Crisis of deforestation

and palm oil for FMCG

products
A group of 4
Jayaditya
Mishika
Saakshi
Vedant

Date Presented:
1st September, 2022
 It is widely used in the manufacturing of many products, from

PALM OIL margarine to lipstick, biscuits to candles, and chocolate to laundry

detergent. It is also extensively used as a biofuel and as animal
feed.

Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil that comes from the palm
fruit, which grows on a specific type of tree called African oil
palm
Palm oil trees grow naturally in tropical forest areas, but
have now been planted and farmed extensively to produce
enough palm oil to satisfy global demand.
Palm oil is a very efficient crop and contributes to rural
poverty alleviation and rural development in many regions.
Palm oil grows best in low lying, wet tropical areas – exactly
where rainforests grow naturally.
. (here's the secondary research we did as a group you could skip to
slide 37 to look at various maps we made)
 Source:
https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documen
t s/global_warming/palm-oil-and-global-warming.pdf
 The demand for water in Indian
Challenges palm oil industry is a concern.
Labor conditions.
Problem Statement

01 02 03
Importing palm oil Supporting Palm oil Ensuring sustainability
contributes massively production requires a of palm oil production
to the import tax for large investment into and identifying all
the government an irrigation system stakeholders involved

Governing Bodies are necessary

Lowering importing charges to Demand for water cannot be for sustainable and ecofriendly
reduce consumption of met by rain water and so, needs palm oil production and avoid
governments treasury. an extensive irrigation system deforestation
Journey Map for
the production of
Palm Oil
STAKEHOLDER MAP - LEGENDS
STAKEHOLDER MAP click here to see the full map in
higher resolution -
https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/r
eview?
uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:8b4c581e-
76a4-367c-a376-990e62aa4c42
People involved during the starting
process
mill
Labor on the field operators
local People
for producing
Palm Oil
pesticide
sprayers
field
foremen.
water
pump
operators
fertilizer
spreaders,
, fruit
loaders,
, security Harvester
helpers harvester
guards
 PROCESS Workers
Labor

AREA OF INFLUENCE immigrants

Living Condition
oF Labor
PLAYERS INVOLVED Cultivation of locals
land
Investors

BUILDING BLOCKS
OF PLAYERS

Procurement Resources/money

Government Production of Palm

Policies
Oil Water irrigation

Factories

Transportation Cost

Export Transportation
The system is in a loop, all the small aspects
are affecting the larger system and if one will
collapse all the others would. Each arrow
Countries like
represents the areas of impact that each
indonesia and Import area has on the other
malasia
 Product Journey Map of how Palm Oil is
used to make Chocolate Bars

Mixed fruit is loaded

Harvested fruit is onto a larger truck
Palm fruit is Fruit is mixed with
loaded onto a truck and transported to
harvested on a fruit from dozens
and driven to a local a large collection
plantation. of other farms.
collection facility facility.

Crude palm oil is From the final collection This process of

Crude oil is transported in Palm fruit is collection and
point, fruit is loaded
shipped overseas tankers to a storage crushed to create compilation can
onto a truck and
to a refinery. facility. crude palm oil. happen multiple
transported to a mill.
times.

Crude palm oil is Refined palm oil is Palm oil is mixed The chocolate bar is
refined into a transferred to a into a chocolate ready to be sold to
food-grade food processing bar. stores.
product. plant.
Source: https://www.rspo.org/certification
User Flow of Palm Oil in Products

After use/Waste
Production Consumer
Management

used as an
Online
Consumers ingredient
Platforms
Empty
container
Stored
Palm Oil is Mixed consumed
just like
extracted with that
other
Nutella
from Wholesellers
Raw Agents
Equatorial
Regions Materials
Retailers Reuse the
container
Transported Disposed the
container

