Burger King's cancelled its contracts for palm oil from one of the worst rainforest destroyers on the planet, Sinar Mas Groups. Sinar Mas' own audit shows that is has been operating in breach of Indonesian law by clearing peatlands and forests without the required permits. Burger King's statement, released on Facebook, reads: "We believe the report (released by Greenpeace) has raised valid concerns about some of the sustainability practices of Sinar Mas' palm oil production and its impact on the rainforest. These practices are inconsistent with our corporate responsibility commitments. As a result, we have decided we will no longer purchase palm oil from Sinar Mas or its subsidiaries." By taking this action, Burger King is joining companies like Nestl‚, Kraft, and Unilever which have already stopped their direct contracts with Sinar Mas on the grounds of its destructive practices. Environmentalists are now waiting that Cargill, Pizza Hut and Dunkin' Donuts follow Burger King's lead and remove Sinar Mas from their supply chains.

This decision is another blow to Sinar Mas, which was publicly reprimanded last week by BSI, which carried out the audit, for having "misreported [the audit] as it has been published and presented.  BSI's statement showed how Sinar Mas'“ palm oil arm wrongly claimed that it operate[s] responsibly and within the laws - confirming that in eight out of 11 concessions audited, forest clearance was conducted without the necessary environmental permits and that deep peat forest was cleared in breach of Indonesian law.

"The Indonesian Government must stop groups like Sinar Mas wrecking forests and driving climate change by ensuring the proposed moratorium includes a halt to all forest clearance, including within existing concessions, and ensure immediate protection of all peatlands" said Bustar Maitar, of Greenpeace.

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