The organization claims the company's suppliers are destroying ecosystems in Indonesia

Feb 26, 2014 20:06 GMT  ·  By
Greenpeace wants P&G to cut all ties with palm oil suppliers guilty of forest destruction
   Greenpeace wants P&G to cut all ties with palm oil suppliers guilty of forest destruction

In a press release issued earlier today, Greenpeace accuses Procter & Gamble of dragging the nearly 5 billion people that currently use its products into what the organization calls an environmental scandal.

Greenpeace claims that, according to the findings of an investigation into the company's business agenda, Procter & Gamble is guilty of working with suppliers that destroy ecosystems in Indonesia.

More precisely, the organization maintains that said suppliers are destroying both rainforests and peatlands in Indonesia by cutting trees in an unsuitable manner.

By agreeing to source part of the palm oil that it uses to make its products from companies responsible for widespread forest devastation, Procter & Gamble is making it nearly impossible for Sumatran tigers to survive in the long run.

“Greenpeace today reveals the result of a yearlong investigation showing P&G is sourcing palm oil from companies connected to widespread forest devastation,” the organization writes on its website.

“Its sourcing policies also expose its supply chain to forest fires and habitat destruction that is further pushing the Sumatran tiger to the edge of extinction,” it further argues.

Greenpeace explains that, presently, palm oil is one of the ingredients used to make not just shampoos and cosmetics, but also detergents and other household goods.

This might not be such a problem if it were not for the fact that a lot of companies that make a profit by selling it destroy natural ecosystems in order to replace them with palm oil plantations.

Greenpeace activists say that, apart from endangering the survival chances of Sumatran tigers by working with suppliers who destroy forests and peatlands, P&G is also lending a helping hand in bringing orangutans closer to extinction.

“Land used for palm oil cultivation owned by the BW Plantation Group, a company connected to P&G's supply chain, correlates with the deaths and burials of orangutans next to the Tanjung Puting National Park,” the organization explains.

“In other cases, Greenpeace documented on-going forest clearance within the concessions of two producers known to directly supply P&G,” it further details.

Greenpeace claims that, over the past 8 months, it has repeatedly asked Procter & Gamble to green up its ways and cut all ties with suppliers such as the ones mentioned above.

However, it would appear that the company is yet to agree to have a close look at its supply chain and see to it that its business agenda cannot be linked to environmental destruction.

“The maker of Head & Shoulders needs to stop bringing rainforest destruction into our showers. It must clean up its act and guarantee its customers that these products are forest-friendly,” urges Greenpeace member Bustar Maitar.

Greenpeace hopes that, once Procter & Gamble and other companies of its kind refuse to buy palm oil linked to deforestation, suppliers will be left with no choice except switch to being more environmentally friendly themselves or risk going out of business altogether.