Find out how to surface your sustainable palm oil or palm oil-free certification.
For palm oil to be considered responsibly sourced it must meet strict criteria and come from a certified supplier. This typically includes ensuring land is being preserved, crops are being grown in a way that mitigates negative impacts on biodiversity, and effective programmes support farmers and their communities. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is the leading global certification system for responsibly sourced palm oil.
Some companies choose to avoid palm oil altogether and opt for ‘palm oil free” certified. With palm-oil free claims, it’s important to check certifications have a) a public set of standards, b) either don’t allow any form of palm oil alternatives (which may have similar supply chain issues) or assess the impact of palm oil alternatives used (e.g. coconut oil), c) involve a regular audit. If these conditions are met and the certification isn’t already in the Provenance platform please contact hello@provenance.org who can advise whether it can be added to the platform.
Things to consider with palm oil claims:
Do
- For responsibly sourced palm oil, ensure it is RSPO certified.
- Specify the certification type used. Palm oil or palm oil derivatives certified by the RSPO can be sourced through four different supply chain models: Identity Preserved, Segregated, Mass Balance and RSPO Credits / Book and Claim.
- State percentage of certified palm oil used when making quantitative claims.
Don’t
- Make sustainable palm oil claims without specifying the certification level and certifier.
- Make claims referring to "100% sustainable palm oil" if only a mass balance certification is in place. Mass balance allows a mixture of palm oil from certified mills with conventional non-certified palm oil.
- Imply palm oil-free products are automatically more sustainable.