How Malaysia’s palm oil industry is championing biodiversity conservation, a key pillar of ESG

There is a growing focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices in the palm oil industry, with Malaysia — one of the largest palm oil producers in the world — at the forefront of this movement. The country has pledged to conserve biodiversity and prevent illegal deforestation, committing to maintain at least 50% forest cover. True to its word, 54.9% of Malaysia remained forested as at December 2023, it published in the Fourth National Communication Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Malaysia’s efforts align with international treaties like the Paris Agreement and national standards such as the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification scheme. This certification mandates no deforestation and safeguards High Conservation Value (HCV) areas, primary forests and regions with significant carbon stocks. It also set a “No Deforestation” cut-off date of Dec 31, 2019. Central to this discourse is the role of biodiversity ...