Many Large Palm Oil Producers Fall Short Of Sustainability Goals

The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) has published a report – and produced a short film – showing that big palm oil producers are failing to reach their sustainability targets. Though palm oil buyers – retailers, food companies and consumer goods producers – are using more sustainable palm oil, they are still not using enough to support responsible growers. Of 130 buyers polled by WWF, less than half purchase palm oil that meets social and environmental standards set by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Thirty-one percent have made “only vague commitments to buying sustainable palm oil or none whatsoever”. The result is a glut of uncertified palm oil on the market, and not much progress toward protecting rain forests and endangered species like the orangutan.