• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Sunday, October 5, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Sustainability claims about rubber don’t stick

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
January 22, 2020
in Biology
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Research led by the University of Göttingen calls into question sustainability claims by large corporation

IMAGE

Credit: F. Otten, University of Göttingen


Many companies work hard to present an environmentally responsible public image. But how well do these claims stack up? In a new study led by the University of Göttingen, researchers investigated the claims regarding sustainability, including conservation and fair-pay, as presented by the French Michelin Group. The researchers then compared these claims with the effects described by local people in the village of Muara Sekalo in Indonesia. The villagers’ reports indicated that land-ownership, ecosystems and biodiversity all suffered; and the researchers found that the pay at the rubber plantation fell well short of the minimum wage for the province. The results were published in the Journal of Land Use Science.

The scientists’ long-standing relationship with Indonesian researchers (as part of the collaborative German-Indonesian research project EFForTS – Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems) enabled them to stay with local villagers to conduct their fieldwork. In 2017, they carried out interviews in the village of Muara Sekalo close to the Thirty Hills National Park in Indonesia. The researchers used different techniques such as explorative interviews, narrative interviews and focus group discussions. They then carried out intensive qualitative content analysis, studying press releases and media coverage about Michelin’s plantation project.

The “Sustainable Natural Rubber Policy” of the French Michelin Group was developed in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Michelin has established “model” rubber plantations in Indonesia which they consider a pilot to show that sustainable rubber cultivation is possible. The tyre industry consumes about 75% of the world’s natural rubber so this is big business globally. The company’s claims include that the model plantations were sustainable both environmentally and socially, UN Environment adds that they were climate-smart, wildlife-friendly and created fair-wage jobs. Michelin also uses the term “zero deforestation” which could give the impression that no forests are being cleared.

The experiences of the villagers and farmers told a different story. Their reports included conflicts over land-use and environmental destruction due to deforestation. This resulted in elephants, who had lost their habitat, invading the villagers’ plots in search for food and destroying their crops. Some farmers were forced to abandon their farming because they could not afford to replant and were left no choice but to assign their land to the company. And it turns out that “zero deforestation” only refers to certain areas – such as protected or primary forests or areas of high conservation value – and does not include forests which have regrown following the harvest of timber in the past for instance.

“We recognise that some villagers benefited from the presence of the company because new jobs were created. None-the-less, this project cannot be considered ‘sustainable’ at all.” says Fenna Otten from the University of Göttingen’s Department of Human Geography and first author of the study. She goes on to say, “Just because a product is labelled or even certified to be green or sustainable, this does not mean that the conditions on the ground reflect conditions that we would consider eco-friendly: there is a clear mismatch between what many people expect sustainability to mean and what is really happening”.

“We welcome the introduction of sustainable production processes,” says Otten. “However, it’s vitally important that companies’ commitment isn’t just corporate greenwash.”

###

Original publication: Otten F, et al. (2020). Deconstructing sustainable rubber production: contesting narratives in rural Sumatra. Journal of Land Use Science. DOI: 10.1080/1747423X.2019.1709225

Link to publication:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1747423X.2019.1709225

Contact

Fenna Otten

University of Göttingen

Institute of Geography, Department of Human Geography

Goldschmidtstraße 5

37077 Göttingen, Germany

Tel: +49 (0)551 39 28055

Email: [email protected]

http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/531811.html

Media Contact
Melissa Sollich
[email protected]
49-055-139-26228

Original Source

https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/3240.html?id=5786

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1747423X.2019.1709225

Tags: Agricultural Production/EconomicsAgricultureDeveloping CountriesEcology/EnvironmentEmploymentForestry
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

NR2E1 Gene Methylation Influences Beef Cattle Adipocytes

NR2E1 Gene Methylation Influences Beef Cattle Adipocytes

October 5, 2025
“Rice Cultivar Transcriptome Reveals Heat Stress Response Genes”

“Rice Cultivar Transcriptome Reveals Heat Stress Response Genes”

October 4, 2025

Revolutionary Graph Network Enhances Protein Interaction Prediction

October 4, 2025

DOG Gene Family in Wheat Drives Seed Dormancy

October 4, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    94 shares
    Share 38 Tweet 24
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    91 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    75 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • New Insights Suggest ALS May Be an Autoimmune Disease

    70 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 18

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Nurses’ Insights on Implementing Patient-Reported Outcomes

Exploring NK Cell Therapies for Solid Tumors

Acupuncture Use for Low Back Pain in China

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Success! An email was just sent to confirm your subscription. Please find the email now and click 'Confirm' to start subscribing.

Join 62 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.