Kellogg has pledged to work with palm oil suppliers to source fully traceable batches of the ingredient.
The Special K manufacturer said it was a “very small user of palm oil” but insisted “transparent sourcing” of the ingredient was “very important” to the business.
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The US group started sourcing palm oil in 2009. Since 2011, Kellogg said all of the palm oil Kellogg it has used has been sourced through a combination of segregated supplies certified by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil, mass balance mixed-source supply also under the certification of the RSPO and the purchase of GreenPalm certificates.
However, Kellogg said on Friday (14 February) it would source “fully traceable palm oil, produced in a manner that’s environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable”.
Kellogg will require all global palm oil suppliers to trace palm oil to plantations that are “independently verified as legally compliant, adherent to the company’s principles for protecting forests, peat lands, and communities and compliant with RSPO principles and criteria”.
“As a socially responsible company, traceable, transparent sourcing of palm oil is important to us, and we are collaborating with our suppliers to make sure the palm oil we use is not associated with deforestation, climate change or the violation of human rights,” Kellogg chief sustainability officer Diane Holdorf said.
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By GlobalDataKellogg suppliers must comply with the requirement by 31 December – or be working to “close any gaps identified in their action plans”, the company said.
“By partnering closely with our suppliers to meet these expectations, we will work together to address the important topic of deforestation,” Holdorf said. “Every year we make significant progress against this important priority, and as we seek to further advance these goals, we will continue to report annually on our progress.”
