Currently, on an international level, deforestation is viewed as the main cause of climate change. A movement is taking place to reduce the speed of natural habitat loss (including forests). Amidst these circumstances, numerous environmental and human rights issues have been raised for the procurement of palm oil. For example, Malaysia and Indonesia face human rights issue such as labor conditions of workers at palm plantations and forced relocation of residents from plantation areas.
In conjunction with these circumstances, major global food corporations that supply products containing palm oil have been criticized for their environmental policies. In order to reduce management risk, it is now important for corporations to implement appropriate measures for palm oil. In response, with a focus on western corporations that possess global supply chains, there is a growing movement for obtaining third-party RSPO certification from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a private NPO that promotes sustainable procurement of palm oil. Also, in response to this European-led certification method for promoting sustainable palm oil procurement, other countries have established their own certification systems based on independent standards. For example, the Malaysian government has established the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standards and the Indonesian government has established the Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) standards. In addition, NPOS such as The Forest Trust (TFT) and Pro Forest are palm oil environmental groups that serve as evaluators of supply chains for participating companies. These and other organizations conduct a variety of activities for protecting forests.
Amidst this heightened international interest in palm oil, there is a gradual increase among Japanese corporations for activities related to sustainable procurement of palm oil.