Sainsbury’s Pledges to Use Sustainable Palm Oil 

22/11/07 UK retailer Sainsbury's has announced that the palm oil used in it's own brand food will now come from certified sustainable sources. The first food on UK supermarket shelves to contain certified sustainable palm oil will be Sainsbury's Basics Fish Fingers that will convert by May 2008. 

This is another UK first for Sainsbury's, once again showing it's leadership in responsible sourcing, and means that nearly eight million fish fingers will contain certified sustainable palm oil making an everyday food more ethical. The fish fingers are also Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) approved.

Increased demand for palm oil is potentially an environmental catastrophe impacting on climate change, deforestation, the habitats of orangutans, as well as local communities.

Also, by July 2008 Sainsbury's will be the first supermarket to sell soap that contains certified sustainable palm oil. This is approximately three million bars every year.

Providing honest and transparent labelling for its customers, Sainsbury's will also be the first supermarket to label the use of palm oil in all its food. Labelling will be completed on its fresh and chilled food by July 2008.

This news comes as the annual fifth Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) conference takes place in Malaysia this week. Known as RT5, the conference will involve key growers, processors, manufacturers, retailers and policy makers who are meeting to discuss standards for the certification and sourcing of sustainable palm oil. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is developing a standard to allow the production of certified sustainable palm oil.

Judith Batchelar, Director of Sainsbury's brand, said: "From soap to biscuits, palm oil is in thousands of everyday food and beauty items wherever you shop. Rather than banning the use of palm oil, we want to find a sustainable solution that will stop deforestation while continuing to support the communities that rely on its production.

 "By being the first supermarket to pledge that we will only use certified sustainable palm oil, we will help endangered species such as the orangutan and sumatran tiger, two of the most threatened species on the planet. Closer to home, we are investing in improving the sourcing of raw materials and updating our packaging. Once again, Sainsbury's is using its scale to create major and positive change on a significant environmental issue that our customers care about. "

Adam Harrison, Senior Policy Officer, Food and Agriculture, WWF, said: "We welcome Sainsbury's move to address the serious impacts of palm oil demand and hope that their actions will inspire others to follow suit and commit to using only Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil. All retailers need to take action on palm oil and on their other major environmental impacts. We need a concerted push on all fronts such as cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing the water footprint throughout their supply chains."

Sainsbury's head of environment will be visiting Indonesia this week to search out more  sustainable sources, as well as attending the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) meeting in Kuala Lumpur to talk to growers, visit palm oil plantations and see how the habitat of orangutans has been affected.