Mondelez touts 100% RSPO-certified palm oil - two years ahead of schedule
The global snack and confectionery giant – spun off from Kraft Foods in 2012 – said the palm oil was certified through a combination of oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and GreenPalm certificates.
"Achieving 100% RSPO is an important milestone toward our long-term commitment to only buy palm oil that's produced on legally held land, doesn't lead to deforestation or loss of peat land, respects human rights, including land rights, and doesn't use forced or child labour," said Dave Brown, vice president of Global Commodities and Strategic Sourcing.
"We recognise the need to go further, so we've also challenged our palm oil suppliers to provide transparency on the levels of traceability in their palm oil supply chains. Knowing the sources of palm oil supplies is an essential first step to enable scrutiny and promote improvements in practice on the ground."
Greenpeace previously has urged major industry players including Mondelez to go beyond RSPO standards and source palm oil in a ‘truly sustainable’ manner. Some have agreed to go beyond the RSPO standards, while others say that the standards are adequate.
Mondelez has said it will publish an action plan in the second quarter of 2014 detailing steps to eliminate from its supply chain by 2020 palm oil that does not meet its sustainability principles. These include not sourcing palm oil from plantations on illegally held land, or that destroys peat land, and respecting human rights.
