L’Oréal, Barry Callebaut join Palm Oil Innovation Group to reform palm oil sourcing

In the UK, L’Oréal and Barry Callebaut joined as the newest members of the Palm Oil Innovation Group in search of responsibly produced palm oil. These companies join others in POIG that have committed to stepping up efforts to drive the much-needed transformation of the palm oil sector.

POIG was recently recognised by the European Parliament as a strong standard for responsible palm oil production. The EU palm oil resolution presents a great opportunity for RSPO and POIG members, especially at a time when the RSPO is considering strengthening its standards to incorporate no deforestation and no exploitation requirements outlined in the POIG Charter. The initiative was founded by Agropalma, DAABON, Greenpeace, WWF, Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) in 2014 and remains the initiative that sets the highest benchmark for independently verified and truly responsible palm oil.

L’Oréal, the world’s largest cosmetics company, and Switzerland-based Barry Callebaut, the global leading supplier of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, have joined existing POIG members like Ferrero and Danone in their commitments to drive truly responsible palm oil production.

“With more innovators joining forces under POIG, we move closer to achieving POIG’s vision: a responsible supply chain that has broken the link between palm oil production and the destruction of forests and peatlands, the exploitation of communities and workers, and climate change,” concluded co-chair Matthias.