We thank the public for their feedback and genuine concern in regards to Zoos SAs partnership with Unilever. We recognise that this is a sensitive topic and assure the decision was not made lightly. As a not-for-profit conservation charity we rely heavily on the generosity of the public and corporate support and value these relationships greatly. Without this support we would not be able to achieve our mission of saving species from extinction and connecting people with nature, enabling us to contribute to many critical conservation projects at a local and international level. Zoos SA is committed to working with organisations that are making real progress to support sustainable practices and the preservation of the environment and wildlife. This was demonstrated through our partnership with Golden North, who at the time of entering into a partnership with us, were using unsustainable non-certified palm oil. Through our work with Golden North, and their review of their supply chain, Golden North were able to publically state that they were 100% palm oil free in August of 2012, two years into the partnership with us. This was a great achievement and it has allowed Golden North to market this new status to their current and potential new customers. We see our recent partnership with Unilever as a new opportunity to help drive positive change, this time with one of the world’s largest food companies. Through engaging with them we are able to dramatically increase the scale of our conservation efforts and impact. As a multi-national corporation operating in more than 100 countries, Unilever is committed to sourcing 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably, including palm oil. As one of the world’s largest consumers of palm oil, Unilever has made a global commitment that by the end of 2014 all palm oil will be traceable to known sources and by 2020 all of the palm oil they buy globally will come from certified sustainable sources as per the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil criteria. The World Wildlife Fund for Nature is monitoring their progress and their most recent palm oil scorecard report gave Unilever a top score in relation to commitment and action on sustainable palm oil. Encouraging a complete shift away from palm oil may push manufacturers to source alternative oils like soy or rapeseed which can require six to 10 times more land than is needed for palm oil. The production of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil aims to foster sustainable livelihoods for the millions of people who rely on this industry and alleviate the conflicts commonly associated with the development of new plantations. The new agreement between Zoos SA and Unilever includes a number of targets and reporting mechanisms, including an exit clause that will ensure we are able to monitor progress against the commitments made. Should we at any time feel that they have not met these targets, or have moved away from their commitment to buy certified sustainable palm oil from traceable sources, we will be able to terminate the agreement. Unilever are also corporate supporters of Zoos Victoria, Taronga Zoo and Perth Zoo with Streets products sold across these zoos. Zoos Victoria, Taronga Zoo and Zoos SA are key drivers of the Don’t Palm Us Off campaign, which advocates for the use of sustainable palm oil. As a collective group Australian zoos have immense buying power and are well placed to support positive social advocacy in regards to the use of sustainable palm oil. We will keep our members and supporters update of any new developments going forwards. For more information on WWF – Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard 2013: d2ouvy59p0dg6k.cloudfront.net/downloads/po_scorecard_2013_1.pdf For more information on Unilever and palm oil, please visit: unilever/sustainability/environment/agriculture/palmoil/about/
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 04:47:38 +0000
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