Despite having policies to safeguard forests, most food companies ranked by Greenpeace did not know whether their supply chains involved deforestation
Ferrero topped a Greepeace scorecard for sustainable palm oil use - but it's cold comort for chocolate lovers, as the survey found much work is still to be done on greening palm oil chains.
In December 2015, Greenpeace assessed 14 global manufacturers which use palm oil and have ‘no deforestation’ policies in place, including snack and confectionery manufacturers. Despite having these policies, none of the companies investigated was able to say with any certainty that there was no deforestation in their palm oil supply chain. Most companies were unable even to say how much of their palm oil came from suppliers that complied with their own sourcing standards.
Only one of the companies – Ferrero – could trace nearly 100% of its palm oil back to the plantation it was grown on.
Greenpeace acknowledges that there are substantial differences between companies, and that some are making significant progress. However, given the scale of forest loss and the devastating environmental consequences, the organisation concludes progress towards deforestation-free supply chains is disappoiningly slow.
Read more about Sustain's policies for a fair and environmentally sustainable food supply here.
Published Friday 11 March 2016
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
