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Rainforest Action Network continues to pressure PepsiCo about palm oil sourcing and its links to deforestation and human rights abuses. This time, the NGO culled export data to connect the company to what it calls "conflict palm oil."

Production of palm oil - the most widely used vegetable oil in the world - and a strong El Niño have converged into a perfect storm to amplify the effects of Indonesia's dry season. Indonesia produces half of the world's palm oil, which has led to illegal burning to clear land and plant African oil palm trees. Deforestation typically accounts for about 60 percent of Indonesia's total greenhouse gas emissions. 

To counter the impact of unsustainable palm oil production, such as deforestation and habitat degradation, the European Parliament has approved a resolution to develop a single certification scheme for palm oil entering the EU market and phase out the use of vegetable oils that drive deforestation by 2020. It is Parliament's first resolution on the issue, but it is now up to the European Commission to act upon it.

The Roundtable on Responsible Palm Oil (RSPO), despite its success in convincing palm oil suppliers and buyers to commit to a more responsible supply chain, still has much work to do if this sector will truly become one that respects human rights and sustainable development. After NGO investigations suggested that reforms in the industry were not going far enough, the RSPO suspended dozens of companies from the organization last year for alleged non-compliance.

news broke of a pending decision by the RSPO Complaints Panel to lift the suspension of IOI Group's certification under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification system. If successful this move would do irreparable harm to the RSPO's credibility. Less than five months after the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) suspended Malaysian palm oil producer IOI Group's certification, that suspension has been lifted - much to the dismay of NGO campaigners. While the RSPO's Complaints Panel has said it is "satisfied that IOI has met the conditions set out in its letter to IOI," Greenpeace Indonesia and the Center for International Policy says they have yet to see any real action on the ground. This was the second time a suspension has been placed on an IOI subsidiary. A coalition of NGOs has rapidly issued an appeal, urging the RSPO to maintain its suspension of IOI Group stating that it is far too premature to lift the suspension given that the company has not come into full compliance with the RSPO Certification Systems nor resolved outstanding complaints. There are fears that any change at this stage would seriously hinder the resolution process between the complainant and the company.

Signatories of the Indonesia Palm Oil Pledge (IPOP) will disband as a result of "recent ground-breaking policy developments" in Indonesia that have fulfilled the purpose of the IPOP consortium. The signatory companies - including Cargill, Golden Agri Resources, and Wilmar International - plan to continue their sustainability commitments independently.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has suspended its certification for Malaysian palm oil producer IOI Group amid concerns that the company has failed to live up to its obligation to tackle deforestation. The decision has already had a big impact on IOI, which has lost business with Unilever, Kellogg and Mars. "If IOI wishes to regain its customers, it must take immediate and significant action," says Greenpeace Indonesia campaigner Annisa Rahmawati.

Greenpeace has launched another massive campaign, this time demanding Procter & Gamble end its role in rainforest destruction through its careless sourcing of palm oil. A yearlong investigation into "P&G's Dirty Secret" shows the maker of dozens of everyday household and personal care products is sourcing palm oil from companies connected to substantial clearance of endangered orangutan habitat in Indonesia

Today, Rainforest Action Network released a new progress report ranking the relative strength of palm oil commitments made since the launch of its Snack Food 20 campaign two years ago. The 2015 progress report shines a spotlight on the laggards in the Snack Food 20 and outlines the actions that these companies - as well as the frontrunners who are pushing ahead on their commitments - can and must take to rapidly cut Conflict Palm Oil from our food system.

Danone pledged to develop a fully traceable palm oil supply chain with no links to deforestation. The company will work with the Forest Trust to map its entire palm oil supply chain by the end of 2015.

Institutional investors representing over half a trillion dollars in assets under management are calling on four major palm oil producers to adopt an immediate moratorium on deforestation and join the growing effort within the industry to establish traceable, deforestation-free palm oil supply chains. Led by Green Century Capital Management, investors called on the companies to cease their efforts to weaken the existing threshold for no-deforestation.

Wilmar International Ltd. , the world's largest palm oil processor, opened its supply chains to outside scrutiny on Thursday in what environmentalists called an unprecedented step to help safeguard tropical forests. Singapore-based Wilmar said it would give outsiders, from customers to environmentalists worried about deforestation, access to online maps showing where it buys palm oil at more than 800 mills in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Palm oil shipments from Indonesia, the world's largest producer, climbed to the highest level in eight months in October as a decline in supplies of substitute oils in India and China spurred demand from the biggest buyers.

Unilever goal aims at ending illegal deforestation. Unilever and other companies "made a commitment not to sell anything anymore from illegal deforestation by the year 2020 -- soy, paper, pulp, beef, palm oil.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has removed IOI Group's sustainable-certification suspension, noting it was "satisfied that IOI has met the conditions" required of the trader.

Storebrand ASA (STB) ended its investment in most palm oil producers, apart from Golden Agri-Resources Ltd. (GGR), after Norway's second-largest insurer found the companies breached its environmental sustainability standards.

Pulp Green Tech (PGT), which owns Thai Gorilla Pulp in Thailand, says it has made high-grade quality paper pulp from 100 percent palm oil waste material, called empty fruit bunches or EFBs (pictured).

BASF has announced a goal of using only certified palm oil by 2015.

An analysis published Feb. 26 in the journal Nature Climate Change shows that the wastewater produced during the processing of palm oil is a significant source of heat-trapping methane in the atmosphere. But the researchers also present a possible solution: capturing the methane and using it as a renewable energy source.

Golden Agri Resources (GAR) which produces an estimated 5 percent of the world's palm oil, made a significant announcement in a filing to the Singapore Stock Exchange - confirming it is committed to zero deforestation throughout its entire supply chain