Greenpeace Says Multinationals Not Disclosing Palm Oil Sources

Leading consumer goods companies including Kraft Heinz, Johnson & Johnson and Carex soap maker PZ Cussons have failed to disclose the producers of their palm oil supplies, despite pledging to achieve traceability in one of their key ingredients.

In January this year, environmental group Greenpeace had challenged 16 leading brands to disclose their palm oil suppliers, along with the mills that produced the palm oil they used. Only eight have disclosed this information with the remainder – Ferrero, Hershey, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg’s, Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo, PZ Cussons and Smucker’s – refusing to divulge the source of their palm oil.

The other half – Colgate-Palmolive, General Mills, Mars, Mondelez, Nestlé, P&G, Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever – have disclosed producer lists, although all eight revealed that their supplies still included palm oil from producers that destroy rainforests.

Many consumer goods use palm oil, from ice cream and nut spreads to soap and shampoo, and environmentalists have blamed the clearing of land for its production for destroying vast tracts of forest in southeast Asia over the past few decades.

“Brands have repeatedly promised to end deforestation for palm oil by 2020. With less than two years to go they are way off track. Some, such as Nestle and Unilever, have at least come clean about that. Others, including PZ Cussons, Johnson & Johnson and Kraft Heinz, are still keeping customers in the dark,” said Mr. Kiki Taufik, Global Head of the Indonesian forests campaign at Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

Western consumer goods groups have been under pressure to ensure that their raw material is purchased from sources with sound environmental and labour practices. But Greenpeace said unless palm oil users traced the source of the products, deforestation would continue.