Other Products
Landfills
Objectives
Awareness creation and demonstration of the
The objective of the intervention is to value of improved processing technologies and
increase the efficiency of small scale practices to small-scale processors. 
palm oil processors in the Niger Technical assistance to improve capacities of
Delta region through the local local fabricators to manufacture and promote
delivery, adoption and use of usage of improved mechanized processing
affordable improved processing technologies among small-scale processors.
equipment and practices. Fostering linkages between secondary
processors and small-scale processors for
supply of palm oil based on secondary
processors’ requirements.
Developing appropriate asset financing
schemes for acquisition of improved
mechanized processing equipment and
strengthening the business planning and
management skills of processors.
Challenges
1. Not producing equipment at the right quality.
2. Not delivering the equipment on time
3. The cost of the equipment is beyond the reach of processors.
4. Cooperatives are not able to secure loans for purchase of equipment.
5. Secondary processors are unable to secure a supply of palm oil at the right quantity and quality
from primary processors.
6. The loan requirements set out by financial institutions remain too demanding for smallholder
farmers, who may not be able to comply with bank lending criteria and requirements.
Intervention 1 :
Improving the Extraction Efficiency of
Small-scale Primary Processors
The FGN’s ATA has oil palm as one of its priority crops and aims to
increase local palm oil production through the free distribution of
improved variety seedlings, demonstration of fertility management
practices and direct supply of motorised harvesters and improved
presses. A UNIDO project seeks to establish oil palm pilot centres in
two states within the region. This project will focus its interventions
on three areas: improving technology transfer, capacity
development and improving market access and competitiveness.
The World Bank assisted National FADAMA project through its pilot
productive asset acquisition component provides matching grants
to enable beneficiaries to purchase processing equipment. There are
also state government initiatives that provide free seedlings,
fertilisers and agrochemicals to small holders to promote cultivation
of small oil palm plantations.
 Wildlife corridors can also help to make oil palm farming more environmentally

Intervention 2 friendly. These corridors are areas of conserved land or forests within or between
plantations. Wildlife corridors help to support biodiversity and allow animals to
move around. For example, Borneo elephants normally travel through oil palm
plantations and eat the trunks of old oil palms—up to 150 kg per day! This causes
the growers to dislike the elephants. So, the growers teamed up with WWF-
Malaysia to make a wildlife corridor of 1,067 hectares, linking two forests. They
hope this will provide a route for the elephants to travel through the plantations,
with different types of food so the oil palms will be saved [5]. Wildlife corridors are
not just important for large mammals. Corridors along rivers within oil palm
plantations are very important for invertebrates, such as moths and dung beetles
[6]. Often, the animals will spend most of their time in the corridors rather than in
the oil palm plantations. Wildlife corridors would not stop all the negative impacts
that farming has on local animals, but they will help animals move around better
and provide different food sources, reducing conflict.

https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2020.00086
Intervention 3 Growing oil palm on unused farm land could also help to reduce deforestation [7].
Scientists have shown that turning unused farm land into oil palm plantations
reduces carbon emissions by 99.7%, compared to clearing rainforests for these
farms. The amount of biodiversity on unused farm land is also much lower than
that of rainforests, so biodiversity levels may actually increase if oil palms are
planted on this unused land

https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2020.00086
Intervention 4 Eat locally produced and wholesome (non-processed) foods. Not only is this
healthier for you, but it is also healthier for the environment, because local
products do not need to travel around the world before reaching your plate or
lunchbox!

Also, if you find out that your favorite chocolate bar does not contain sustainable
palm oil, then write a letter or an email to the company and explain to them how
disappointed you are and what they could do to help. You could download Act for
Wildlife’s Sustainable Palm Oil shopping list (https://www.chesterzoo.org/what-
you-can-do/our-campaigns/sustainable-palm-oil/sustainable-palm-oil-shopping-
list/) to find replacement foods. Maybe you even feel passionate enough to start a
conversation with your friends, to find strategies to boycott products using non-
sustainable palm oil. For example, you can ask your local supermarket to replace
products using non-sustainable palm oil with other more environmentally friendly
options. You and your friends can even help stores by making a list of those
products. Last, you could help by learning even more about which companies are
using sustainable palm oil or which products contain sustainable palm oil. Here
are some resources:

