Congratulations Ferrero!!
Palm Oil Investigations report Ferrero have achieved their 2014 goal to source all of the palm oil in Ferrero products (like household favourite Nutella), from ethical and sustainable sources.
This means 100% segregated Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil certified palm oil.
Confused about what exactly that is? We we're too, and that's because there is little regulation in the palm oil industry, so let's take a closer look.
The confusion begins because even if a company is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), this does not necessarily mean that they are purchasing certified sustainable palm oil.
It means they have made a commitment to EVENTUALLY purchase sustainable palm oil, in most cases that commitment is to be in place by 2015.
So, it can be difficult when buying a product to know for sure that product uses certified sustainable palm oil.
Before you buy any product with RSPO labelling, you should look to see if it has the word CERTIFIED included. Furthermore, you should ask the brand exactly how much of the palm oil they source is certified sustainable palm oil, as sometimes a brand will mix certified and uncertified palm oil together.
Ideally, labelling indicating certified palm oil should look like this:
- -100% Certified Sustainable Palm Oil
- -100% segregated
- - And, although it is not compulsory for a company to use the RSPO certification logo, it may also be featured. If a different logo was displayed, you could assume the certification claims to be untrue.
Why is palm oil bad?
Palm oil is one of the primary causes for deforestation, as vast areas of forest are cleared daily to make way for palm oil plantations because of the high demand.
It's estimated that 98% of Indonesian forest will be gone in 9 years due to palm oil plantations. Tropical rainforests can absorb nearly a third of all CO2 emissions, hence their destruction massively contributes to climate change. Plus, pushes species to extinction like the beloved Orangutang, and results in human rights abuses.
Is a complete boycott of Palm Oil the answer?
Palm Oil Investigations say no! They believe the production of Palm Oil needs to be "regulated so that it's not contributing to further devastation on deforestation, wildlife, habitat, the environment and the local native villagers who rely on their land to survive."
The countries producing Palm Oil also rely on the revenue from Palm Oil, so a complete boycott can be counter-productive, as unfortunately the reality seems to be that Palm Oil is not going to go away. However, if consumers are demanding CSPO (Certified Sustainable Palm Oil), then growers will grow it, or at least have more incentive.
What you can do
Place pressure on brands! If a brand is not using CSPO (Certified Sustainable Palm Oil) then consumers need to place pressure on these brands to change to certified oil - which is what Ferrero have done. Won't that extra spoonful of Nutella be even more delightful now?!?
Do your shopper research before you buy!
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savings pledged
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Want to learn more?
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