Greenpeace said on Thursday it had fresh evidence that palm oil firms linked to Indonesian agribusiness giant Sinar Mas have bulldozed rainforest and destroyed endangered orangutan habitats in Kalimantan.
The charges were denied by palm oil firm PT SMART Tbk, part of Sinar Mas, which has already said it would stop clearing critical forests.
The accusations, leveled by Greenpeace in a new report, is the latest chapter in a long and bitter dispute between the conservationists and a key player in one of Indonesia’s biggest industries, palm oil.
The high stakes battle has already led to top palm oil buyers Unilever and Nestle dropping PT SMART as a supplier.
Industry giant Cargill on Thursday reiterated that it may also delist the Indonesian producer if the allegations of wrongdoing are borne out in an audit due to be released next month.
It also has implications for Indonesia, which competes fiercely with neighboring Malaysia for dominance of the lucrative palm oil market and which is also under intense international pressure to curb deforestation, seen as fuelling dangerous climate change.
