Companies ... Unilever
Products ... Palm Oil

Unilever promises 100% ‘traceable’ palm oil within next 12 months

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Unilever promises 100% ‘traceable’ palm oil within next 12 months

Consumer goods giant Unilever has pledged to make sure that all of the palm oil it buys will be from “traceable sources” by the end of 2014.

cut its roster of suppliers from more than 100 to between 10 and 20.

To adopt traceable sourcing, Unilever says it will cut its roster of suppliers from more than 100 to between 10 and 20.

While the company’s 2020 target on certified palm oil will remain, its commitment on traceability further clarifies the company’s strategy on palm oil. Once it can identify where the palm oil it uses comes from, Unilever says it can then stop using batches of the ingredient that come from sources deemed to be unsustainable.

The business said the new announcement was a “significant move” in its bid to accelerate market transformation to sustainable palm oil.

“Market transformation can only happen if everyone involved takes responsibility and is held accountable for driving a sustainability agenda,” said chief procurement officer, Marc Engel. “Our progress has been made possible by the commitment and efforts of a number of our strategic suppliers.”

To adopt traceable sourcing, Unilever says it will cut its roster of suppliers from more than 100 to between 10 and 20. And of those, six or seven will provide around 70% of its required volume.

Unilever is also keen to control the palm-oil sourcing process at the earliest stage by building a $100m palm-oil plant in Indonesia.

'Unilever is also keen to control the palm-oil sourcing process at the earliest stage by building a $100m palm-oil plant in Indonesia.' The company is the world’s biggest user of palm oil, buying 1.3 million tons a year to make products such as Dove soap and Flora margarine. It uses around 3% of the palm oil produced globally.

The new pledge has been welcomed by campaigners, including Richard Holland, WWf’s director of market transformation initiative. “Unilever's role and actions have been instrumental on this journey so far,” he said. “They helped us establish the RSPO in 2004 and have been closely involved in its development into a credible institution and standard.

“But, as importantly, Unilever has also matched its commitment with action on buying RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil. We urge other companies along the palm oil value chain to follow the lead shown by Unilever.” Also of interest Starbucks agrees to buy 100% sustainable palm oil by 2015 Unilever on target to meet 2020 sustainable sourcing goal Is RSPO doing its job? Palm oil responsible for ‘most’ deforestation in Indonesia, says Greenpeace