Kao Kashima Plant Receives RSPO SCCS Certification for Sustainable Palm Oil Procurement (Press Release)
01/06/2012 (WorldPressOnline) - Kao Corporation (President and CEO: Motoki Ozaki) is pleased to announce that its Kashima Plant passed the requisite screening and was recognized RSPO*1 SCCS*2 certification in March 2012, which certifies that the plant is capable of producing, processing, and marketing products that use sustainable palm oil.
In 2007, Kao joined RSPO, an international non-profit organization that pursues solutions for issues related to palm oil production, including the destruction of the ecosystem by rainforest logging as well as poor labor conditions for workers on plantations. In September 2010, Kao began to purchase certified palm oil through the Book and Claim System,*3 one of the trade certificate systems; and in 2011, Kao achieved a 100% ratio of certified palm oil purchased by all its plants in Japan.
This was followed in March 2012 by Kao's Kashima Plant receiving RSPO SCCS certification as a plant that is capable of producing, processing, and marketing products with the use of RSPO-certified palm oil.
Kao continues to strive to achieve a shift in raw materials by using sustainable ones that take biodiversity into consideration. As long as a sufficient procurement is available, Kao aims to use only certified palm oil for product commercialization by 2015.
*1 RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil): A roundtable organization that promotes the production and use of sustainable palm oil
*2 SCCS (Supply Chain Certification Systems): Supply chain systems that are organized aiming at producing and marketing products that use sustainable palm oil produced at RSPO-certified plantations after having satisfied strict conditions for biodiversity conservation, and then distributing products to consumers
*3 Book and Claim System: A system for trading credits for RSPO-certified palm oil. By purchasing "a certified credit" issued in accordance with the palm oil volume produced and registered at a RSPO- certified plantation, it is assumed that an equivalent volume of certified palm oil has been purchased.