Global demand for palm oil is increasing. Around 80 % comes from Indonesia and Malaysia. However, producing this raw material is not without its problems as rainforests are also being displaced as a result. That is why we now also use Bio Suisse bud palm oil for our own brands.
Coop considers palm oil to be a critical raw material and we have therefore set minimum standards for its use in our own-label brand products. In the food segment, we require RSPO Segregated certification and in the non-food segment RSPO Mass Balance. We have been a member of the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) since 2004. The RSPO certificate is a worldwide industry standard for the production and sourcing of palm oil. This association promotes palm oil that is produced under socially equitable and environmentally friendly conditions. It is committed to human rights, the protection of animals and the environment, and combating deforestation.
We are now taking a big step forward and will also use Bio Suisse Bud palm oil in conventionally produced food for our own-label brands in future. This oil comes from consistently sustainable production and can be traced right back to the plantation. There are three Bio Suisse-certified palm oil producers in the world – in Ivory Coast, Colombia and Madagascar.
Organic bud palm oil has the following advantages:
Where the use of Bio Suisse palm oil is not possible, we try to do without palm oil altogether and replace it with local oils and fats such as sunflower or rapeseed, wherever possible.
If other tropical oils or fats such as coconut oil are used, they must come from Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade and/or Bio Suisse-certified production. We have documented our sourcing principles in our Guideline on "Palm oil".
We have carried out a multi-year research and development project under the guidance of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) on sustainability of Bio Bud palm oil with the project partners Bio Suisse and Max Havelaar.
In a first step, the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture evaluated eight different palm oil producers in Africa and South America in terms of sustainability with the help of a hotspot analysis. The analysis included Bio Suisse-certified, RSPO-certified and conventional producers. In the sustainability evaluation, Bio Suisse-certified palm oil producers scored considerably better than RSPO-certified or conventional producers. This result confirmed our plan to press ahead with the changeover to Bio Bud palm oil for our own-label food products.
Based on the findings of the research project, we have been able to establish a transparent supply chain for Bio Suisse bud palm oil from Ivory Coast. We are collaborating on this project with the cooperative Scoops Propalo, which obtained Bio Suisse certification in November 2022. This commitment lays the foundations for sourcing sustainable palm oil from Ivory Coast, now and in the long term.