The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a body combining suppliers of the vegetable-based product and food manufacturers says that on 11 November, the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands will receive the world's first shipment of 'RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil'.
According to the group, in 2007 global output for the product stood at 38m tones, making it one of the world’s most important sources of vegetable oil for use in the manufacture of packaged goods.
Palm oil is used in a wide range of personal care products including soaps, shampoos and deodorants as well as foods and bio-fuels.
Increasingly popular for personal care
It has become an increasingly popular personal care ingredient, present in 497 products launched in 2007 compared to 246 last year, according to market research firm Mintel.
To satisfy the growing demand for palm oil, corporations in Indonesia are burning forests and draining peat lands to create oil plantations, which has caught the attention of environmental organisations such as Greenpeace.
In an attempt to offset these concerns and to appease the drive among many manufacturers for more sustainable operations, the RSPO claims it has worked with all its members to find new solutions to source palm oil.
“The roundtable promotes production practices that help reduce deforestation, preserve biodiversity, and respect the livelihoods of rural communities in palm oil-producing countries,” the group stated.
RSPO certification
Jan Kees Vis, who serves as both president of the roundtable group and sustainability director at Unilever, said that under RSPO principles, no primary rainforest or high conservation value areas have been sacrificed since November 2005 to obtain palm oil.
The scheme also aims to provide support for plantation workers and indigenous peoples.
According to RSPO estimates, about half of the world’s palm oil suppliers are signed up to the principles, with more expected to join in the future.
“The first sustainable oil palm plantations and mills have recently been certified and have begun to churn out RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil,” stated the group. “While initial volumes will be relatively small, supply will gradually increase over the coming years.”
NGO concern
Despite these claims, environmental campaigners argue that rising demand for this popular oil, the primary exporter for which is Indonesia, is leading to deforestation, which destroys habitats for animals such as the orang-utan, as well as contributing to the rise in carbon emissions.
Last year, environmental group Greenpeace revealed that the level of deforestation being caused in part by palm oil was so great that it merited inclusion in the 2008 Guinness World Records.
