Sustainable Palm Oil

The Sustainable Palm Oil badge is awarded to companies who are committed to 100% sustainable palm oil, are making good progress towards that target and who are leading the way by ensuring that the majority of their palm oil is separated from uncertified sources. We set a high hurdle for sustainable palm oil but believe this is important given the impact of unsustainable palm oil on deforestation and biodiversity.

A green badge is awarded to products which meet our sustainable palm oil criteria and which contain palm oil or a common palm oil derivative. A grey badge is awarded to those that do not. Why is sustainable palm oil important? In some regions palm oil plantations have caused widespread deforestation which is a key contributor to climate change. These forests are also home to endangered species and places of great natural biodiversity with the resulting habitat loss leading some species, such as orangutans, to be critically endangered. Lack of consultation with local communities about what happens to their land and worker rights are also a risk on some palm oil plantations. We award the Sustainable Palm Oil badge when a company meets three criteria. Firstly they must show they are committed to sustainable palm oil with a plan to ensure that 100% of their physical supply chain is from sustainable palm oil by 2020. Secondly they must be making strong progress towards that commitment by getting at least 80% of the way there and be using only RSPO certified palm oil. Finally they should be leading the way by ensuring that the majority of their palm oil is separated from uncertified sources which means it must be segregated or identity preserved. Because climate change and unsustainable palm oil are global problems we analyse the palm oil usage for the entire company not just for individual brands or subsidiaries. The data that we use is provided by the companies themselves. Companies who do not report to the RSPO on the type of palm oil that they use cannot be verified as using sustainable palm oil unless they provide on pack certification. We believe that transparency to consumers is a key element in evidencing that palm oil usage is sustainable.