In the market for change: Carrefour provides sustainable palm oil in Indonesia!

This oil is used widely in cooking as a low-cost replacement for butter.  It is also found in many processed foods and products like dish soap, detergent, and cosmetics.  The problem with this is that in many cases, Indonesian and Malaysian forests are clear-cut to make room for palm oil plantations, threatening tiger, elephant, and orang-utan habitat and displacing forest communities.  Not to mention that many rainforests in that region grow on top of peat bogs (mossy wetlands) that store large quantities of carbon, which are released when trees are cut down and bogs are drained.

Palm oil plantation © naturepl.com / Juan Carlos Muñoz / WWF-Canon

That is why the news out of Jakarta that Indonesian consumers can now buy sustainable palm oil is so exciting! Indonesia is one of the world’s largest palm oil producing nations and the biggest consuming market.  This market is catered to largely by Carrefour (one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world), which just introduced “ECOplanet Cooking Oil” – the first consumer product to be labeled with the trademark of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in Indonesia. The RSPO was formed in 2004 with the objective of “promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders”.
This product launch by Carrefour is one step in a global effort.  The retail giant made a global commitment to source 100% RSPO oil by 2015, and since 2010 has been buying certificates that support the growth of sustainable palm oil to cover all the products it sells in France. In Canada, our partner Loblaw has set an ambitious goal to have all products backed by these certificates by 2015 – a first for a Canadian retailer.
Palm oil plays a central role to both the economy of Indonesia and also the daily lives of its people. “Now consumers are empowered to make a daily choice at the market that contributes to sustainable development in their own country,” explains Irwan Gunawan, WWF-Indonesia’s Deputy Director of Market Transformation.
WWF-Indonesia, which has been committed to transforming the palm oil industry in Indonesia for over a decade, hopes this sends an encouraging signal to big producers and smallholders alike.  “WWF hopes this commitment can inspire other manufacturers and retailers in Indonesia to commit to sustainable palm oil,” says Gunawan. “It also sends a powerful signal to the country’s palm oil growers that there is a burgeoning market for sustainable palm oil in Indonesia as well as abroad.”
What you can do: Buy sustainable palm oil