Palm oil is the most productive oil crop. It takes less than one-eighth the land of soybeans to produce the same amount of oil. Today, palm oil accounts for 6 percent of all arable land for vegetable oil globally; yet production accounts for more than one-third of total production. In addition to the yield advantages, planting oil palm has relatively little damage to the habitat of the species. Oil palm is a perennial crop, and a typical oil-producing palm tree can live for twenty to thirty years. In contrast, most other large edible oil crops require annual replanting, which involves intensive and highly mechanized tilling, planting and harvesting.

Despite its positives, palm oil is often linked to deforestation and significant greenhouse gas emissions. To address these issues, major palm oil producers Indonesia and Malaysia are actively promoting sustainable palm oil production and transitioning to net-zero emissions. Among other oil crops such as soybeans, rapeseed and sunflower, palm has the highest sustainable standards.

During the production of crude palm oil, a liquid by-product called palm oil mill effluent (POME) is produced, which naturally decomposes in the absence of oxygen to form biogas, which has a greenhouse gas potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide. But biogas is a renewable source of electricity generation, and many palm oil processing plants are transitioning to net-zero emissions by capturing the biogas they produce and turning it into renewable energy. Palm oil processing plants use the biogas to generate electricity through gas turbines, either for internal consumption or exported to the grid to power nearby homes. In 2020, Indonesia's annual biogas production was about 56 million cubic meters; 125 of Malaysia's 452 oil refineries operate biogas plants.

POME is not only a source of biogas and biofuel, but its residual oil is a feedstock for the production of biodiesel and hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO), a fully renewable diesel. Currently, Nestlé (producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel) uses POME to produce biofuels. In 2020, Indonesia and Malaysia produced about 1.4 million tons of POME. If all POME were used for biofuel production, this would represent 7.4% of total EU biodiesel consumption in 2019.

Clearly, palm oil is the answer to the world's growing demand for oils and fats. Already taking bold action to protect the world's rainforests and their fragile biodiversity, the palm oil industry is at the forefront of the sustainability journey, driving towards net zero carbon emissions. While the palm oil industry has always been criticized for its environmental impact in the past, its sustainability story can now be reshaped so that a transition to net zero is not only possible, but immediate.