25/04/2008 (Red Orbit) - German consumer and industrial product manufacturer Henkel has joined the international Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil as an official member, effective April 2008.

Palm oil has received a lot of negative press and has also been derided by ecologists for its unsustainable use as feedstock in biofuels and other industrial uses.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil's (RSPO) stated mission is to ensure that commercialized palm oil satisfies certain key sustainability criteria. Henkel has noted that it supports this process by participating in meetings and contributing its expert knowledge to the ensuing debate.

To this end, specific certification procedures are reportedly being prepared in order to enable the identification of palm oil that has been produced under sustainable conditions.

While, Henkel itself does not produce, purchase or process palm oil, it utilizes it, indirectly via its surfactant suppliers, with palm kernel oil being used in particular.