The SPOC initiative is set up to strengthen and solidify the European investments in a sustainable palm oil value chain by promoting uptake of RSPO-certified material and instigating and catalysing further bold action towards eliminating deforestation and exploitation from palm oil supply chains while remaining smallholder inclusive.
SPOC’s participants unite European refining industries with bold constructive NGO voices. Together we want to invest in increasing and strengthening the positive impacts of palm production and reduce and eliminate the negative aspects associated with palm oil production and build sustainable palm oil value chains. One of our ambitions is to strive for 100% uptake of sustainable palm oil in Europe by COP Nov 2021. It is important to note that to reach this target we depend a great deal on FMCG and Retail buying of sustainably produced palm oil.
SPOC’s participants unite a group of companies and organisations who are convinced that palm oil can play a positive role in society when produced sustainably. By uniting our forces we want to invest in increasing and strengthening the positive impacts of palm production and reduce and eliminate the negative aspects associated with palm oil production and as such build sustainable palm oil value chains.
Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil. It is a high quality versatile ingredient needed to answer growing demand for global food. It is efficient in land use and yield and it is a driver for socio-economic development in rural areas. At the same time, the sharp increase in production and use of palm oil is highly contested. It is being associated with deforestation, loss of biodiversity and human rights issues.
Problems and issues related to palm oil are widely addressed and some stakeholders publicly call for a ban on palm. But banning palm oil because of these problems does not solve them. By moving away from palm oil, including sustainable palm oil, we lose the incentive for producers to invest and produce palm oil in a sustainable way. And the remaining palm oil will be sold to markets with less strict sustainability criteria.
The solution lies in choosing sustainably produced palm oil. By talking about progress, sharing good practices how palm can be grown sustainably and telling the stories that show the difference on the ground, we can change the negative perception of palm oil and drive full market transformation in Europe. We need your voice to build a more constructive debate on sustainable palm oil and to earn trust and belief that sustainable palm oil is the solution and will help protect rainforests, conserve biodiversity and create fair socio-economic conditions.
We established the Sustainable Palm Oil Choice to tell the stories that make a difference. We choose to give a voice to those practices that show how palm can be grown sustainably. We need these voices to build a more constructive debate on sustainable palm oil and to earn the trust and belief that sustainable palm oil is a solution for the problems that concern us all.
