Morrisons: A little more action1 August 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
On 2 August, Morrisons announced that it will join the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
It's great news that Morrisons has finally recognised that it can play a role in cleaning up the trade in palm oil.
Ed Matthew, Friends of the Earth Palm Oil Campaigner
Morrisons is the last of the UK's major supermarkets to join the RSPO and support international efforts to tackle the problems caused by palm oil production.
By joining the RSPO, Morrisons is supporting the only process committed to developing sustainably produced palm oil for the international market.
Palm oil plantation in Indonesia
A real success
After successfully campaigning to get Tesco to join the RSPO, we turned our attention to Morrisons.
We created an online action and published a newspaper advert (PDF†) to persuade Morrisons it had no other option but to join.
Morrisons met with us after seeing the advert and finally agreed, joining up a month after Tesco.
A fantastic achievement for everyone who has supported this campaign over the last couple of years.
It's good to see that the major UK supermarkets are finally starting to address the palm oil issue, but why did it take a major campaign by Friends of the Earth to get them to this point?
Craig Bennett, Head of Corporate Accountability
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth
The problems with palm oil
Demand for palm oil is fueling the destruction of virgin rainforest in South East Asia, the only remaining home of the orang-utan.
Its production also affects millions of people who depend on the rainforest for their way of life.
Palm oil fruit
UK Government
It's taken two years of campaigning to get all the major UK supermarkets to join the RSPO.
It would be impossible to campaign on every destructive product that people can find on supermarket shelves.
If the UK Government faced up to its legislative responsibilities, it could ensure that supply chains did not damage our environment.
Further information
Jul 2006
Exclusive to Morrisons
Morrisons remain as the largest UK supermarket not taking action on the devastating impacts of palm oil.
Jun 2006
A midsummer night's dream come true
Tesco announce that they intend to join the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
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.
© Aulia Erlangga/Friends of the Earth International
