The Palm Oil Industry Promises Reform, But There’s Still No Sign of Change
▻https://www.ecowatch.com/palm-oil-industry-reform-2514765701.html
As people learned the truth about their shampoo, cosmetics and chocolate bars, brands and their suppliers started to feel the pressure. In 2013, Wilmar became the first palm oil trader to adopt a No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) policy. Others followed suit, and by the end of 2014, most household brands and big palm oil companies had sworn to protect Indonesia’s rainforests.
Greenpeace doesn’t take companies at their word—we watch them closely to make sure they’re keeping their promises. A couple of years ago, we investigated household brands and weren’t that impressed with what we found. So this year, we took a look at the biggest palm oil traders—the companies that brands get their palm oil from.
The results are alarming. Not one of the traders could prove it wasn’t buying from palm oil companies that destroyed rainforests. Most could not even say when there would be no deforestation in their supply chains. Instead of cutting out dirty palm oil, traders have a ’don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy—they pretend everything is under control while Indonesia’s forests go up in smoke.