Jakarta- Martua Sitorus, the co-founder of the world’s largest palm oil trader, Wilmar International, has resigned one week after Greenpeace exposed his links to Gama Plantation, a related palm oil business responsible for massive deforestation in Indonesia. His brother-in-law, Hendri Saksti, Wilmar’s Country Head for Indonesia and a manager of Gama companies, has also resigned. A Greenpeace International investigation revealed that Gama, a palm oil business run by Sitorus, Saksti and members of their family, has destroyed an area of forest twice the size of Paris since 2013, when Wilmar committed to end its links to deforestation.

Responding to the news, Kiki Taufik, Global Head of Greenpeace’s Indonesia forests campaign said:

“This shows that Wilmar is determined to blame someone else for its failings. This is not just about Gama or Martua Sitorus. It’s about Wilmar’s refusal to do what it takes to keep forest destroyers out of its supply chain. If Wilmar is serious about reform, the first step is to prove its palm oil suppliers are clean by making them publish maps of all their concessions.”

Greenpeace is calling on brands and traders to suspend business with Wilmar until it has addressed the violations of its ‘no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation’ policy, starting by publishing concession maps for all producer groups within its supply chain.

ENDS

Contacts

Sol Gosetti, International Communications Coordinator, Indonesia Forest, [email protected], +44 (0) 7807352020

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