Confronting the palm oil crisis: Identifying behaviours for targeted interventions

Highlights

• Purchasing products with sustainable palm oil is a beneficial target behavior.

• Encouraging manufacturers to use sustainable palm oil might have the highest impact.

• Awareness and concern about palm oil predicted 33% variance in penetration.

• Awareness and concern about palm oil predicted 46% variance in probability.

Abstract

Palm oil is an edible oil with a high yield, various economic benefits, and many diverse uses. However, its production has led to increased deforestation, the endangerment of several species, and toxic greenhouse gas emissions. The current study had two aims: (1) to generate a list of palm oil-related pro-environmental behaviours (PEB) that general community members in Australia can do; and (2) to identify one or more behaviours from this list to address in a behaviour-change intervention. Semi-structured interviews with 12 experts (environmental journalists, conservation scientists and activists) generated a list of 11 potential palm oil-related PEB. The same experts rated this list in terms of potential effectiveness in reducing the negative environmental effects of palm oil. A community sample of 300 participants rated the same PEB on likelihood of adoption and current penetration (i.e., the extent to which they already engage in the behaviour). These scores were integrated into a behaviour prioritization matrix, which revealed that the most beneficial PEB to target was “purchasing products containing only sustainable palm oil”. This study is an essential preliminary step in behaviour change interventional research, and outlines the process of selecting specific consumer behaviour related to environmental concerns. Policy-based implications are discussed.

Introduction

In an era of increased consumerism and global wealth, wide-spread urbanization and changing lifestyles have resulted in a growing demand for edible oil, often used in packaged and processed foods (Meijaard et al., 2018). Palm oil, derived from elaeis guineensis, has gained popularity due to its versatility, high yield, and relatively low production cost (Meijaard et al., 2018). Originally found in West Africa, the oil palm crop flourishes in tropical regions. Currently, Indonesia and Malaysia are the world’s largest producers. In 2017–2018, Indonesia was estimated to produce 36.5 million metric tonnes of palm oil (Wright and Rahmanulloh, 2017), and this number is projected to reach 60 million tonnes annually by 2020 (World Growth, 2011).

The rapid growth in the palm oil industry offered opportunities for livelihood in these producing developing countries and is a major source of income for rural communities (Lee et al., 2013). Approximately 40 per cent of palm oil produced in Indonesia is obtained from smallholder farms, which are run as family farms (Meijaard et al., 2018). However, the expansion of oil palm plantations into tropical forests in Southeast Asia has been associated with environmental concerns and social conflicts (Koh and Wilcove, 2009; Meijaard and Sheil, 2013; Sheil et al., 2009).

Between 1990 and 2015, almost 25 per cent of Indonesia’s rainforests were destroyed (World Bank, 2018), a large proportion of which is attributed to oil palm farming (Gilbert, 2012; Koh and Wilcove, 2008). Fig. 1 shows the extent of deforestation from 1973 to 2016 in the island of Borneo (Gaveau, 2017). This deforestation has negatively impacted the biodiversity in Southeast Asia (Koh and Wilcove, 2008), and has led to the critical endangerment of several native species, including the orangutan, Sumatran tiger, pygmy elephant, and sun bear (Meijaard and Sheil, 2013). The orangutan is predicted to be the first of the great apes to face extinction, which may occur within only a few decades (Wich et al., 2008), as numbers have drastically declined. A 16-year study (1999–2015) in Borneo, Indonesia, revealed that an estimated 150,000 orangutans had been lost during this period, reducing the entire population of Bornean orangutans to less than half of the original number when the study began (Sample, 2018).

The popular slash-and-burn technique to clear forests, in addition to the draining of peatlands, is linked to increased greenhouse gas emissions (Sheil et al., 2009), specifically carbon-dioxide (Basyuni et al., 2018; Carlson et al., 2012). This has resulted in Indonesia ranking as the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world (Peace, 2007). The resultant Southeast Asian Haze (affecting not only Indonesia, but also Malaysia, Singapore, and to a lesser degree the Philippines and Thailand) from the burning of peatlands has created health risks, particularly respiratory illnesses, among the locals (Islam et al., 2016; Varkkey, 2012). In 2015 alone, this haze was responsible for an estimated 100,300 premature deaths in these countries, and the pollution generated has been estimated to be greater than that emitted by the entire United States of America (Higonnet et al., 2016).

The loss of forest cover directly and indirectly impacts the people who depend on these forests. In a large study involving approximately 5400 interviews with residents across over 700 villages on the island of Borneo, Meijaard et al. (2013) found that local communities rely on forests for food and medicine, as well as for cultural and spiritual purposes. Tropical rainforests also have direct environmental benefits such as reducing the surface temperature, assisting with water retention, and preventing floods (Meijaard et al., 2013; Wolosin and Harris, 2018). More recent research has revealed that the three main belts of tropical rainforests (Southeast Asia, Congo basin and the Amazon rainforests) play an important role in regulating water cycles, and in turn, global and local temperatures (Wolosin and Harris, 2018). Deforestation, particularly in tropical peatlands, in addition to the use of fire to clear land, have been implicated in climate change impacts (Wolosin and Harris, 2018).

