3. INSIGHT
PALM OIL
Orangutansshare97%ofthesameDNAashumans
NEWCONSUMER.COM
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sources palm oil from sustainable
plantations in Columbia, and
Asda claims to be the first UK su-
permarket to reject products con-
tainingunsustainableoil.
In November 2005, the RSPO
kicked off a two-year trial to prove
the feasibility of certified palm oil.
With the trial now complete, for-
mal independent auditors are cur-
rentlybeingtrainedandappointed
to assess any plantation that seeks
theCSPOmark,andthefirstbatch-
es of CSPO are expected to be avail-
able by July, with quantities be-
tween 100,000 to 500,000 tons
beingproducedthroughout2008.
“We are not aiming to end palm
oilproductionortoboycottit,”says
Adam Harrison, a WWF palm oil
expert. “We recognise that it is an
important source of foreign earn-
ings for producer regions and that
it is not appropriate to seek to re-
movethoseopportunities.
“Major global industries will not
easilymovetoalternativessoweare
aimingtoensurethatallpalmoilis
producedtotheRSPOstandard.”
But that tonnage won’t immedi-
ately be in our supermarkets.
Onceplantationsarecer-
tified, the RSPO says
that there are two
workable options
for delivering
CSPO to the Eu-
ropean market.
Firstly, by ensur-
ing that palm oil
is fully segregated and traceable.
This is a very expensive option, but
practical because products could
then carry the CSPO stamp, and
consumers would know what they
weregetting.
Secondly, by setting up a ‘book
and claim’ system – dubbed Green-
Palm–wherecompaniescanclaim
that its products support the pro-
duction of CSPO. They would
buynon-sustainablycer-
tified palm oil from
the normal supply
chainbut,forevery
ton, they would
alsobuyacertifi-
cate stating that
they helped en-
c o u r a g e t h e
growthofCSPOby
rewardingtheplan-
tationdirectly.
But despite the fact
the RSPO claims that no
other organisation has made as
much progress with a certification
scheme involving tropical edible
oils,itsprogressindeliveringCSPO
to market has been painfully slow.
Atleasttwomillionhectaresofnew
plantations have been developed
sincetheRSPOprocessbegan.
SLOWPROGRESS
“We’re not quite there yet,” admits
TonyLass,ethicalsourcingadviser
at Cadbury Schweppes, a member
oftheRSPO.“TheRSPOhasworked
very hard, not always necessarily
successfully, to get CSPO to the
marketassoonaspossible.
“We want supply that is not just
available in niche quantity but for
the mainstream market. Current
tradersinpalmoilneedtobeableto
trade in sustainable palm oil. It’s a
newproductandweneednewcon-
tractstoreflectthat.”
So can consumers play a part in
helping to bring CSPO to the mar-
ket any faster? Jan Kees Vis, who is
thesustainableagriculturedirector
offoodsatUnilever,andchairofthe
RSPO,doesn’tthinkso.“Everybody
in the sector is fully aware of what
RSPO is trying to do,” he says.
“Right now, it is all down to audit
capacity and building up volume. I
donotthinkweneedbigconsumer
campaigns. The volume of CSPO
FORMOREINFORMATION
WWW.LIFEMOSAIC.NET
WWW.RSPO.ORG
willnotgrowfasterasaresult.”
Butthereareotherproblemswith
the RSPO. It stands to benefit large
companies – although it has a
smallholdingworkinggroup,there
isstillnoclearwayforsmallholders
to gain accreditation. And as a vol-
untary organisation, it has no real
teeth – demonstrated by its failure
to enforce a moratorium of all for-
est degradation for palm oil upon
itsmembers.
“To date, the RSPO has failed to
tackle the palm oil industry’s ex-
pansion into rainforest and peat-
landsandtheresultinggreenhouse
gas emissions,” says a Greenpeace
spokesman. “Key members of the
RSPO remain actively involved in
forest destruction some four years
aftertheschemewasestablished.
“Atthistime,theRSPOisjustbe-
ingusedasagreenfig-leafbysome
companieswhowanttoexploitthe
rainforestsfortheirowngain.”
INFORMEDCHOICE
Noonecoulddenythattheultimate
aimoftheRSPO–tobuildamarket
for certified sustainable palm oil –
isacrucialone.Butfornowthecon-
sumerisleftlittlethewiser.Andfor
those at the other end of the chain,
the information is muddy – many
small palm oil farmers are being
givenfalseinformationaboutwhat
benefits they will receive and what
impact plantations will have on
them.
Until those thousands of tons of
RSPO-certifiedpalmoilgetintoour
supermarket trolley, there’s still a
battle to be fought by us, the con-
sumers.Weneedtoletretailersand
manufacturers know that we want
informationonpalmoiltobemore
readilyavailable,aswellasdemand-
ing that they source sustainably
produced palm oil. We can also
lobby the EU for mandatory envi-
ronmentalandsocialstandards.
Demanding an informed choice
is not always easy. But, when we’re
so close to achieving a sustainable
product, it’s more important now
thanever.*
80%
oforangutans’
naturalhabitathas
disappearedinthe
past20years
FOTOLIA/KITCHBAIN