Its subsidiaries APP, Golden Agri and PT SMART have been accused of involvement in several conflicts with local communities. PT Sinar Kencana Inti Perkasa, which started operating in West Papua in 1994, has been in conflict with the Kaureh-Yapsi people over land grabbing issues ever since.

Sinar Mas subsidiaries and partners-suppliers have an extensive track record of community conflicts and land rights violations, with a heritage of over 100 active community conflicts. The social impacts on local communities include land grabbing and the displacement of local populations with the use of brutal violence. In 2020, Sinar Mas has been involved in many more conflicts, such as spraying the food crops of a local community with herbicide and the sentence of the prison of an Indigenous farmer for cutting 20 trees on disputed land. 

Its subsidiaries APP, Golden Agri, and PT SMART have been accused of involvement in several environmental impacts, such as large-scale deforestation and biodiversity loss, and greenhouse emissions due to peatland destruction. For more details on the social and environmental impacts of APP and Golden Agri, please refer to the dodgy deal profiles. 

In December 2009, Unilever ended its contracts with Sinar Mas, after the release of the Greenpeace reports Burning up Borneo and Illegal Forest Clearance and RSPO Greenwash. Others, like Mars, Nestlé and Burger King followed soon.

In 2010, after the publication of the report Pulping the Planet, other large multinational groups like Carrefour, Gucci, H&M, Hugo Boss, Volkswagen, Fuji Xerox, Ricoh, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and Tesco also ended their contracts with Sinar Mas. In 2011 HSBC and BNP Paribas divested from Sinar Mas, after pressure from Greenpeace.

In 2014, Sinar Mas was accused of defrauding the Indonesian government of USD15 million by avoiding reforestation taxes on 2,000 hectares in Jambi province.