By: Devane Sharma
Understanding Deforestation and Its Causes| Can Palm Oil Be Sustainable and Deforestation-Free? | Musim Mas’ Zero Deforestation Commitment | How Musim Mas Prevents Deforestation in Its Supply Chain | The Tools We Use to Monitor Deforestation | Our Responsibilities as a Palm Oil Major
Understanding Deforestation and Its Causes
Deforestation—the large-scale conversion of forests—poses a major threat to biodiversity, carbon storage, and global climate change. It is often characterised as being a purposeful clearing of forests. 1 Driven by agricultural expansion, logging, and infrastructure development, it has led to the loss of millions of hectares of forests worldwide. The palm oil industry has historically been associated with deforestation, but through responsible sourcing and sustainability initiatives, companies like Musim Mas are proving that palm oil production can be both sustainable and deforestation-free.
Can Palm Oil Be Sustainable and Deforestation-Free?
Palm oil is the world’s most widely used vegetable oil, found in food, cosmetics, and biofuels. It is versatile, and a highly efficient crop, producing more oil per hectare than any other vegetable oil crop.
Palm oil can be planted and managed in a sustainable way. By adopting No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) policies, investing in traceability tools, transparency, and verification, as well as supporting smallholder inclusion, companies can eliminate deforestation from their supply chains. Certification schemes, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and government-led initiatives, further support sustainable palm oil production.
Musim Mas’ Zero Deforestation Commitment
At Musim Mas, we recognize our responsibility in driving sustainability within the palm oil sector. That’s why we committed to an NDPE policy in 2014, which applies not only to our own operations but also to our entire supply chain.
Musim Mas’ No Deforestation pledge means that we do not develop land in High Conservation Value (HCV) areas, High Carbon Stock (HCS) forests, or peatlands. However, over 85% of the crude palm oil processed at Musim Mas’s mills is sourced from third-party mills. To address this challenge, we actively work with our suppliers to ensure compliance and help them transition toward responsible production. Our goal is to achieve a 100% verified deforestation-free supply chain by 2025.
We are also one of the signatories to the Agricultural Sector Roadmap to 1.5°C that is led by the Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA). The sector roadmap aims to accelerate existing action by the agri-commodity sector on deforestation and conversion to align with global climate goals, in a way that contributes to food security, economic development and farmer livelihoods.
How Musim Mas Prevents Deforestation in Its Supply Chain
To ensure that deforestation does not enter our supply chain, we have developed a comprehensive NDP Risk Management Framework (RMF). This framework allows us to identify, assess, and mitigate deforestation risks at different levels of our supply chain, from our direct suppliers to independent smallholders.We use a systematic, volume-based approach, leveraging our NDP RMF and traceability data to calculate the deforestation-free volume of our supply chain.
1. Deforestation Risk Assessment and Mitigation
One of the key strategies in preventing deforestation is knowing exactly where our raw materials come from.
- 100% Traceability to Mill (TTM): We have achieved full traceability to the mills supplying our refineries.
- Traceability to Plantation (TTP): We have achieved 98% TTP, and are working towards full traceability at the plantation level, allowing us to assess whether fresh fruit bunches (FFB) originate from deforested areas.
- Supplier engagement: We increase the awareness of our suppliers, provide training on best practices, traceability, and deforestation-free commitment implementation.
- Risk Classification: We categorize mills and plantations into low, medium, or high-risk based on their proximity to areas that should not be converted, on a review of past land-use change, and also on their commitments and implementation.
2. Deforestation Risk Containment
We actively engage with our suppliers to ensure compliance with our sustainability commitments:
- Time-Bound Action Plans: For suppliers flagged as high-risk, we develop action plans to help them align with NDPE requirements.
- Suspension and Remediation: Suppliers that fail to meet our standards face exclusion, and might re-enter after satisfying the requirements of Musim Mas’ controlled purchase protocol.
- Landscape action: We participate in landscapes initiatives, engaging suppliers, NGO, and local governments to increase awareness about deforestation risk, and to support action to monitor and stop deforestation.
