EU deforestation law faces enforcement test as palm oil giants risk violations

Some of the world's biggest consumer goods companies risk breaching the European Union's deforestation law through palm oil sourced from Indonesian plantations accused of illegal activities. A probe by Indonesian environmental organizations found that palm oil linked to major global brands may come from a plantation where forests was cleared after the EU's 2020 cutoff date. The investigation identified signs of deforestation in 2024 at PT Karya Makmur Abadi in central Kalimantan. It named PepsiCo, Unilever, Ferrero, Mondelēz and Procter & Gamble as recent buyers of palm oil from this site. The findings did not establish that every company named had breached EU rules, however they raised concerns that palm oil from land cleared after December 31st 2020 could enter the European The EU's anti-deforestation rules are set to take effect on December 30, 2026. They require companies to prove that products, including palm oil, are not linked to deforestation.