Encouraging our customers to use certified, sustainable palm oil is key focus for AAK teams. As the world’s most productive oil crop per hectare, palm oil contributes to global food security and can be produced in a sustainable way, without negative impacts.
It’s a message that we have been actively promoting since we co-founded the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil back in 2003. Though our work is far from complete, here are some of the initiatives we have been working on recently.
Supporting supply chains
Understanding our customers’ supply chains, and providing active support to the players within them, is a good way to stimulate demand for sustainable palm oil. A great example of this is the work we have been doing with retailer sustainability teams.
By offering direct support and advice to retailers regarding sustainable palm oil sourcing and the development of sustainability policies, we have helped many to switch to RSPO Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO CSPO). We are now working with others to make the switch to Segregated Palm Oil.
Educating customers
We have worked with our customers to explain the importance of sustainable palm oil to their internal teams. Prior to the pandemic, we held a series of Roadshows at customer sites. Taking the form of a tabletop exhibition, staffed by members of our customer innovation, sales and sustainability teams, the events offered the opportunity for new ideas and important information to be shared.
We were able to explain, to a much wider audience than we usually speak to, why choosing sustainable commodities (and sustainable palm oil in particular) is crucial in the fight against climate change. Our aim is to encourage teams to take pride in the fact their business uses sustainable palm oil. Our hope is that they will talk to others about it – challenging misconceptions and promoting the good news about palm oil. Our plan is to deliver this initiative virtually whilst current COVID-19 restrictions are in place.
National initiatives
As an active member of the RSPO, we are actively involved in national initiatives too, across Europe, Asia and the US. As AAK, we take part in biannual meetings chaired by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the UK Government, to share information on progress and explore barriers to change. We regularly contribute to a subgroup of this committee, which aims to educate businesses, education establishments and the wider community on the importance of the drive to sustainable palm oil production.
If you would like to know more, contact our Customer Innovation team.