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Global agribusiness giant Cargill is expanding its segregated sustainable palm oil capacity in North America, the company announced on November 11.
As part of its ongoing efforts to increase the availability of sustainably sourced ingredients, Cargill said it would become one of the region's first large-scale suppliers of segregated palm oil certified by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
All palm oil production from the company's Charlotte, North Carolina refinery will be exclusively dedicated to sourcing the sustainably sourced product starting in December 2020.
“With a growing number of brands committing to sourcing palm oil responsibly, we are now positioned to provide North American food manufacturers with sufficient quantities of segregated RSPO certified products to meet their sustainability commitments,” said Reid Kinde , North American commercial leader for Cargill's global edible oils business.
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Segregated certified palm oil must be produced in accordance with RSPO principles and criteria, which verifies that forests are protected and that social and environmental safeguards are met during oil production and harvesting.
To carry the segregated RSPO designation, the product must be kept separate from commodity palm oil supplies and be traceable throughout the supply chain. It must be produced on RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil plantations, refined in RSPO-certified facilities, and used by an RSPO-certified manufacturer.
Cargill said it has been supplying RSPO-certified palm oil since 2005 and is now reaching customers in Europe, Mexico, Australia and Malaysia. However, the most recent expansion of its supply chain has reflected growing demand for ethically sourced palm oil.
In September, the RSPO reported that sales of certified palm oil increased by 13% in 2019, Cargill said.
Cargill has previously offered mass-balanced sustainable palm oil to its North American customers.
The move follows Cargill's goal of providing traceability to all palm plantations in high-risk landscapes.
In its annual sustainability report released in June, Cargill outlined its progress working with small-scale palm producers in more than 10 countries to supply palm oil around the world.
“By significantly increasing the supply of certified and segregated sustainable palm oil, we are giving our customers and consumers confidence in our sourcing practices and reaffirming our commitment to supporting sustainable practices across all of our operations,” said Kinde.
This text was automatically translated from English.
Source: OFI International
