29/03/2010 (The CSR Digest) - Following allegations that it is not observing sustainable palm oil practices in Indonesia, the IOI Corporation has stated that many of the assertions made are either untrue or misleading. In response to Malaysiakini‘s query, the Malaysian conglomerate’s representative, corporate communication manager, Karen Liew, stated that the report took the form of a unilateral investigation in which IOI was not given the opportunity to rebut its findings.

Commissioned by the Friends of Europe Netherlands (Milieudefensie), the report in which IOI’s palm oil practices were questioned, was released in March 2010. According to Malaysiakini’s news report, a check with the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), of which IOI is a founding member, revealed that IOI’s plantations in Indonesia are not certified and therefore do not carry the sustainability tag.

Liew reiterated to Malaysiakini of IOI’s public commitment to obtain RSPO certification for all its Malaysian oil palm plantations by mid-2012. As for its Indonesian plantations, certification will be sought after they have been fully planted in about four years.