Palm Oil Scorecard rates top 30 US companies on responsible sourcing

Palm Oil Scorecard rates top 30 US companies on responsible sourcing

An annual report has been released, which ranks 30 US companies according to how responsible they are when it comes to sourcing palm oil.

The second annual Palm Oil Scorecard, published by the Union for Concerned Scientists (USC), aims to provide a tool for American consumers to assess how companies measure up on their commitment to sourcing deforestation-free palm oil.

The companies included in the scorecard were segregated by the sectors: personal care; fast foods; store brands; and packaged foods.

Companies producing personal care products and packaged foods performed better overall than the fast food industry and store brands.

Out of the personal care companies, Colgate Palmolive performed the best, achieving a score of 89 for 2015, up from 35 in 2014. Henkel was in second place with a score of 86.3, up from 40 in 2014 and L’Oreal ranked third, with a score of 80, matching its score of 80 in 2014. Proctor & Gamble achieved a significant improvement, ranking fourth with a score of 84.2, compared to its score of 16.2 last year.

At the bottom of the list was Burt’s Bees, which achieved a score of 0, matching its score of 0 from last year. Avon achieved a score of 20, compared to 15 last year. Estée Lauder improved on its score of 0 in 2014, reaching 28.3 this year.

In packaged foods, Nestlé took the lead with a score of 90.5 and Kraft ranked in last place with a score of 10. Danone, Kellogs and Unilever also performed well, with scores above 88.

In the store brands category, Safeway achieved first place with a score of 72.1 percent, while Whole Foods did only marginally better than Walmart, achieving a score of 30 compared to Walmart’s 28.8. Kroger achieved a score of 23 and all the other companies in the store brands category were awarded 0, including Target and Walgreens.

In the fast food industry, Dunkin’ Donuts is in the lead with a score of 70, a drastic improvement of its 2014 score of 0. Subway achieved a score of 38 both in 2015 and 2014. McDonald’s achieved a score of 24.4, up from 21.1 in 2014 and Burger King and Starbucks both achieved scores of 10 this year, an increase from 0 last year.

A spokesperson for the UCS commented, “All companies, even those with strong policies, still have a tremendous amount of work ahead to fulfill their palm oil commitments. Until companies actually implement their commitments and start making changes on the ground, critically important forests, wildlife, and local communities will remain at risk from expanding oil palm plantations.”

 

 

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