The Palm Oil Innovation Group welcomes major global companies L’Oréal and Barry Callebaut

London – Today, the Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG) announced that global companies L’Oréal and Barry Callebaut are the newest members of the leading initiative for responsibly produced palm oil. These companies join others in POIG that have committed to stepping up efforts to drive the much-needed transformation of the palm oil sector. The announcement follows increasing debate on what single ‘No Deforestation’ and ‘No Exploitation’ standard will be adopted by the EU following the successful passage of the palm oil resolution in April 2017. Members of Parliament overwhelmingly voted in support of the introduction of a single certification scheme that will ensure all palm oil entering the EU market is not tied to deforestation or human rights violations.

Matthias Diemer, the Co-chair of the Palm Oil Innovation Group issued the following statement during the annual European meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO):

“The Palm Oil Innovation Group welcomes the commitment by L’Oréal and Barry Callebaut to innovate and join the ranks of the most responsible companies in the palm oil supply chain.”

“These new members will continue to support the transformation of the palm oil sector by demonstrating innovation to implement RSPO existing standards as well as additional critical requirements, such as ending deforestation, the development of peatlands and gross labour and human rights violations.”

L’Oréal, the world’s largest cosmetics company, and Switzerland-based Barry Callebaut, the global leading supplier of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, have joined existing POIG members like Ferrero and Danone in their commitments to drive truly responsible palm oil production.

“With more innovators joining forces under POIG, we move closer to achieving POIG’s vision: a responsible supply chain that has broken the link between palm oil production and the destruction of forests and peatlands, the exploitation of communities and workers, and climate change,” concluded co-chair Matthias.

POIG was recently recognised by the European Parliament as a strong standard for responsible palm oil production. The EU palm oil resolution presents a great opportunity for RSPO and POIG members, especially at a time when the RSPO is considering strengthening its standards to incorporate no deforestation and no exploitation requirements outlined in the POIG Charter. The initiative was founded by Agropalma, DAABON, Greenpeace, WWF, Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) in 2014 and remains the initiative that sets the highest benchmark for independently verified and truly responsible palm oil.

To download the full statement, click here.