Candymaker Mars Says Its Palm Oil Is Finally Deforestation-Free

[demmiblue]

Candy giant Mars, Inc. says it has finally achieved deforestation-free sources for palm oil. This is a huge announcement for an industry that has long been vilified for its connection to rainforest-razing palm oil plantations and elevated greenhouse gas emissions.

By reducing the number of palm oil suppliers it works with, Mars says it is now working only with those committed to high environmental, social, and ethical standards. Whereas it used to source from 1,500 palm oil mills, that number is on track to shrink to 100 by 2021, and then reduce by half again by 2022.

Mars uses satellite technology to track and monitor land-use changes among suppliers. Chief procurement and sustainability officer Barry Parkin told Bloomberg, "If a fire starts somewhere in one of the areas that we’re sourcing from, an alert will go off and ground verification will happen. If it’s found that a supplier has done something wrong, they are immediately dropped out of our supply chain and then the investigation happens and they get a chance to explain it."

In order to tighten up the palm oil supply chain, the company has implemented a 1:1:1 model. A press release explains that this means "palm is grown on one plantation, processed through one mill and one refinery before reaching Mars." The fewer suppliers there are, the easier it is to monitor and ensure standards are being met. This has the additional benefit of reducing costs for the company.

https://www.treehugger.com/mars-palm-oil-deforestation-free-5082997

[hlthe2b]

1. Guilt over that and the loss of orangutan habitat gave me a lot of reason to cut out

a lot of palm-oil containing foods, including chocolates and my once beloved Nutella.

I think I need to continue the "guilt"...

[Doodley]

2. Palm oil? Sounds like it would bring a lot of pleasure.