Malaysian plantation companies have recorded the biggest gains in environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, emerging among the top global performers in the 2025 Sustainability Policy Transparency Toolkit (SPOTT) ranking. Malaysian plantation companies have recorded the biggest gains in environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, emerging among the top global performers in the 2025 Sustainability Policy Transparency Toolkit (SPOTT) ranking. According to C

AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY In the palm oil sustainability debate, contradictions sprout like weeds after rain. Chief among them is the stubborn West-East divide. The irony is pungent: the Global North, which cleared its forests long ago in the march of empire and industry, now steps forward as high priest of ecological morality, wagging fingers at the South for using what little land it still has. It’s a bit like the guest who emptied the buffet at lunch, then lectures the host a