https://gikibadges.com

https://apps.apple.com/au/app/palm-oil-scanner/id1264641219 that helps you

scan if there's palm oil in the products

(you could just skip to the solution aspect if it is getting too

monotonous)
 A major opportunity exists for small holder farmers to
Intervention 5 : supply FFB to large integrated estates who are currently
not operating at optimal capacity.
Enhancing linkages and
supply arrangements These smallholder groups would be engaged by the mills
and information on potential demand, quality, pricing, and
between independent small payment mechanisms would be provided to them. Based
scale plantation owners and on the potential demand, the capacity of the smallholder
groups would be enhanced to organise supplies for the
large scale integrated mills mills.

The guaranteed supply of FFB would translate into

guaranteed sales and incomes for small/medium scale
plantation farmers. It is expected that this would
incentivise the farmers to adopt more MADE – Market
Development programme in the Niger Delta 12 efficient
harvesting techniques and good agricultural management
practices in the short term and expansion of plantations in
the long term.
The intervention will initially concentrate on selected
clusters in Rivers State and will facilitate linkages between
potential large mills, small scale farmers groups and
extension service agents.
 Risk Analysis
Necessary Actions
(Weaknesses)

Identify smallholder farming cooperatives within 50-

100km of large integrated estates willing to participate
Facilitate meetings between large integrated estates
and small holder farming cooperatives in Cross River, Large mills might be unwilling to investment in the
Delta, and Rivers. development of a procurement system for small-holder
Strengthening the capacities of small holder groups to farmers
meet large mill demand requirement. Farmers might default on terms of agreement when
Strengthening the capacities of farmer groups in prevailing market price of FFB is greater than agreed
sustainable business activities (input supply, joint price.
marketing).
Demonstration of good agricultural management
practices.
Intervention 6 :
Certified sustainable palm oil cannot be grown
in place of primary forest or in important
conservation areas.

In 2004, WWF helped set up the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm

Oil (RSPO), a group that includes every link in the global supply
chain, from growers and processors, to food companies and
retailers and investors. With the RSPO, WWF developed a set of
international standards for responsible palm oil production.
Producers that show they meet these criteria are able to sell
certified sustainable palm oil. That means companies that use it
in their lipstick, soap, margarine or whatever else can make the
same guarantee to their customers.
Certified sustainable palm oil cannot be grown in place of primary
forest or in important conservation areas. Growers have to use the
best growing practices to keep soil and water supplies healthy, and
to reduce pollution and carbon emissions. They also need to pay a
decent wage and respect the rights of workers and communities.
The first certified sustainable palm oil came on to the market in
September 2008. Today, about 6.4% of all palm oil is certified
sustainable. By looking out for CSPO, the label for sustainable palm
oill, you'll be able to buy these products safe in the knowledge that
you're not contributing to the destruction of the rainforests.
Intervention 7 :
Palm oil labelling

ISince 2014 the EU law on food information to consumers (known

as FIC) has ensured that any food items containing palm oil
must be labelled as such.
Until the introduction of this law, palm oil on an ingredients list
on food items could be referred to in a variety of different ways.
These were often quite generic such as vegetable oil or cocoa
butter substitute (CBS).
However many argue that the new law has not gone far enough
as it only applies to food items and doesn’t cover palm oil
derivatives either in food and non-food items. These are still
hidden under a plethora of misleading synonyms.
Palm oil labels

The International Palm Oil Free Certification Trademark &

Accreditation Programme
The International Palm Oil Free Certification Trademark &
Accreditation Programme is an independent, not for profit
certification programme approved to certify products,
companies or processes in 12 countries with applications
pending in 5 others.

