Unsustainable growth
We share the widespread concern about the destruction of the world’s rainforests from expanding palm oil production.
Since the 1990s the area of land used for palm oil cultivation has increased by over 40% to meet growing global demand.
So far, much of this growth has not been sustainable: plantations have been created or expanded by clearing rainforest. This is taking a huge toll on the local habitat and contributing to climate change. ‘High conservation value’ (HCV) forests, the way of life of indigenous peoples and the local wildlife, including the endangered orang-utan, are at risk.
Deforestation leads to huge emissions of greenhouse gas, as the carbon sequestered in trees and root systems is lost to the atmosphere. According to some estimates, deforestation accounts for some 20% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – making Indonesia the third-highest emitter behind the US and China.
The use of fire for clearing land for oil palm planting has also been reported to contribute to the problem of forest fires, and in many instances the expansion of oil palm has also given rise to social conflicts between local communities and plantation owners.
Based on current trends, the oil palm industry is set to continue its growth in order to satisfy global demand. However, it is imperative that the expansion be done sustainably.
Unilever has long been convinced of the need to break the link between cultivation of oil palm and climate change. To ensure this happens, it is necessary to develop a globally acceptable definition of sustainable palm oil production and use as well as implement better management practices that comply with this definition.
Supporting a moratorium
In May 2008 Unilever's CEO announced that Unilever would support an immediate moratorium on the destruction of rainforest and peat land areas in Indonesia to grow palm oil.
We believed that this could be done without curtailing the expansion of production because there is sufficient unforested land available to meet even the most optimistic estimates of demand, and because yields would improve significantly if everyone adopted the principles of sustainable agriculture.
Together with Greenpeace, we established a coalition of companies and NGOs to support the moratorium and set public targets for purchasing certified sustainable supplies of palm oil. The majority of its members have now set public targets.
We also published some recommendations on what would be needed to establish a moratorium
Tackling deforestation: the Consumer Goods Forum
The consumer goods industry is often seen as a driver of deforestation because of its demand for crops and materials such as soy, palm oil, paper and board.
The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) is a global industry network that brings together the CEOs and senior management of over 400 retailers, manufacturers and service providers across 70 countries. Unilever and Tesco lead its sustainability programme. At the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico in November/December 2010, the CGF announced two major initiatives to combat climate change by phasing out the use of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants and tackling deforestation. Participating companies pledged to achieve zero net deforestation by 2020.
WWF supports this pledge, believing that consumer goods companies have the scale, geographical presence and purchasing power to help transform these commodity markets and help put an end to deforestation. The combined influence and reach of the organisations involved mean that there is huge potential to change behaviour. See Climate-friendly refrigeration for more detail.
Palm oil and greenhouse gas emissions
Unilever contributed to the development of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil GHG Working Group's proposals and also shared its position during the public consultation period.
A summary of our position on some key issues related to the impact of palm oil on greenhouse gas emissions is set out below and our full position is available to download.
Emissions from Land Use and Land Use Change are the major contributors to GHG emissions related to palm oil production. We therefore believe that these should be addressed as a priority.
- With regard to existing plantations, only those located on mineral soils should be considered for RSPO certification. This means RSPO certification should not cover palm oil plantations on peat land.
- Only new plantations established on land with a carbon (C) stock smaller than 35 t C /ha should be considered for RSPO certification.
- Future revisions of the RSPO criteria could focus on technology fixes for smaller GHG contributors, eg Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) treatment and fertiliser use efficiency
- The RSPO’s GHG Principles & Criteria should apply to both existing and future plantations so that GHG accounting for both is supported.
External recognition
We were one of 35 companies that responded to the first Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD) project request for information. Initiated in 2008, the project is designed to improve corporate understanding of a ‘forest footprint’ generated by the use of key forest risk commodities, namely soy, palm oil, timber, cattle products and biofuels. Unilever participated in the second request for information in 2010. As in 2009, there was no ranking of companies performance, just a listing within the relevant industry. Unilever was listed again in the food products and soft drinks sector of the FFD Annual Review published in January 2011.