25 Jun 2024
Indonesia: Report alleges how the country's 2nd largest palm oil company PT Astra Agro Lestari (AAL) causes land conflict and environmental degradation in Sulawesi
Summary
Date Reported: 25 Jun 2024
Location: Indonesia
Companies
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group - Investor , First Eagle Investments - Investor , BlackRock - Investor , Vanguard - Investor , Capital Group - Investor , Geode Capital Management - Investor , Lazard - Investor , Invesco - InvestorAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Indigenous peoples: ( Number unknown - Southeast Asia - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Issues
Violence , Violation of environmental safety standards , Land Rights , Free, prior & informed consent , Water pollution , Indigenous PeoplesSource type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 25 Jun 2024
Location: Indonesia
Companies
Mizuho Financial Group - Investor , Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk PT - Investor , OCBC Bank - Investor , Bank Pan Indonesia Tbk PT (Panin Bank) - Investor , Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group - Investor , Sumitomo Mitsui Banking (part of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group) - InvestorAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Indigenous peoples: ( Number unknown - Southeast Asia , Palm trees & oil , Gender not reported )Issues
Violence , Violation of environmental safety standards , Water pollution , Indigenous Peoples , Free, prior & informed consent , Land RightsSource type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 25 Jun 2024
Location: Indonesia
Companies
Colgate-Palmolive , Nestlé , Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (KLK) , Louis Dreyfus , Musim Mas , Sime Darby , Wilmar International , Golden Agri-Resources , Barry Callebaut , Danone , FrieslandCampina , General Mills , Grupo Bimbo , Hershey , Kao , L'Oreal , Kellanova (formerly Kellogg) , Mondelēz International , Neste Oil , PepsiCo , Procter & Gamble , PZ Cussons , Reckitt Benckiser , Unilever , ADM Global , Apical Group , Bunge , Cargill , Fuji Oil , OlamAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Indigenous peoples: ( Number unknown - Southeast Asia , Palm trees & oil , Gender not reported )Issues
Violence , Indigenous Peoples , Violation of environmental safety standards , Water pollution , Free, prior & informed consent , Land RightsSource type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 25 Jun 2024
Location: Indonesia
Companies
Jardine Matheson - Parent Company , Astra Agro Lestari - SubsidiaryAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Women: ( Number unknown - Southeast Asia , Palm trees & oil , Gender not reported )Issues
Women , Intimidation , Freedom of Expression , ProtestsSource type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 25 Jun 2024
Location: Indonesia
Companies
Jardine Matheson - Parent Company , Astra Agro Lestari - SubsidiaryAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Community: ( Number unknown - Southeast Asia , Palm trees & oil , Gender not reported )Issues
Land Rights , Free, prior & informed consentSource type: NGO
"Cultivating Conflict: How Astra Agro Lestari, Brands and Big Finance Capitalize on Indonesia's Governance Gaps" June 2024
Cultivating Conflict details how protracted land conflicts, ongoing governance failures, and a lack of accountability define and enable Indonesia’s second largest palm oil company Astra Agro Lestari (AAL)’s controversial operations. The report examines AAL’s ongoing land conflicts with communities in Sulawesi and its failure to provide remedy and redress for harm done, reveals how AAL’s environmental and governance violations appear to be more widespread than initially documented, and details the failures of most of AAL’s buyers and financiers to hold the company responsible by enabling AAL’s conflict palm oil to be sold on the global market.
...
Consumer brands, agribusiness traders, and investors continue to enable AAL’s violations by sourcing palm oil from the company, financing its operations, and failing to directly engage AAL to resolve conflicts and remedy harm. Despite sourcing suspensions by 10 consumer brands, numerous companies including Unilever, General Mills, and Barry Callebaut continue to source palm oil from AAL while agribusiness traders including ADM, Bunge, Cargill, and Olam are sourcing palm oil from the mills associated with AAL’s controversial subsidiaries in Sulawesi. Meanwhile, AAL’s operations are bankrolled by some of the world’s largest financiers including HSBC Bank, and enabled by shareholdings in the portfolios of BlackRock, Vanguard and other major asset managers.
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