Overview

A candid, solutions-focused conversation on aligning production and business growth with environmental rights, supply-chain responsibility, and operational resilience. 

 

The agricultural industry in Asia will continue to grow, driven by population growth, urbanization, and rising incomes in middle-income economies. This is true for the palm oil sector, where ASEAN alone accounts for nearly 90% of global palm oil production.  However, the expansion of the sector must be rights-based so that the cost and impact of expansion do not outweigh economic benefits. Rising temperatures, depleting fertile land (driven by ecosystems collapse), and frequent climate shocks are already placing significant pressure on production systems. Recent reports highlight how climate change is costing the industry billions – both in erosion of plantations, and increased working hours – making adaptation a business requisite.   

 

It is timely that businesses and regulators openly discuss practical measures – improved agronomy, water-management investments, and scalable traceability and adaptation systems for workers – that protect business while meeting tightening buyer and investor requirements for verifiable sustainable practices. Equally important is translating these measures into clear, time-bound commitments and predictable policy frameworks, incentives for on-farm climate technologies, streamlined certification support, and public financing windows that support addressing the cost of a ‘rights-based’ approach for small and medium growers, enabling them access to export markets. Operational adaptation means also addressing workforce health, productivity, and overall wellbeing.  Heat stress materially reduces work performance and raises health risks in palm-oil operations, which in turn threatens continuity and increases cost of doing business.  Heat stress for years hasn’t been recognized as a workplace grievance and an adaptation priority for both businesses and workers alike. 

 

This conversation will spotlight business-centric responses – piloting wet bulb globe temperature (WGBT) monitoring, revised work-rest hours, hydration protocols, and time-bound medical screening, with governments partnering to enable scale through regulatory guidance, subsidies for cooling, and further integration into national occupational safety frameworks.

 

The gendered dimensions deserve separate, explicit attention to reflect women’s role and needs across the value chains, ensuring adaptation measures protect all workers equitably while strengthening operational resilience.     

 

The discussion is therefore aimed at discussing a menu of priorities and measurable actions for both businesses and the government in the palm oil sector in the marathon to climate change adaptation. What role can businesses, government, and international organizations alike play to protect people, productivity, and market access for “viable growth”?  

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LEARN:

​​Examine how climate volatility, labour conditions, and supply-chain accountability are reshaping agribusiness risk and competitiveness in Asia.

 

ENGAGE:

Facilitate candid dialogue between business leaders and policymakers on scalable climate adaptation and worker protection strategies. 

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CONNECT:

​Identify collaborative approaches to strengthen market access, regulatory coherence, and inclusive growth in the palm oil sector.