Although oil palm agriculture poses immediate threats to the environment and biodiversity (Wilcove and Koh, 2010), the demand for palm oil continues to increase. Owing to its efficiency over other oilseed crops, its penetration into the global economy, and its high profitability, it is impractical to expect the production of oil palm to cease (Meijaard et al., 2018; Wilcove and Koh, 2010). Researchers have posited that encouraging sustainability (i.e., sourcing palm oil from plantations that have not replaced existing forests) at different levels (e.g., smallholders, medium to large plantations, companies, retailers and consumers) constitute promising solutions to the crisis (Meijaard et al., 2018; Wilcove and Koh, 2010).

The call for sustainability led to the formation of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2004, as a non-governmental organization whose stakeholders include producers, traders, consumers and investors in the palm oil industry (RSPO, 2018b). While they have been promoting the use of certified sustainable palm, there are mixed reviews about their success. Although RSPO certification has indeed reduced deforestation, this was mainly seen in plantations that had little or no forests left within them prior to certification (Carlson et al., 2018). Further, there appeared to be no significant difference between RSPO certified and non-certified concessions (i.e., areas allocated by a government for industrial-scale oil palm plantations) on metrics of environmental, social and economic sustainability (Morgans et al., 2018). The RSPO has also been accused of “greenwashing” (Lang, 2015; Rahmawati, 2014), which refers to “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service” (Zudonya, 2011). Following this, the RSPO Complaints Panel commissioned a field review and promised to look into violations (Lang, 2015), although it remains to be seen if this has been effective at addressing the complaints. Recently, the RSPO underwent a revision of its Principles and Criteria, addressing concerns that were raised, and adopting stricter standards regarding deforestation and the use of fire (RSPO, 2018a). If implemented and enforced, the revised standard appears to be a promising approach for reducing deforestation and improving sustainability (Lyons-White and Knight, 2018).

Changing consumer behaviour has the potential to make a significant impact on the environment (Stern, 1999). There is very little research pertaining to consumers assessing specifically how they might be able to have an impact on palm oil production or sales. It has been suggested that boycotting palm oil may be ineffective and produce deleterious flow-on effects (Wilcove and Koh, 2010). Some have argued that consumers can create a demand for sustainable palm oil by placing pressure on manufacturers and retailers to use palm oil sourced without deforestation (Meijaard et al., 2018; Wilcove and Koh, 2010). These suggested strategies are by no means comprehensive. Further, there is no research available on which of these behaviours (or others) would be most impactful in addressing this ongoing environmental crisis.

In general, although individuals may be motivated to act pro-environmentally, they may lack specific knowledge about what they can do, and/or what would be effective and impactful behaviour (Gardner and Stern, 2008). To be able to influence the palm oil-related ecological crisis, it is important to understand the various pro-environmental behaviours (PEB) that the general public can employ that may have a desirable impact in reducing the abovementioned ecological threats. Lists on effective behaviours to reduce energy usage and water consumption are available (Gardner and Stern, 2008; Inskeep and Attari, 2014), as there are concrete means of measuring use and savings. However, with respect to concerns like that of the palm oil crisis, effective behaviour needs to be inferred based on the advice of experts in the field (McKenzie-Mohr, 2011).

In his book, Fostering Sustainable Behaviour: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing, McKenzie-Mohr (2011) proposes a five-step framework to influence PEB. The first step includes selecting potential target behaviours based on their relative ability to reduce a specific environmental problem. This is done by creating a behaviour prioritization matrix (BPM) based on: 1) the extent to which the behaviour will solve the identified problem (effectiveness), 2) the likelihood that members of the target population will adopt the behaviour (probability); and 3) how regularly people already engage in that behaviour (penetration). This formula (effectiveness X probability X inversed penetration (maximum possible penetration – observed penetration) = total weighted impact) allows researchers to rank each potential target behaviour in terms of its impact on the problem at hand (McKenzie-Mohr, 2011). McKenzie-Mohr (2011) argues that targeting behaviour solely on effectiveness alone may be unsuccessful. If the target audience indicates a low likelihood of engaging in a highly effective behaviour, behaviour change might be unlikely, requiring larger efforts with fewer results. It is also important to gauge the existing frequency with which people engage in the desirable behaviours. If there exists a relatively high level of penetration, there is little scope for further change (McKenzie-Mohr, 2011). Subsequent steps in the CBSM framework include identifying barriers and benefits to the target behaviour, and designing, evaluating and implementing an intervention accordingly (McKenzie-Mohr, 2011). The utilization of an impact-likelihood matrix has been demonstrated in a case study on water management behaviours, with particular relevance to policy decision making (Kneebone et al., 2017) and the BPM has been applied in prioritising behaviours with reference to wild dog management (Please et al., 2017). The present study aimed to extend the use of the BPM to palm oil-related PEB.

Therefore, the current study had two aims: the first was identifying a list of palm oil-related PEB that a large number of individuals can do, followed by identifying a target behaviour out of this list, based on effectiveness, probability, and penetration. The process undertaken to address these aims is described below in two parts.