April 2010: Enough sustainable palm oil bought for European, Australian and New Zealand businesses

Unilever urges industry to follow its lead

On 7 April 2010, Unilever announced that it had secured enough GreenPalm certificates of sustainable palm oil to cover the requirements of its European, Australian and New Zealand businesses. The move is part of Unilever’s overall commitment to buy all its palm oil from certified sustainable sources by 2015.

GreenPalm is a certificate trading programme, endorsed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which is designed to tackle the environmental and social problems created by the production of palm oil. By selling certificates through the GreenPalm programme, palm oil producers can earn more for their crop through sustainable farming.

Gavin Neath, SVP Communications and Sustainability, said in a statement: “This is an important achievement and a significant step in our journey towards sustainable palm oil sourcing. Until suitable segregated supply chains become available, GreenPalm certificates are the best option to encourage growers to comply with the requirements of the RSPO and certify their plantations as sustainable. Our consumers can now confidently choose Unilever brands, in the knowledge that we are actively supporting the development of a sustainable palm oil industry.”

Although there are now significant quantities of certified sustainable palm oil available on the market, there isn’t yet sufficient volume coming through segregated supply chains, where buyers can have confidence that the refined oil which they are buying comes from a plantation, mill and refinery which has been certified sustainable.

Raising awareness

The announcement came as Unilever put full-page advertisements in the Financial Times and Times newspapers in the UK, the Australian Financial Review and the Australian newspapers in Australia, with the headline ‘What you buy in the supermarket can change the world’.

Gavin explains in a video statement: “We anticipate the debate over palm oil to get more intense. Through our choice of newspapers, we’re specifically talking to customers, competitors, NGOs and governments. It’s vital they understand the importance of using sustainable palm oil, and what Unilever is doing to lead the way.”

Gavin concludes: “We hope that our actions will transform the palm oil industry and help put a stop to deforestation in South East Asia”.