Adam Harrison, senior policy officer for WWF UK and WWF’s representative on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), said: “It’s never been easier for companies to be responsible about the palm oil they use. But we only have a few years left to act – all companies, even some of the top performers, need to move faster.
“Only then can we get rid of irresponsible oil palm plantations and end the unacceptable impacts of the industry on forests, wildlife and communities.”
The relatively good performance of most of the UK companies scored shows that there are options available for almost any company to buy certified sustainable palm oil. But overall the WWF Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard shows that less than half of the palm oil used by all the companies scored is sustainable. So it is clear that some manufacturers and retailers have fallen behind on their commitments to 100% sustainable palm oil, while others haven’t even started at all.”
WWF’s Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard 2011 – an update of the first scorecard published two years ago – measures over 130 major retailers and consumer goods manufacturers by looking at their commitment to, and use of, palm oil certified to the internationally recognised standards of the RSPO.
Of the companies scored, WWF believes that many are making commendable progress to increase their use of sustainable palm oil and to reduce their impact on deforestation. Most of the companies scored in both 2009 and 2011 have taken some strides forward, showing how the use of sustainable palm oil is slowly becoming more mainstream.
A case in point is the UK where it has been estimated that almost a quarter of the palm oil used in the food and personal care sectors is now certified to the RSPO standard. This is reflected in the relatively good performance of the UK companies scored.
All 25 are members of the RSPO, all have made a public commitment to only use certified palm oil by 2015 or earlier, all are already using at least some and all but two told WWF how much palm oil they are using. But even so the average use of CSPO among the UK companies scored is still only 44% – disappointing for a group of companies that could otherwise be seen as leaders among palm oil users, WWF said.
17 of the 43 retailers and 15 of the 89 manufacturers assessed in the full scorecard scored at three or below, showing that still too many companies are taking little or no responsibility for the negative impact of their palm oil use on forests, species and people. Whilst there were no UK companies at the very bottom of the table there are some that need to improve their performance.
Source: WWF
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