Danone Extends Sustainable Palm Oil Pledge

Danone has committed to sourcing traceable palm oil with no links to deforestation, setting a goal to map its palm oil supply chain by the end of next year.

The pledge comes after the global food company fared poorly in a recent scorecard on palm oil policies released by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Danone will work with The Forest Trust (TFT) to ensure its palm oil is deforestation and exploitation — of workers and the environment — free, the nonprofit organization says.

The company says it’s on track to buy 100 percent segregated oil certified to Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards by the end of the year but wants to push beyond RSPO standards to ensure that its suppliers’ practices safeguard other vulnerable ecosystems, in addition to old-growth forests, such as tropical peatland and second-growth forests.

TFT says mapping will give Danone an accurate picture of any changes suppliers need to implement to reach its goal.

Danone’s traceable palm oil pledge follows a series of similar commitments by companies including Colgate-Palmolive, General Mills and Mars.