Still the Fires Burn. in Sumatra Slash
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cover feature palm oil till the fires burn. In Sumatra slash and This industry needs palm oil. And despite burn forest clearance is at a six-year high [ASEAN]. Neighbouring Borneo is burn- concerted efforts to make production Sing too, sending a pall of smoke into the region’s skies and destroying the lands more sustainable, slash & burn rainforest of its indigenous people and wildlife, contributing to the deaths of an estimated 6,000 orangutans a year. clearance is still growing to meet rising Booming demand for a lucrative cash crop is fanning the flames, members of the Roundtable on Sustainable demand. What can we all do? Palm Oil (RSPO) were told last month at its 10th annual summit in Singapore. The jungles are being cleared to make way for the world’s highest yielding vegetable oil Rob Brown crop, Elaeis Guineensis – source of palm oil, an ingre- dient that’s found in half of all grocery goods, from bread to body lotion. Our industry is clearly accountable. Despite progress by the RSPO in developing a market for certified sus- tainable palm oil since 2008 – in the year to September, the body says annual capacity was up to 7.1 million tonnes (representing 14% of total global palm oil pro- duction) – a damning 49.8% of this has not found a market [RSPO, 9 m/e 30 September, 2012]. “We need to do a lot better,” concedes RSPO secretary general Darrel Webber. “The moment of truth for us will be 2015 [the date many RSPO members have set for The switching to 100% certified sustainable palm oil use]. “The moment of truth will be 2015: if we don’t burning reach a tipping point by then, the window of opportunity may close” question Darrel Webber, RSPO secretary general If we don’t reach a tipping point in terms of uptake of certified sustainable palm oil use by then, the window of opportunity may close.” So why is uptake slow? Who’s doing the most – and the least – to address the situation? And, with global demand for palm oil expected to double to 100 million tonnes by 2050, what can be done to secure a sustain- able future for the industry... and orangutans? Leaked figures from a report compiled by the RSPO show progress in the UK is reasonably encouraging. Several British supermarkets and manufacturers – led by Asda and United Biscuits respectively – have set industry-leading targets and, in some cases, hit them ahead of schedule. Others are lagging far behind. Aldi and Lidl (a new RSPO member) have so far made no disclosures about their palm oil use and have set no target dates for when they will switch over to certified palm oil in their own label operations. Morrisons is also trailing its peers when it comes to using more certified oil. Just 27% of the 16,834 tonnes the retailer’s own label suppliers use is certified sustainable. Meanwhile Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco have switched to 100%, 96% and 77% sus- tainable oil respectively. “As an RSPO member, Morrisons has been working with suppliers for some time on a stepped approach 34 | The Grocer | 1 December 2012 www.thegrocer.co.uk www.thegrocer.co.uk 1 December 2012 | The Grocer | 35 cover feature palm oil to use fully segregated palm oil from a certified sys- “Readers have to look at this as a journey,” he says. tem,” says a Morrisons spokesman. “This phased “In essence we’re in our first year of this. Last year was HOW GROCERY STACKS UP approach allows suppliers to manage the process and all about analysing the situation and communicat- Retailers costs, change their suppliers where necessary and ing to our buyers. Another thing Walmart has done is PALM OIL USE % CERTIFIED CERTIFIED 2011 WWF 100% USE ensure they are compliant with the appropriate certi- develop a directory that gives our suppliers the infor- COMPANY NAME (mT) PALM OIL USE PALM OIL TYPE SCORE DEADLINE fication regime. We have made steady progress towards mation they need to source sustainable palm oil. That’s Asda* 16,083 100 GP, MB, SG 9 2012 our well publicised target for full segregation by 2015.” unique to UK retailers.” M&S* 8,000 100 GP, SG 9 2015 But progress isn’t quick enough, claim critics. There The Co-op Group* 4,856 100 GP, MB, SG 9 2011 are ample supplies of segregated certified oil – kept The developing world Waitrose* 2,200 100 GP, MB, SG 9 2012 apart from conventional oil at every step in the