New initiative on sustainable palm oil

The Body Shop® announces new initiative on sustainable palm oil to tackle global threat to biodiversity

The Body Shop® call for urgent action from global retailers

The Body Shop International today became the first cosmetics and toiletries retailer to introduce sustainable palm oil into the global beauty industry. The company has made this pioneering move as a response to the continued and rapid destruction of the world’s ancient rainforests caused by irresponsible palm oil production. It will source the sustainable palm oil from a plantation in Colombia.

This move represents a major practical step by a global retailer and equates to 14.5 million bars of soap sold per annum in more than 2,200 stores across 57 countries across the world.

The Body Shop® are now calling on other manufacturers and retailers to follow their lead to help slow the drastic environmental and social effects of unsustainable production and ensure that within the next two to three years, the majority of palm oil is produced sustainably.

- Palm oil is one of the world’s most popular vegetable oils. It is used in countless everyday items including cosmetics, household products and foods and is regularly consumed by over a billion people worldwide.

- A huge growth in demand – a six-fold increase since the mid 1980s and still rising – has led to the clearance of vast areas of primary rainforests for plantations, particularly in South East Asia.

- At current rates of destruction, around 1.3m hectares of forest – equating to around six football pitches per minute – will be cleared this year in Borneo alone to allow for new plantations.

- Production impacts on the rights of indigenous populations, often creates poor labour conditions and has severe health implications for women working on the plantations.

- Deforestation’s most drastic effect is on endangered animal species such as orang-utans in Borneo and Sumatra, Sumatran rhinoceros and Asian elephant and tigers, all of which are heading towards extinction due to the loss of natural habitat.

The Body Shop® has focused on tackling the palm oil issue for some years and is a leading figure on the global Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). When The Body Shop® joined the organising committee of the RSPO in 2004, membership numbered just 10 organisations. Three years later, over 250 organisations have committed themselves to finding solutions to the grave issues posed by palm oil production, including a number of major retailers who now make up a 20 strong group within the RSPO. The Body Shop® now calls for more retailers to join the RSPO, and for those who have already made this commitment to begin sourcing RSPO certified sustainable palm oil as soon as it becomes available later this year.

Over the past six months The Body Shop® has worked in partnership with Daabon, a certified organic producer in Colombia, which works extensively with local cooperatives, to implement sustainable production of palm oil. Daabon has been audited against the RSPO Principles & Criteria for the Production of Sustainable Palm Oil.

Peter Saunders, Chief Executive Officer of The Body Shop® said today:

“The switch to sustainable palm oil is a landmark step forward for The Body Shop® and a potentially groundbreaking development for the whole cosmetics industry. Many people who use soap everyday will be unaware that they are contributing to a major environmental catastrophe: the destruction of ancient rainforests and the extinction of endangered species. Our ambition is for the majority of the world’s palm oil production to be sustainable within the next two to three years but this will not be achieved by The Body Shop® in isolation – our decision must inspire other businesses to join us and tackle the problem head on.”

Matthias Diemer, palm oil expert, WWF Switzerland, commented:

“The Body Shop® is the first global cosmetics company to introduce sustainable palm oil into its product lines. This is the start of the growth of sustainable palm oil in the cosmetics sector and we hope that many more companies will follow suit. We also applaud the pioneering role The Body Shop® has taken in helping to formulate strong standards for sustainable palm oil production through the RSPO.”

Background:

 Palm oil is an important and versatile raw ingredient, accounting for more than 29 million tonnes of the world’s annual 95 million tonnes of vegetable oil.

 Palm oil used by The Body Shop® will now be sourced from Daabon, in Colombia, South America. Daabon has been at the forefront of both environmental and social responsibility for many years. For almost 20 years, Daabon has focused on certified organic production, and has since started focusing on social standards, such as SA8000, Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance. Daabon works extensively with local cooperatives, providing training and market access.

 Sustainable palm oil production means the use of far less destructive planting methods, and therefore helps protect rainforest biodiversity. Through The Body Shop Foundation, the retailer has provided practical advice to plantations and small-scale farmers, funding projects which will help make this happen in other parts of the world.

 The Body Shop® has commissioned an audit of the Daabon operation to ensure that neither environment, people nor wildlife are under threat from the cultivation of palm oil. The audit used the Principles & Criteria developed by the stakeholders of the RSPO, which will form the basis of a certification scheme for sustainable palm oil by the end of 2007.

 The Body Shop® will continue to positively engage with the major players in the palm oil supply chain to encourage the switch to an effective sustainable option. The RSPO has developed a set of Principles & Criteria for the Production of Sustainable Palm Oil and a full certification scheme is expected to be finalised in November 2007

 In the meantime, move to sustainable palm oil by The Body Shop® means that the business can ensure that its use of palm oil does not contribute to deforestation and that conditions can begin to improve within the industry.

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