Companies ‘could do better’ on palm oil
3 November 2009
We’ve just produced a revealing scorecard that shows whether UK and other European retailers and manufacturers are living up to their commitments to buy sustainable palm oil.
WWF’s newly published Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard rates 59 of the biggest European importers and users of palm oil.
Palm oil is used in 50% of all packaged food products sold by supermarkets – often just listed as ‘vegetable oil/fat’ in the ingredients. It crops up in everything from breads and ice-cream to soaps and shampoos.
But its production process often involves converting precious tropical rainforest and peatland into oil palm plantations.
WWF has been working with the industry since 2002 to set up the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and to establish standards for its production which do not harm people or nature.
Palm oil certified to this standard has been available in Europe since 2008, so we felt it was time to find out if companies were using it.
Palm oil scorecard results
A handful of companies are showing real progress, but the majority are still failing to buy certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO), despite its increasing availability – and contrary to what many have said they would do.
Of the 25 UK-based retailers and manufacturers we tested, seven scored over 20 points (the maximum was 29), all showing they have the right policies in place, are monitoring their purchases of palm oil and starting to make good on their commitments as members of the RSPO.
Highest scorers include Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, Young’s/Findus, Unilever, Cadbury, The Body Shop and Asda, who are all now using some CSPO.
The majority scored between five and 20 points, with 12 of them managing only 14 points or less, suggesting they’ve yet to start dealing with palm oil consistently. One UK company scored zero.
The results show that some companies really need to up their game, and WWF is willing to help them do so.
Our scorecard will be highlighted at the 7th Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 2 November, in front of the world’s largest producers, buyers and traders of palm oil.
We hope the scorecard results will prompt more retailers to buy sustainably and raise awareness of the environmental damage caused by palm oil production.
Why sustainable palm oil?
Palm oil is one of the world’s fastest expanding crops in south-east Asia as well as West Africa and South America.
The growing demand is adding to the already severe pressure on the world’s remaining rainforests.
Loss of forest threatens the survival of species such as the orang-utan, the Sumatran tiger, rhino and elephant, and displaces local people who rely on the forest for food and shelter.
Forest loss and the draining of peatlands for oil palm plantations is also contributing to global climate change.
You can…
see the Palm Oil Buyers' Scorecard in full
find out more about certified sustainable palm oil
follow WWF’s work on palm oil and other threats to the world’s forests
look out for certified sustainable palm oil, or the name RSPO, on products you buy
write to your favourite supermarket or manufacturers to ask them what they’re doing to stop the harm caused by unsustainable palm oil
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