Problem Definition
Palm oil is widely consumed, making up 40% of global vegetable oil from just 10% of oil-producing land. It's primarily grown in equatorial regions like Indonesia and Malaysia, which are also home to sensitive rainforests. Expanding palm oil production has led to deforestation and other social and environmental issues like labor violations and carbon emissions.
Companies using palm oil in their products face accountability from NGOs and declining consumer trust, impacting their sales. While they are adopting sustainability goals to eliminate deforestation, current data and technology solutions fall short. There's a broader tech industry challenge too: the limitations of current data science approaches, which often lack alignment with organizational goals. Recently, there's been a shift towards recognizing the value of causal inference in decision-making.