Orangutan Alliance's label

Orangutan Alliance is an independent industry-based, non-
profit organization and registered charity promoting the
reduction of non-sustainable palm oil in consumer products.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil

Companies that are part of the RSPO can use this logo on their
products
Intervention 8 :
#KnowYourPalm

In an effort to educate consumers in India, the world’s largest importer of palm oil, RSPO has
collaborated with The Better India to launch the very first consumer campaign in the market -
#KnowYourPalm. The campaign aims to raise awareness among Indian consumers about the
importance of the production and consumption of sustainable palm oil.
Indian consumers today no longer want to play the role of silent observers. They know the
importance of palm oil to different industries, but they are also aware that unsustainable
production of palm oil can lead to deforestation in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and
Malaysia - two of the biggest exporters of palm oil to India.
Indian consumers understand how their choices can affect their lives and the lives of others, as
well as wildlife and the environment. They are also aware that the current climate crisis is one of
the biggest threats to the planet. And that the rainforests in Southeast Asia, the ‘lungs of the
planet’, are a critical carbon sink. If Indian consumers know there is a way to produce palm oil
more ethically and sustainably, the demand for it should increase.
Intervention 9 :
RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil)

Instead of boycotting palm oil altogether, businesses are being encouraged to buy their palm oil
from more sustainable sources.
The RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) was set up in 2001, with representatives from 40%
of the palm oil industry, to provide a set of ethical and ecological standards for the production of
palm oil. Farmers had to commit to practices that avoided habitat destruction and instead, try to
find ways to increase the yield from the trees they already had.
Attempts are being made to breed from the most productive trees, genetically modifying
plantations to be more productive over time. There are also big increases in yield to be had from
changing the time that fertiliser is used. “Right now the average yield in Malaysia and Indonesia is
18 ½ tons of fresh fruit bunches per hectare. In places with the best management practices, they’re
already getting 30 tons per hectare,” says Philip Taylor from the University of Colorado.
Sustainable palm oil farms are also being developed on non forest land in places such as
Columbia, where people are being encouraged to grow palm oil instead of other illegal crops.
Intervention 10 :
Responsible Palm Oil

Adding to the tragedy of the environmental damage caused by

standard palm oil production practices is the fact that it can be
avoided. In locations suitable for African oil palm trees there is
almost always available land that has been previously cleared
for some other purpose. It may take a little added time, effort
and capital to find and obtain it, but the resulting decrease in
deforestation is worth it—as companies like Daabon can attest.
The same is true for peatlands. Palm oil producers need to
understand how vital they are to the environment and leave
them in their natural state.
There are other practices that responsible palm oil producers can
implement to protect the environment. For example, farming without
using toxic chemicals and pesticides minimizes a palm oil production
operation’s impact on the land. In addition, unneeded plant matter
from the milling of palm fruit can be used as animal feed or fertilizer
that goes back into the soil.
What’s more, wastewater from production processes can and should
be captured and treated rather than released into the environment.
At Daabon, for example, wastewater is turned into biofuel that not
only powers our facilities but also puts excess energy into the grid.
Finally, responsible palm oil producers must understand all the
creatures that inhabit the areas where they farm—from the tiniest
microorganisms in the soil to animals that forage for food and make
their homes in the region. Sustainable practices can avoid harming
these creatures and losing the benefits of their contribution to the
environment.
Problem
Statement
01 02 03
No clear consequence Benefits of palm oil Requires behavioral
for using less palm oil make it a necessity changes to make an
impacts
Palm oil's production doesnt Palm oil plantations are much
convey the deforestation taking more efficient at producing an Palm oil products are used
place for palm oil production output compared to other oils. frequently and practices
since its behind the line of Thus it acts as the lesser evil cannot be improved without
visibility of the consumers and is a often used ingredient mass public backing
 Ideation Process
The topics we brainstormed

Points based system Vending Machine

Shopping super market.
Reward based for every choice you make for a product that
Using points in the form of customer loyalty points for
everytime there was a palm free product purchase is on display,Focusses on gamification

Labels on packaging
Digital movement
Have products that are palm free , have a label or a Influencers,sponserships anf relevant hastags to put the
ribbon to attract more consumers to get drawn to the
crisis on spotlight
product

Public space
Video advertising
Have a video playing in places where people hault so redesign
they get visually stimulated about the issue
Have a pillar with inscriptions of all the land lost to palm
plantations, to create awareness(like a monument)
Interactive Focussed on awareness creation
questionnaire
Reward based questionnaire which makes people want
to interact with it more, thereby spreading awareness

MAINLY FOCUSSING ON BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES

The idea for the solution
The process begins with user interaction with the vending machine. They can choose a product to
purchase.

