26/08/2009 (The Good Human) - They can claim that the palm oil they use in their chocolate is “green and sustainable” – but that doesn’t mean that it actually is. See, they are certified by GreenPalm, a certification system used by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to encourage farmers to produce sustainable palm oil. But only a tiny fraction of Cadbury’s entire chocolate production is even certified, as they have obtained certification for (only) 2,800 tonnes of palm oil in the past 11 months out of a total annual consumption of 40,000 tonnes. That’s only about 14% of the palm oil they use, but they have no problem claiming that their product lines are green and sustainably made. Even better? If you have that certification, it doesn’t really even mean anything at all – you might or might not be using truly sustainable palm oil. You can buy a certificate for yourself if you want to, for about $10.

From a great article over at The Guardian:

 If their chocolate contains any sustainably produced palm oil it is by chance. Making such a claim is not just greenwash; it is against the RSPO and Green Palm rules. These state that companies can claim that buying Green Palm certificates “supports the production of RSPO certified sustainable palm oil”. But they must not claim their products contain the stuff. Because they can’t be sure.

This is blatant greenwash if I have ever seen one, and it is frightening how many companies are doing things like this instead of just doing the right thing in the first place. We have to keep our eyes open to any claims like this!