03/04/2009 (CNN Money) - Neste Oil is fully committed to using only palm oil that has been produced responsibly, and has a set of tough sustainability principles in place covering its procurement of bio-based raw materials. Thanks to the development of a system that enables it to trace the origin of all the palm oil that it uses, it knows exactly where and how its palm oil has been produced. Neste Oil has also committed itself to only using palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) as it becomes available in sufficient volumes.

Neste Oil is actively supporting work in the areas of legislation and certification designed to prevent the irresponsible production of palm oil. The company has committed itself to an alliance calling for a ban on the felling of rainforest and is playing an active role in the RSPO, and was the first oil company to join the organization.

"Our approach is very much to only use raw materials that are produced in line with the principles of sustainable development. We oppose the destruction of rainforest and anything that undermines human rights or natural biodiversity," said President & CEO Matti Lievonen, speaking at Neste Oil's Annual General Meeting in Helsinki today.

"Neste Oil is working with over 20 research communities in Europe, America, Africa, Asia, and Australia to develop and introduce new raw materials. We increased our R&D budget last year by a third, to EUR 37 million, and are devoting the bulk of our research efforts today to researching and identifying new types of renewable raw materials."