The Tools We Use to Monitor Deforestation
Preventing deforestation requires a combination of technology, data analytics, and field verification. While we recognize that deforestation can occur, monitoring can serve as a deterrent. Musim Mas employs multiple tools and methodologies to ensure that no deforestation occurs within our supply chain.
1. Satellite Monitoring and Spatial Analysis
We use satellite imagery and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to monitor land-use changes in our sourcing regions.
- Earthqualizer Platform
With the TTP data and concession boundaries we obtain from our suppliers, we proactively monitor relevant landscapes using the Earthqualizer platform. The platform monitors our supply chain concessions, reports on land clearing, and documents evidence of non-compliance. - RADD (Radar for Detecting Deforestation): These platforms provide near real-time monitoring of deforestation alerts. An innovative platform by the Global Forest Watch (GFW) and supporting agencies/universities that provides deforestation alerts through multiple analytical systems, namely GLAD, GLAD-S2 and RADD. Combined, these can detect change in primary forests as well as plantations and younger forests
- Internal Monitoring: We collect geolocation data from mills and suppliers to overlay with conservation maps, allowing us to flag potential deforestation risks.
2. Public Data Sources
We leverage publicly available data and industry platforms to identify and track grievances related to deforestation:
- RSPO Grievance System: The RSPO Grievance System is a formal mechanism that allows stakeholders to file complaints against RSPO members who may be violating sustainability commitments, including No Deforestation policies. Once a complaint is submitted, RSPO investigates and facilitates mediation or corrective actions if needed. Musim Mas monitors this system to identify potential non-compliance issues within our supply chain and ensures that suppliers take the necessary steps to address grievances.
- Government and NGO Reports: Data from conservation organizations helps us stay informed about illegal land clearing activities. For example, we rely on data from GeoRSPO, Greenpeace Kepo Hutan, and Global Forest Watch.
3. Direct Verifications
Despite the power of satellite technology, field verification remains crucial to validate compliance:
- Supply Chain Audit: We conduct site visits to high-risk mills and plantations.
- Site Verifications: In special cases, we conduct field verifications, to address complex supply chains situations.
Our Responsibilities as a Palm Oil Major
As one of the world’s largest palm oil companies, Musim Mas has a responsibility to lead by example. Preventing deforestation is not just about mitigating environmental risk—it’s about securing a sustainable future for our industry, smallholder farmers, and local communities.
Our commitment extends beyond compliance:
- Driving Industry-Wide Change:
Musim Mas focuses on addressing sustainability challenges beyond individual supply chains by working at the jurisdictional and landscape levels. This is outlined under Musim Mas’ Landscape Strategy. Instead of engaging only with direct suppliers, the group collaborates with governments, NGOs, and local communities to promote deforestation-free production, smallholder inclusion, and ecosystem conservation across entire regions. - Aligning with the government’s initiatives:
Musim Mas works with the Indonesian government to drive sustainability in the palm oil industry by supporting Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification, ensuring compliance across its operations, and helping suppliers meet national standards. The group also collaborates for fire prevention programs, and smallholder training to align with Indonesia’s deforestation-free goals. Through public-private partnerships and policy engagement, Musim Mas helps shape industry regulations and promote responsible palm oil production nationwide. - Supporting Smallholders:
Through our Smallholder Program, we train farmers on sustainable practices, helping them increase productivity while conserving forests. Musim Mas’ Smallholder Program is the largest and most extensive. - Committing to sustainable financing:
Musim Mas actively seeks sustainability-linked financing. In 2021, United Overseas Bank (UOB) bank granted green trade finance facilities to Musim Mas. In 2024, the group launched it such as its first Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL) with Rabobank and HSBC. The SLL ties financial incentives to meeting key sustainability targets, including GHG emissions reduction and supply chain traceability.
Musim Mas is committed to deforestation-free palm oil production, ensuring that our supply chain meets the highest environmental and social standards. Through robust risk management, comprehensive monitoring tools, and supplier engagement, we are working towards a 100% deforestation-free supply chain by 2025. By taking proactive measures today, we can help shape a more sustainable future for the palm oil industry and the planet.
For more on our sustainability efforts, visit our NDP Risk Management Framework page.
[1] https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/deforestation/
