Stopping palm oil deforestation requires pressure from multiple directions: consumer choices, corporate accountability, government regulation, and support for the farmers who grow it. No single action solves the problem, but the combination of these forces has already cut Indonesia’s annual deforestation rate by 62% compared to its historical average. Here’s what’s working and what you can do.
Why Boycotting Palm Oil Isn’t the Answer
The instinct to avoid palm oil entirely is understandable but counterproductive. Palm oil produces 3 to 6 metric tons of oil per hectare of land. Soybean yields just 0.5 tons per hectare, rapeseed 0.7, and sunflower 0.8. Collectively, those three crops use 191 million hectares of land to produce 121 million metric tons of oil, while palm oil produces 90 million metric tons on just 29 million hectares. Switching to alternatives would require clearing far more land, likely pushing deforestation into new regions like South America and sub-Saharan Africa.
The goal isn’t to eliminate palm oil. It’s to ensure that every ton of it comes from land that was already cleared, not from freshly destroyed rainforest.
Use Your Purchasing Power
About 20% of global palm oil production is now certified sustainable through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), totaling 16.2 million metric tons. That certification means the oil was produced without clearing primary forest or draining peatlands. Buying products made with RSPO-certified palm oil sends a direct market signal that sustainable sourcing pays off.
Finding these products is easier than it used to be. The PalmOil Scan app, developed through the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, lets you scan a product’s barcode and see whether the manufacturer is committed to sourcing certified sustainable palm oil. It’s available on both iOS and Android in the US and Canada, with more countries being added. You can also search by keyword if you don’t have the product in hand.
Look for the RSPO trademark on packaging. When it’s not there, check the company’s website for a palm oil sourcing policy. Many brands now publish annual reports on their supply chain commitments.
Push Companies to Follow Through
Nearly all major palm oil producers and traders have now committed to “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation” (NDPE) policies, up from 46% in 2017. These voluntary pledges mean companies promise not to source palm oil from suppliers who clear forests, destroy carbon-rich peatlands, or exploit workers. The problem is enforcement. NDPE commitments are only as strong as the monitoring behind them.
You can pressure companies by contacting brands directly through social media or email, asking them to publish their palm oil supply chain and prove compliance with their own policies. Consumer campaigns have historically been effective here. Greenpeace’s 2010 campaign against Nestlé’s use of palm oil from deforested land led the company to overhaul its sourcing within months. That kind of public accountability works because brands protect their reputations.
When companies publish sustainability reports, look for specifics: traceability to the plantation level, third-party audits, and grievance mechanisms for reporting violations. Vague language about “working toward sustainability” without timelines or data points is a red flag.
Support Stronger Regulations
The most significant regulatory development in years is the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which will require any company placing palm oil on the EU market to prove the product doesn’t originate from recently deforested land. Large and medium operators must comply by December 30, 2026, with micro and small operators following by June 30, 2027. This covers not just crude palm oil but all derived products, from processed foods to cosmetics.
The regulation works through a due diligence system. Operators must collect geographic coordinates of the land where palm oil was produced and demonstrate through satellite data that no deforestation occurred after a cutoff date. This is a fundamentally different approach from voluntary certification because it applies to all imports, not just those seeking a sustainability label.
If you live in a country without similar legislation, advocating for deforestation-free import laws is one of the highest-impact actions available. The EU regulation creates a template that other major markets (the US, UK, China, and India) could adopt. Writing to elected representatives, supporting organizations lobbying for these laws, and voting for candidates who prioritize environmental trade policy all contribute to expanding this approach.
Address the Smallholder Problem
Roughly 40% of palm oil globally comes from smallholder farmers, many of whom operate on just a few hectares. These farmers often lack the resources, technical knowledge, and funding to meet sustainability certification requirements. Indonesia’s mandatory certification system, ISPO, has been slow to reach independent smallholders because of complicated requirements, limited capacity, and almost no financial incentives like premium prices or subsidized compliance costs.
This matters because even if every multinational corporation achieves full RSPO certification, millions of small farmers will continue operating outside any sustainability framework unless they receive direct support. Effective programs need to help smallholders map their land, obtain legal documentation, meet technical standards, and organize into cooperatives that can access government programs and negotiate better prices. Without that support, deforestation-free commitments from large companies simply redirect the problem rather than solving it.
Organizations like the Rainforest Alliance, WWF, and regional nonprofits run programs that provide this kind of hands-on assistance. Donating to or volunteering with these groups channels resources to where they’re most needed.
The Progress So Far
Indonesia lost an estimated 28.4 million hectares of primary forest between 1991 and 2020. Of that, 6 million hectares were either directly converted to oil palm plantations or cleared, left idle, and later planted with palms. But the trajectory has shifted. Average annual deforestation from 2017 to 2020 dropped to 360,000 hectares, a 56% decrease compared to the previous four years.
One striking finding from a 2024 study published in PNAS: 8.8 million hectares of cleared forest in Indonesia were never even used for anything productive. They were cleared and then abandoned. That’s more land sitting idle than was planted with oil palms. This means deforestation isn’t purely driven by demand for palm oil. Speculative land clearing, weak governance, and unclear land tenure all play roles, which is why regulation and enforcement matter as much as consumer pressure.
The combination of corporate NDPE policies, government moratoriums on new plantation permits, satellite monitoring technology, and growing consumer awareness has bent the curve downward. Keeping that momentum requires sustained pressure on all fronts: buying certified products, holding companies accountable, supporting strong import laws, and funding the transition for small farmers who can’t afford to go sustainable on their own.