IOI Corporation: Environmental Justice Risks in 2022

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IOI Corporation, $6.5 billion market capitalization, 30,000 employees, $660 million in fixed income, In March 2016 IOI was suspended for five months from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), after revelations that IOI subsidiaries in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, were responsible for the illegal clearance of 11,750 hectares of tropical forest, including 1,300 hectares within a state production forest, and “deep peat clearance”. As a result of the suspension, IOI lost access to markets for certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). More than 50 percent of IOI’s revenues come from RSPO sales, so the suspension had a significant and immediate material impact on its business. As a result, IOI’s net income was negative $14.8 million in Q2 2016, compared to a $30 million gain in Q2 2015.