If the product ingredients database confirms palm oil being used in the product, the vending machine
would highlight the non-palm oil products through the machine window. In the final purchase screen,
there would be infographic representation/poster/Slideshow to convey the negative impact on the
environment on one half of the screen whereas the other half would be occupied by the completing
purchase dialog box. Sources and links, including those to a video or an in-depth but simple analysis
would be included in the form of QR code or Website links to allow users to view more information or
delve deeper into the topic at their own discretion. On completion of purchase, there would also include
a short questionnaire with simple questions to understand the stance and opinions of the audience. This
can be viewed on the machine(at the discretion of the user) or on a website that can be accessed by QR
code or website links provided. On getting 8 or more out of 10 correctly, the predetermined rewards
(Discounts/coupons/offers etc.). If the user answers less than 8, they 'lose' the game.

If the user selects products which do not contain palm oil or contain cruelty free or sustainable palm oil,
the user is sent to the final purchase screen which follows similar routes but grants 'rewards' (as
previously mentioned) to the user for their selection.
Questionnaire

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSej
wAoDcu7dSeUN5vGDtage5omoIQ26fZhpe6vh5I
sCQ917Ng/viewform?usp=sharing
Benefits of a Vending Machine
Low Overhead Costs. Vending machines are a convenient
way to feed a large staff with minimal overhead
Easy Maintenance & Management.
Keeps Employees Happy.
Improves Team Productivity
Employees Stay On-Site.
Customizable Options.
Promotes Health & Wellness.
Quick & Easy Access
Efficient and strategic utilization of space
Contactless ordering and follow all Covid protocol.
 A vending machine has good visibility
and footfall and it can be used to reach
out to more people without making
that additional expenditure. Efficient
and strategic utilization of space is key
to maximizing sales & profits.
A vending machine is an investment of INR
1.5- 2 Lakh if purchased. The profitability of
the business is such that you can recoup
your investment in about 18-24 months.
You can earn revenue by selling products,
directly through your vending machines.
On average, a vending machine business has
an ROI of about 20%, annually. This means
that the profits would exceed the initial
investment in 4 years.
Since vending machines have a lifespan of
12 to 24 years, the business would make at
least a three-fold profit on the investment,
excluding any improvements or additions to
the business.
Possible Products In the Vending Machine
All the listed products above are either palm oil free or they contain cruelty
free palm oil.
The products chosen are a quick grab for the busy users on daily basis,
according to the place the vending machine is located the product categories
would also vary.
Possible Products In the Vending Machine
All the listed products above contain palm oil.
WHY do we have palm oil products in the machine?
To create more awareness among the people we need to provide with products
that are tempting to it's audience and once taken they get to know about the
harm caused by their favorite product and the user will get information about
how they are contributing to that harm and in what ways.
Badges
Cloth Bags
 RESEARCH
While exploring about the colour of the badge, we The orange to make the users feel confident in the
tried to understand how would one act
1.make it attractive and appealing and
2. Inclusive we also made sure to include colours that can be
viewed by the colour blind people to make it
Through research we realised that mostly rainbow inclusive and both these colours seemed to
since the wavelength of all colours exist in contribute.
harmony it can be drawing one's attention, but we
wanted to stick to just a few colours to make Green too was used to reflect the sustainable
similar badges for the cause. aspect of palm oils

