Question

Can monitoring and self-regulation by industry groups like the Roundtable effectively address environmental issues, or will outside pressure always be needed? Was Greenpeace right to act as it did, or should it have tried to work with the companies in question?

Answer 1

RSPO is a respectable global industry spreading awareness about sustainable palm oil. They consist of a board of governors, secretariat, standing committees, task forces, and working groups. An industry like this can really spread awareness of an issue to help the cause. I do think that even though establishments such as the RSPO are successful in transforming the market, some external forces may still need to be involved. Many companies look past industries such as RSPO that are committing to making a difference for a balanced outcome involving society and the environment. Greenpeace took action in a manner that gains the most attention and highlights those companies that are not making a change. Greenpeace made the slight error of going for corporations that already were following a more sustainable path involving palm oil but calling attention to an industry that consumes palm oil in excessive can make a bigger difference. Since Nestle and Unilever were very compliant with the demands from Greenpeace they could have acted in a more workable manner with them, other companies may not be so forth in change and acting as they did would be the best outcome to recognize the issue.