Exclusive to Morrisons1 July 2006
NB, Friends of the Earth has suspended support for the RSPO since these pages were written - please see this declaration by Friends of the Earth International.
Orang-utans in your shopping
One in 10 products on UK supermarket shelves contain palm oil - including crisps, bread, detergents and lipsticks.
Whilst most UK supermarkets have joined an initiative to ensure the palm oil they buy will come from sustainable sources, Morrisons have so far refused.
Palm oil plantations are destroying priceless rainforest in Borneo and Sumatra, the only home of the orang-utan.
Orang-utans are on the brink of extinction. There's only an estimated 60,000 left in the wild.
Around 5,000 are lost each year, and at this rate they could be extinct in just 12 years.
Today the greatest threat to orang-utan habitat is the continued expansion of oil-palm plantations.
Professor Biruté Galdikas, Orangutan Foundation
Palm oil and supermarkets
The majority of palm oil is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia. But its production causes huge problems such as:
- Rainforest destruction
- Human rights abuses
- Threats to the survival of the orang-utan and Sumatran tiger
Given the huge power wielded by supermarkets in the market place, we've been calling on all of them to join the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
The RSPO is a joint initiative of companies and NGO's who support the production and trade in sustainable palm oil.
Asda, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and the Co-op have already joined.
Tesco have announced they're joining, but Morrisons have so far refused.
Company Law Reform Bill
The failure of companies like Morrisons to join the RSPO is another example of how the voluntary approach to corporate social responsibility doesn't work.
The Company Law Reform Bill, currently going through Parliament, is the biggest shake-up of company law for 150 years, but it isn't strong enough yet.
Friends of the Earth is calling for MPs to support amendments to the Bill to make all UK companies:
- Transparent - by reporting on their social and environmental effects.
- Responsible - by taking concrete action to minimise any damage they do.
- Accountable - by giving legal rights to people harmed by company behaviour.
We want real changes to real laws that will require UK companies to consider their impacts on people and the environment as well as their bottom line.
Further information
Jun 2006
Bites of the roundtable
Now that 5 of the UK's notable supermarkets have joined the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, isn't it time that the UK's other big-guns joined up too?
May 2006
MPs asked to save the orang-utan
MPs were challenged at a parliamentary reception to take action on palm oil and UK company law to save the orang-utan.
Oct 2005
Orang-utans go ape over palm oil
Friends of the Earth local campaigners take action to tell everyone that 1 in 10 supermarket products is driving the orang-utan to extinction.
Sept 2005
The future's not bright if you're orange
A report linking the demand for palm oil to the extinction of the orang-utan is launched by Friends of the Earth and the world's leading orang-utan conservation groups.
Resource
Palm oil, the survival or the orang-utan and UK company law reform
(PDF† 56K) May 2006
This briefing explains why the failure of hundreds of UK companies to ensure that they do not buy palm oil from destructive sources is a classic example of how the voluntary approach to corporate responsibility has failed, and why the Company Law Reform Bill must be strengthened.
The oil for ape scandal: How palm oil is threatening the orang-utan
(PDF† 448K) Sept 2005
This summary report links the demand for palm oil to the impending extinction of the orang-utan, rainforest destruction and human rights abuses.
The oil for ape scandal: How palm oil threatens orang-utan survival
(PDF† 422K) Sept 2005
The full research report containing more information on the impacts of oil-palm plantations on human rights, workers rights, rainforest destruction and the impending extinction of the orang-utan.
