Update from previous post on Unilever vs. Greenpeace.
Unilever has taken the recent GreenPeace protests to heat and have really focused on changing the situation on the ground as well as via it’s communication channels. At least, that’s according to Unilever’s communication, let’s hope some accountability will be rendered in order to make sure Unilever is living up to its promises, this statement of mistrust is not baseless, since corporations are known to bend the rules and the PR machines to their will.
Back to Unilever… CEO, Patrick Cescau has announced a new policy on palm oil.
Unilever will begin using Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) later this year, as soon as it is available as a tradeable commodity. For the palm oil it uses in Europe, it has pledged to have fully traceable supply chains in place by 2012: just four years away. And by 2015 all Unilever’s palm oil will be certified sustainable.
Announcing the move at the Prince of Wales’ May Day Climate Change Summit in London, attended by the Prince of Wales and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Group Chief Executive Patrick Cescau said: “We are only part of the solution of course, but we want to be an agent for positive change, as we have been in fish, tea and other areas.
“We are committed to doing this because we believe it is the right thing to do for the people who use our products, for the environment and communities in and around which palm oil is grown and for our businesses and brands.”
Leading environmental campaigner Jonathon Porritt, a member of Unilever’s Sustainable Development Panel, said: “We are delighted to see these new commitments on palm oil… These are ambitious targets and Unilever’s readiness to take a leadership role in establishing secure, certified supply chains for palm oil is particularly significant.”
And the Prince of Wales personally welcomed Patrick’s announcement, saying: “This is a ground-breaking development that could make all the difference to the future of the rainforests.”
Unilever is also supporting the call for a moratorium on any further deforestation in Indonesia for Palm oil.
If anything else, this at least shows that one corporation is active in making a positive change in our world. the seriousness of the situation cannot be underestimated both in terms of the environmental situation in terms of sustainable palm oil as well as Unilever standing up in front of the Public in full view and committing itself to making a real change on the ground and not some dodgy PR manipulation.
for urther information on Unilever’s position, you can visit http://www.unilever.com/palmoil
Technorati Tags: Unilever, Environment, Sustainable, Palm Oil, GreenPeace
