Most European palm oil buyers fail sustainability test
28/10/2009 (WWF) - Two well know Scottish food firms, Walkers and Nairn’s have thrown their weight behind a global scheme to prevent the destruction of tropical forests by supporting sustainably produced palm oil.

According to the results of WWF’s first ever assessement of Europe’s leading brands, the majority of companies scored are failing to buy certified sustainable palm oil, despite its availability and their own commitments to purchase it.

Although they are not included in the full European scorecard, WWF Scotland has found that Nairn’s and Walkers are already taking positive action on palm oil.

WWF’s Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard scored the performance of 59 of the most prominent retailers and manufacturers in Europe that buy and use palm oil in their products.

Adam Harrison, Senior Policy Officer for Food and Agriculture at WWF Scotland said:

“WWF welcomes the action of the companies that have made moves towards buying certified palm oil. Although many companies still have a long way to go, the performances of the top brands in the Scorecard signal to the rest of the industry that it is possible to turn commitment into action and transform the market.

“However, WWF also acknowledges that even the top scoring companies need to continue to raise their game if they are to use certified palm oil for 100% of their palm oil supply.

“Because certified palm oil is now available, it is time to hold major palm oil users to account for their policies and actions and it is gratifying to see that even Scottish companies can play a part in global solutions to some of the world’s most serious problems.”

The Scorecard reveals that:
• 10 companies have scored 20 or more points out of possible 29 and thus are considered by WWF to be showing real progress on their commitments to buy and use sustainable palm oil.
• 28 companies scored between 5 – 20 points. Whilst a few are showing progress many have only just begun to take action on sustainable palm oil. While some have put policies and systems in place, often they have yet to start buying certified sustainable palm oil
• 19 of the 59 companies scored between 0 and 3 points, meaning that they have taken very little or no action to curb their use of non-certified palm oil and are failing to respond to the efforts that palm oil producers have made to achieve certification under the Roundtable

Background information on Palm Oil
The growing demand for palm oil is adding to the already severe pressure on remaining rainforest areas of the world. The loss of forest in Indonesia is threatening the survival of species such as the orang-utan, the Sumatran tiger, rhino and elephant. Forest loss and the draining of peatlands for palm oil plantations is also contributing to climate change and displacing local people who rely on the forest for food and shelter.

It is because of threats like this that WWF worked with other NGOs and the palm oil industry to set up the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2003. Since then WWF has worked with the industry to ensure that the RSPO standards contain robust social and environmental criteria, including a prohibition on the conversion of valuable forests. Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) has been available since November 2008 and provides assurance that valuable tropical forests have not been cleared and that environmental and social safeguards have been met during the production of the palm oil.

WWF opted to grade palm oil buyers after releasing figures in May showing that only a small percentage of the sustainable palm oil available on the market had been bought. The situation is starting to improve slowly. Over the last year, RSPO certified plantations have produced over 1 million tonnes of CSPO, and over 196,000 tonnes of that has been sold to date. While this still represents only 19% of the available supply, the RSPO has reported that CSPO sales have been growing - over the last four months, market uptake has seen a 34% increase.

The scoring of companies was a two step process that took six months to complete. In the first step, WWF evaluated the performance of companies based on publicly available data, such as corporate sustainability reports. WWF then sent a preliminary score to each company with a package of information to brief companies about the Scorecard, including details on the project’s objectives and the methodology. The companies were given the opportunity to submit additional information to WWF that might improve their scores.

The Scorecard will be published every two years and eventually will expand to include palm oil buyers in other markets around the world.