The world’s most traded edible oil, palm oil, is used in a vast amount of products, from chocolate bars to cosmetics. Over 50 per cent of all packaged food contains the ingredient. According to a report by the WWF, the majority of major European retailers are not sourcing sustainably the more than 4.7 million tons of palm oil imported annually by that continent.
In an attempt to influence manufacturers and retailers regarding implementing sustainable palm oil policies and encouraging them to use only CSPO, or Certified Sustainable Palm Oil, available since 2008, the WWF has graded different European firms based on their ‘palm oil performance’.
The best companies were found to be ones that have ‘started’ to use CSPO, including Sainsbury, Marks & Spencer, Unilever and Cadbury, among others. Other companies have joined the ‘Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)‘ but have not at present taken any action. Still other companies showed no interest at all, or completely ignored requests for information on their palm oil policies.
The problem with oil palms, though being a highly efficient producer of versatile oil, producing more per hectare of land than any other oil-producing crop, is that they only grow in tropical regions. Current practices include widespread rainforest deforestation to provide room for oil palm plantations, harming endangered species habitat and even affecting indigenous communities. Especially is this the case in Malaysia and Indonesia. Peatland forests being drained and converted to plantations is especially damaging because these areas act as natural “carbon sinks”.
The purpose of the scorecard is to set a baseline level of performance that companies can use to measure improvements in their palm oil practices and to build awareness both within the EU and worldwide that sustainable palm oil can be a productive and mainstream market if more producers and manufacturers get onboard.
With demand for the world’s most popular vegetable oil expected to continue to rise, the WWF warns that industry must take action now or pay grave environmental consequences.
