including the review and revocation of their certification if they meet the applicable grounds and provisions," said Umi Ma'rufah, Forest and Plantation Campaigner at WALHI National, emphatically.
Janang Firman Palanungkai, Regional Executive Director of WALHI Central Kalimantan, emphasized that "Numerous environmental violations committed by many RSPO members have been documented in the field, particularly the most recent forest fires that have been occurring from July through October 2026. The RSPO should conduct independent audits and evaluate all of its member companies. The RSPO must not become merely a facade behind the massive environmental destruction in Indonesia, particularly in Central Kalimantan. It would set a terrible precedent if, in the future, the RSPO – which is supposed to uphold environmental sustainability – were to turn a blind eye to incidents of environmental destruction," he said.
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