A toolkit, named the HCS Approach, has been developed by a group of organisations with the aim of identifying High Carbon Stock (HCS) forests. The toolkit was endorsed last week by major NGOs and plantation companies in Singapore including Golden Agri Resources, APP, Wilmar, Greenpeace, WWF, RAN, Unilever and The Forest Trust. The toolkit is seen as a crucial element in developing sustainable plantations and the companies involved will now begin the steps towards implementation in the field. HCS sits alongside HCV

Over half the world's palm oil traded internationally is now bound by zero deforestation commitments after Singapore-based Golden-Agri Resources (GAR) extended its forest conservation policy across all palm oil it produces, sources and trades.
The stepped-up policy matches the commitment made by Wilmar, the world's largest palm oil company, last December and means that over half the world's palm oil is now covered by zero deforestation pledges.

The Forest Trust (TFT) has revealed that it is working with Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) on an overall framework for sustainability which includes and goes beyond legal compliance. TFT has previously worked successfully with Golden Agri Resources, Indonesia’s largest palm oil company which sits under the same ownership as APP. TFT plans to publish regular updates once it believes that APP is making significant progress.