Sustainability campaigns need buy-in from the ground up

Palm oil producers are in the firing line once again.

The latest voice comes from a new report, published by forestry NGO Fern, which has called on governments to increase regulation and enforcement in palm oil and cocoa supply chains in order to flush out unsustainably produced commodities. Companies can then use these policies as a ‘springboard’ to stop deforestation, says the report.

This follows the news that the Bank of England is considering using palm oil in the new £20 note after criticism of the use of animal fats in the polymer £5 note last year. Switching out one controversial commodity for another.

Sourcing controversies are often a blame game. Campaigners say companies should choose better suppliers, companies urge the government to do more, the government pledges a plan, but the controversies continue. The argument seems circular.

“The lack of good governance, clarity of tenure rights, and law enforcement in producer countries all make it difficult for companies to meet their commitments,” says the Fern report. “The lack of regulation in consumer countries to ban illegally and unsustainably sourced products further undercuts companies that are willing to change their practices.

“Focusing on supply chains is obviously not sufficient. Governments must create the conditions that enable companies to meet their commitments to stop deforestation and respect community rights.”

Easier said than done.

Both governments and companies have already made various commitments. The European Parliament, ministers from Ivory Coast and Ghana and 12 large cocoa companies are the most recent to condemn deforestation and pledge a plan of action to tackle it.

But due to the complexity of supply chains, it’s hard to see how much influence a pledge is actually going to have. Banning unsustainable palm oil from entering the EU will not necessarily change how farmers will produce the commodity.

As the report highlights, some developing countries see sustainability standards as a “neo-colonialist imposition by Western governments and NGOs”. Those farmers may well find other customers elsewhere in the world who would rather take a cheaper, but less ethically produced, product.

Ethical brands putting pressure on suppliers can make a lot of difference, as can engaged consumers who hold businesses to account. But with campaigners at the World Wildlife Fund claiming demand for palm oil globally is set to double by 2050, it’s clear a real sustainability breakthrough will only happen if there’s buy-in from the ground up.