Palm oil is ubiquitous on supermarket shelves in products ranging from margerine to crackers, from cosmetics to detergents. In fact, about half the products people commonly purchase contain it.
Unfortunately, since biofuels hit the scene, it became synonymous with rainforest destruction as opportunistic business in places like Indonesia turned virgin rainforests into palm oil farms for biofuels.
Now, the first shipment of certified sustainable palm oil is on its way from Malaysia to Rotterdam, where buyers like Unilever and supermarket chaing Sainsbury are awaiting delivery.
The shipment is certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which was created by the palm oil industry in 2004.
"Any sustainability standard has to be dynamic and constantly challenged. But I’m confident that the palm oil we’ve bought is of a higher standard and doesn’t compare with anything we have sourced before," said Fiona Wheatley, natural resources manager for Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd.
Yet, Greenpeace says the industry-based certification process needs to be tougher, as it doesn’t do enough to prevent deforestation and clearing of peat lands.
RSPO expects that 1.5 million tons of certified palm oil will reach markets by early 2009. Total annual palm oil production is over 38 million tons. Demand for certified palm oil needs to increase beyond Europe, and some extent in the US, to other major markets like China and India.
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