Polish Coalition pledges to achieve 100% uptake of sustainable palm oil in the country by 2023
On 17 June 2019, NEPCon joined other eleven founding members to sign the Declaration of "Polish Coalition for Sustainable Palm Oil (PKZOP)". The group of non-profit and non-governmental organisations, as well as multinational food and beverage companies, pledged to increase the uptake of sustainable palm oil and achieve the goal of 100% sustainable palm oil used in the country by 2023.
Palm Oil Imports for Consumption in Poland
Poland is a large driving force behind palm oil consumption in the European Union (EU), according to the report from Frost and Sullivan, commissioned by WWF Poland. The report highlighted that the average annual palm oil consumption in Poland per GDP unit in 2017 was 711kg while the EU recorded an average of 381kg. The total amount of palm oil imported to Poland in 2017 was 445 thousand tonnes.
Palm oil was mostly used by four market segments in Poland in 2017, namely chemicals and cosmetics (34%), food (34%), animal feed (30%) and biofuels (2%).
Coalition to commit to source 100% sustainable palm oil
If palm oil is completely replaced in Poland with the four other substitutes (rapeseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil and coconut oil), it would require over four times bigger production area. Substituting uncertified palm oil with certified palm oil appears to be the right move in warding the negative effects of growing this raw material.
The PKZOP (officially known Polskiej Koalicji ds. Zrównoważonego Oleju Palmowego) is an independent Coalition and aimed at achieving 100% sustainable palm oil in Poland by 2023. It consists of twelve non-profit and non-governmental organisations, certification agencies, food and beverage, cosmetics and chemical companies in the country.
All PKZOP members signed up to the PKZOP’s pledge to source and/or use only 100% sustainable palm oil in Poland by 2023, on 17 June 2019.
The twelve pledgers-cum-founding members are:
- Basf Polska
- Carrefour Poland
- Control Union Poland Sp. z o.o
- Ferrero Poland
- Forum Odpowiedzialnego Biznesu
- Jerónimo Martins Poland
- Lotte Wedel
- Mondelēz Poland
- NEPCon
- Nestlè Polska
- Unilever Poland
- WWF Polska
The Polish Coalition for Sustainable Palm Oil wants to take the lead in halting deforestation and further environmental degradation. To achieve its long-term objective, the coalition will work together and take into consideration views from various stakeholder groups, including certification bodies, non-governmental organisations, crop scientists, palm-oil based organisations and the government.
The Coalition also recognises the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification which demonstrates a company’s commitment to source and delivers responsible palm oil.
All of the information above is based on a story first published in Polish, a collaboration with WWF Poland.
