GRIN’S PALM OIL FREE SEAL GIVE ORANGUTANS A CHOICE

Do orangutans have a choice when their homes are destroyed? The answer is no, but it could be different. It all depends on our choices as producers and consumers. At Grin, we believe in giving the 6,000 orangutans we lose every year to palm oil production, and all the other species with whom we share our planet, the choice to keep their habitats and livelihoods. This is why we have become palm oil free. Recently, we also got the Orangutan Alliance’s seal of approval: we are now Certified Palm Oil Free.

- WHAT IS PALM OIL?

Palm oil is derived from the fruit of the African oil palm tree. Like plastic, it’s incredibly versatile and is used across a range of products: from foods like chips, biscuits and chocolates to beauty products like lipsticks, shampoos, soaps and toothpaste. Oil palm is the highest yielding vegetable oil crop, making palm oil one of the cheapest vegetable oils in the world. Palm oil is found in up to 50 percent of the products in New Zealand supermarkets.

- HOW DOES PALM OIL IMPACT WILDLIFE?

The biggest and most detrimental impact of palm oil production on wildlife is habitat loss. With Indonesia and Malaysia producing most of the world’s palm oil, the impact on the wildlife in these countries is huge. What’s worse, these countries are home to some of the greatest biodiversity on Earth. Over 80 endemic and critically endangered species like the Sumatran Rhinoceros, Sumatran tiger, Bornean pygmy elephant, and Bornean orangutan are at risk of becoming extinct if humans continue down their current path.

- IS SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL OK?

The most common certification system that sustainable palm oil producers use is RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil); however, until late last year, the RSPO had not ensured deforestation free palm oil. While the regulations covered primary and high conservation forests, they excluded secondary forest growth and peatland. 

To date, the research available around sustainable palm oil has presented unfavourable results. A study released by the Department of Natural Sciences and Forestry (FNR) of Purdue University in the USA analyzed the most updated datasets available to science, including those from the Global Forest Watch, Greenpeace International, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, the RSPO and the Aidenvironment. It found that certified concessions do not differ much from those not certified. The study was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment and reported that between “2001 to 2016 about 40% of the area present in the current RSPO concessions suffered a significant habitat degradation (caused by deforestation, fires or other damage to the trees) before being converted into oil plantations and that this loss of tree cover occurred both before and after the start of the RSPO agreement (2004) and the POIG initiative (2013).”

After much debate, controversy and pressure from consumers and environmental organisations around the rules and regulations in place, the RSPO tightened its standards. In November 2018, they announced that their new regulations will include a ban on planting on peatlands and other carbon-rich soils, the integration of high carbon stock and high conservation value requirements to protect forests and the strengthening of human rights and labour requirements. Members of the RSPO will also be required to publish a list of mills from which they obtain palm oil. While this is definitely good news in terms of progress, the new regulations don’t come into effect for another two years. In order to make a real difference, the RSPO needs to put these new regulations into action now.

The RSPO also doesn’t have a great track record in terms of certification audits and member compliance. The organisation has consistently been deficient in carrying out audits and has failed to pick up on non-compliant members. In September 2018, Greenpeace investigations exposed deforestation violations by 14 RSPO members. Some of these cases not only broke RSPO standards, they also broke Indonesian law.

- THE MANY NAMES USED TO DISGUISE PALM OIL

There are currently over 200 alternative names given to palm oil to try disguise its use in products. To help consumers identify some of these names, we’ve provided a list of the most commonly used ones below. For the full list, click here.PKO—palm kernel oilPHPKO—partially hydrogenated palm oilFP(K)O—fractionated palm oilOPKO—organic palm kernel oilPalmitate—vitamin A or asorbyl palmitatePalmateSLS—sodium lauryl sulphate (can also be from coconut)SDS or NaDS—sodium dodecyl sulphateElaeis guineensis (palm oil’s scientific name)Glycerin or Glycerol (442)Glyceryl stearateStearic acidChemicals which contain palm oilSteareth-2Steareth-20Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (coconut and/or palm)Hydrated palm glyceridesSodium isostearoyl lactylaye (derived from vegetable stearic acid)Cetyl palmitateOctyl palmitate