SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS-BENCHMARK FOR THE PALM OIL INDUSTRY

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SD Gs) are desgined to achieve a better and more sustainable future for mankind. The SDGs focus on the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic prosperity, social inclusion and environmental sustainability. The SDGs aim to eradicate poverty, hunger and inequality; to improve welfare and fulfilment of livelihood; to create peace and social participation; to prevent the planet from environmental degradation and to promote partnership to attain SDGs by 2030. The SDGs encourage countries and the private sector to support and advance these goals. SDGs provide the framework for guiding and gauging a corporations business action and set benchmarks against which they will be held accountable. The palm oil industry is made up of large, medium and small sized entities. They all have different capabilities to commit to these strict sustainability standards. This paper reviews the sustainable practices of the large oil palm plantations and the palm oil industry matching them against the SDGs with the objective to examine and identify where farther advancement can be made by the industry to move forward. Gaps are identified and presented in this paper. Keywords: UN SDG, palm oil, sustainable development.