supply If sustainable palm oil is still proving a tough sell in the Sainsbury’s* 13,357 96 GP, MB, SG 8 2014 chain, and the only way a company can claim the oil in west, it’s even tougher in the developing world. Growth Tesco* 32,795 77 GP, MB, SG 8 2015 its products is untainted. Yet here in the UK, many are in economies like China and India, the world’s two Boots* 539 73 GP, SG 9 2014 dragging their heels in adopting it, they say. biggest palm oil markets, helped triple annual global Morrisons* 16,834 27 GP, MB, SG 8 2015 Even those that appear to be leading the pack come production of palm oil to 46.7 million tonnes between The Body Shop* <1k 75 –100 SG 9 2011 under fire. One soap manufacturer says several British 1995 and 2010 [MVO]. These markets – combined with Aldi* ND ND ND 1.5 ND supermarkets – including Asda, Tesco and Morrisons – growing demand from the biofuel industry – will con- Lidl* ND ND ND 0 ND have so far not switched to segregated palm oil in their tinue to drive demand. Unless these markets switch to own-label soap lines, despite supplies being available. sustainable oil, the forests will continue to burn. Manufacturers A bar of soap can comprise up to 75% palm oil, mak- Under the circumstances, change sounds unlikely. PALM OIL USE % CERTIFIED SUPPLY CHAIN 2011 WWF 100% USE ing this a key area where progress can be made, says “Many of the people in these countries still live on the COMPANY NAME (mT) PALM OIL USE OPTIONS SCORE DEADLINE the manufacturer. poverty line – they are looking for the cheapest way United Biscuits 58,021 100 GP, MB, SG 9 2010 “These supermarkets are talking the talk but not of putting food on the table for their families,” says Burton’s 11,411 100 GP, SG 9 2010 walking the walk,” says the source. “There’s a clear Jeremy Goon, head of sustainability at palm oil pro- Warburtons 1,016 100 GP, MB 9 2015 disconnect between their CSR statements and what palm oil facts cessor Wilmar International. “They are not going to Allied Bakeries (ABF) 973 100 GP, MB, SG 9 2014 they’re doing in practice. They say they’ll use certified pay a premium for sustainable oil. That’s just not going Unilever 1,300,000 68 GP, SG 8 2012 palm oil ‘wherever possible’ – the caveat is, if it doesn’t ● There’s no viable to happen.” Kraft 247,464 61 GP, MB, SG – 2015 cost them more. It does: it’s about 2p a bar more. Even alternative to palm Not without the help of governments, says Jan Kees H J Heinz 8,461 42 GP, SG 8 2013 though segregated palm oil is available, they have oil, the most efficient Vis, Unilever’s global director for sustainable sourcing Assoc. British Foods 42,138 21 GP, MB, SG 6.5 2015 decided not to use it because of the effect it will have oilseed crop in the and RSPO president. That means lobbying policymak- Premier Foods <50k 75 –100 GP, SG 9 2015 on profits.” world: it’s reckoned ers to lower trade tariffs for certified sustainable palm Findus Group <10k 75 –100 GP, SG 9 2015 The charge isn’t denied at the supermarkets. “There that replacing palm oil. “We’re doing exactly that,” says Vis. “In order to Ginsters <10k 75 –100 GP, SG 8.5 2012 is an element of truth to that,” says a senior source at oil with alternatives transform the markets you need help from the govern- Iglo Group <1k 75 –100 GP 9 2011 one of the big four. “We are more focused on food at the would require at least of palm oil, initially promised to use 100% sustainable ments of India and China. We would only need to shave Jordans & Ryvita (ABF) <1k 75 –100 SG 9 2012 moment. It’s a case of manpower – it’s a complicated 10 times more land for oil by 2015, through a combination of Green Palm cer- off a tiny proportion off the trade tariff to make certified Northern Foods <50k 50–75 GP, MB, SG 3.5 2012 process and we are dealing with a whole pile of food production. tificates and segregation. In April it had a change of palm oil economic in these markets.” Nestlé >100k 25–50 GP, SG 8 2015 manufacturers. Our strategy is to focus on food to start ● Demand is expected heart, putting back its target to 2020, purportedly to The lobbying is taking place closer to home too, as Dairy Crest <50k 0–25 GP 7 2015 with and then swing around to using segregated palm to double to 100 million make a more wholesale commitment to using 100% the RSPO fights to make certified palm oil more attrac- Kerry Group <50k 0–25 MB 7 2015 oil in personal care later on.” tonnes by 2050.