We used the colours orange , blue as they seemed

to be more appealing and they depict trust with
the information we provided

3
Using soap kits for the campaign
Soaps in general use some kind of oil to give it a
form and smell, without oil (or fatty acids of oils) the
saponification reaction can't take place.
Saponification is the reaction from mixing these oils
with an alkaline base. The oil in the bar soaps give it
a solid shape. Liquid soaps generally use only 2% of
oil and majority of it is essentially oil.
The idea of soap kit won’t be feasible, the purpose of
a vending machine is less interaction and making a
stall for produring soap can be risky.
It will add to the budget of the whole campaign and
would restrict the employees to one area when they
could spread awareness through other means like
social media, speeche, etc.
LOCATION FOR PLACES
Malls -a place where people come to shop,easy to gain Metro - waiting time enables to explore installations,most people
attraction at two places- in the centre/at entrances use the metro(serves as a safe,but yet a very public place.
and exits (gains attraction) Safe from robbery and rains
Supermarket or Foodcourts - While people come to shop, during the wait time they
could explore the vending machine
Hotels-near the biling when place,because of how engaging the
machine it could gain attraction

Society - near club houses,or amphitheatre where people visit

often,can be a source for a quick grab

Airport - waiting lounge could have luxury products//even

quick bites before a flight,ample of wait time

College - canteen , quick grab,close to daily transaction can

generate more awareness

Museums - Food court could serve as a good place/vending

machine in itself could be an installation, which goes on to be a
social media movement.
REWARDS
Cashbacks, discounts, giveaways provide the incentive to customers to
keep buying and engaging with the vending machine and your brand

For badges it would make sense in a mall , as it is has enough free space for
one to be able to see multiple people wearing the same badge

Videos need a place to stall at so the pause points,where people tend to

wait could serve as a good place.As they are static and people tend to look
around generally, could be as they wait for a train, or an elevator,or while
they wait for billing
Booklets seem to serve as a good means of grabbing quick information while
you are in a hurry.

Cloth bags can have vibrant handprinted motifs and slogans which when
carried around by people can gain attention and help with directing people
towards our vending machine and also helps with sustainable living.

Videos need a place to stall at so the pause points,where people tend to

wait could serve as a good place.As they are static and people tend to look
around generally, could be as they wait for a train, or an elevator,or while
they wait for billing
Jars that make soaps use the 'ikea' effect and serve good in terms of
promoting sustainable living
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ0Mxz0jUQ0tZoQbO5daE-
mMAIR5f3BLijk28JgA0ymkGN1lsF5CWr87H0f2SmVuvfTJFM&usqp=CAU
Resources
1. Intervention 1 and 5 - https://pindfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Palm-Oil-Intervention-
Justification.pdf
2. Intervention 6 (WWF Video On Palm oil) - https://youtu.be/7BRGj0DwYwA
3. Intervention 6 (2nd Resource) - https://ecovibe.co.uk/blogs/news/palm-oil-problems-solutions
4. Intervention 7 (Palm oil labelling) - https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/palm-oil/palm-oil-labelling
5. Intervention 8 (#KnowYourPalm) - https://www.rspo.org/news-and-events/news/firstever-consumer-
campaign-knowyourpalm-launches-in-india
6. Intervention 9 (RSPO) - https://ypte.org.uk/factsheets/palm-oil/what-can-be-done-to-improve-the-situation
7. Intervention 10 (Responsible Palm Oil) - https://palmtoday.org/responsible-palm-oil-production-2/
8. Intervention 11 (TMEA) - https://tripleline.com/insight/article/identifying-early-stage-interventions-to-
transform-palm-oil-processing-in-burundi
9. Intervention 12 (Lean ergonomics) - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/309/1/012109
10. Intervention 13 (PepsiCo) - https://www.pepsico.com/our-impact/esg-topics-a-z/palm-oil
11. Intervention 14 Management of Palm Oil By Indonesia Government -
https://www.redalyc.org/journal/279/27964799033/html/
12. Intervention 15 (Southeast Asia) - https://www.renature.co/articles/palm-oil-agroforestry/