Mars says 57 percent of the palm oil it sources can be traced back to a known mill in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Thailand, as of as of Aug. 31.
The announcement comes as part of an initiative Mars launched in March that requires all of its suppliers to have a fully sustainable and traceable palm oil supply by the end of 2015. At that time the company also demanded its suppliers commit to its sourcing charter by the end of this year.
With its initiative, Mars joined a list of companies that have recently made sustainable palm oil commitments, including Danone, ConAgra, Hershey and Krispy Kreme, among others.
Mars says it is continuing to work with all of its palm oil suppliers to confirm their commitment to the sourcing initiative by the end of 2014.
After identifying the mills sourcing its suppliers, Mars plans to work with The Forest Trust in 2015 to ensure each mill can verify that its fresh-fruit bunch supply, including that from smallholders, meets Mars’ sourcing charter.
Mars also plans to continue working with the Consumer Goods Forum and other industry, governmental and societal efforts to protect forests.
Last month, the world’s five largest growers of palm oil — Sime Darby, Asian Agri, IOI Corporation, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad and Musim Mas — agreed to halt the clearance of high carbon stock forests while they conduct a yearlong study aimed at defining the threshold for forest protection.
The study is being funded by the five grower companies as well as agribusiness groups Wilmar International and Cargill, and consumer-goods company Unilever.
