Unilever use over 1.5 million tonne of palm oil per annum. According to their RSPO report - Less than 1% of that usage is certified segregated supply and the remainder is covered by uncertified GreenPalm certificates yet WWF rate the company at the top of their palm oil scorecard.
Due to the massive volume of palm oil used by Unilever, fully certified segregated supply is possible if the company wanted it. If Unilever changed to certified NOW it would enable other brands access to tap into that supply which would in turn regulate the palm oil industry.
EXTRACT FROM UNILEVER WEBSITE:.....Richard Holland, Director of WWF’s Market Transformation Initiative said: "Unilever’s 2014 commitment marks a very promising step on the continuing journey towards real market transformation to sustainable palm oil. Unilever’s role and actions have been instrumental on this journey so far. They helped us establish the RSPO in 2004 and have been closely involved in its development into a credible institution and standard. But as importantly Unilever has also matched its commitment with action on buying RSPO certified sustainable palm oil. That is why we ranked Unilever amongst the top scorers in the industry in our Palm Oil Scorecard.
It is a shame that WWF rate Unilever so highly considering the massive volume of uncertified palm oil usage by the brand. They should be pushing the brand to shift supply when segregated certified palm oil is possible. So if WWF refuse to push Unilever to fully certified palm oil supply then POI will.
Step up NOW Unilever because what you are doing is NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
Some Unilever brands include: Dove. Streets. Flora. Comfort. Knorr. Continental. OMO. Lux. Rexona. Sunsilk. TRESemme'. Surf. Lynx. Brut. Drive. Jif. Ponds. Stork. Sunlight. VO5. Bertolli. Vaseline. Radox. Simple. Walls.
To Paul Polman
Unilever Sustainability Manager
I am aware that Unilever use over 1.5 million of palm oil per annum and according to your most recent RSPO ACOP report only 0.95% of that is certified and the remainder is covered via uncertified GreenPalm certificates.
The RSPO ACOP report the year prior stated that 1.5% of that usage was certified, so according to these official reports Unilever have gone backward instead of forward with certification.
As you are fully aware GreenPalm certificates is uncertified palm oil and as Unilever are founding members of the RSPO you should be fully aware that this supply chain only supports the production certified palm oil. According to the regulations Unilever are also only allowed to state that you support the production of sustainable palm oil and not allowed to state that the palm oil used by Unilever IS sustainable.
I am aware that Unilever intend to use fully certified segregated palm oil by 2020. This time bound plan is not good enough. Palm oil production needs to be regulated NOW not 2020 when there is little if anything left to save of the remaining habitat and critically endangered species that are rely on their forests for survival.
Unilever are not the leaders of sustainability that you market yourselves to be. This claim is something to be proud of once you have reached 100% segregated supply and not before.
Due to the huge volume of palm oil used by Unilever, 100% fully segregated supply is possible if you asked for it, however it appears that this option it is not sought nor wanted. WHY?
Unilever have the power to transform the palm oil industry if only segregated supply was used as this would open up opportunities for other brands to be able to tap into the same segregated supply.
I demand that Unilever become a leader in this industry rather than a company using greenwash so you can make a sustainable claim.
POI support brands using certified palm oil and fully endorse those that make strong commitments to a No Deforestation Policy implemented by a 3rd party.
