Six of Australia’s biggest palm oil manufacturers and retailers have been assessed for the first time in WWF-Australia’s Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard – giving a snapshot of the sustainability of palm oil in products manufactured and sold by Cadbury, Coles, Goodman Fielder, Nestle, Unilever and Woolworths. “97% of our palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaysia – places with incredibly important rainforests and wildlife habitats,” said WWF-Australia CEO Greg Bourne.

“Palm oil growth is now one of the world’s leading causes of deforestation. The choices made by retailers and manufacturers of palm oil have a direct impact on the habitat of endangered species such as the orang-utan, Sumatran tiger and Asian elephant.” Together, the companies featuring in WWF-Australia’s Scorecard account for approximately 70% of the palm oil imported and used in manufactured goods in Australia.

Palm oil is the world’s most widely used vegetable oil and can be found in processed foods like chocolate, hot cross buns, biscuits, chips and ice cream. According to figures from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), palm oil can be found in up to 50 per cent of the packaged food products on our shelves. It can also be found in many cosmetics, lipsticks, shampoos, conditioners and moisturisers. In Australia, palm oil is labelled as vegetable oil, offering consumers no way of knowing whether or not their shopping choices are contributing to deforestation and habitat loss.

“Australia imports around 130,000 tonnes of palm oil ever year making ‘Australia’s palm oil footprint’ 13,000 times the size of the MCG. We need to reduce the impact of this by using more sustainable palm oil through plantations being certified to the standards of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil,” said Mr Bourne.

By working with WWF and the RSPO, companies both in Australia and internationally are beginning to make the switch to a sustainable alternative, Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO). “WWF believes it is possible for palm oil imports into Australia to be 100 per cent CSPO by 2015, ensuring our palm oil consumption does not drive the further loss of these amazing habitats,” said Mr Bourne.

After consultation with WWF-Australia, two of the three Australian companies assessed in the scorecard have now made commitments to use CSPO. Woolworths will switch to 100 per cent CSPO in their private label products and manufacturer Goodman Fielder will buy Greenpalm certificates for its retail branded products.

“WWF welcomes the recent decision by Woolworths to use 100 per cent certified sustainable palm oil – a strong sign to palm oil producers that there is growing demand for a sustainable alternative,” said Mr Bourne.”Goodman Fielder have also committed to sourcing CSPO. It is great to see these Australian companies beginning to reduce the impact they are having on the environment.”

Internationally, Unilever, Nestle and Cadbury have also agreed to make the switch to CSPO. Palm oil remains one of the world’s most high-impact commodities and WWF will continue to work internationally to reduce the environmental toll it takes, while protecting the livelihoods of workers in palm oil producing regions. WWF-Australia Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard can be found online here