Deforestation: 173 companies using palm oil screened

Spread, rusks, toothpaste, shampoo ... Looking through the list of ingredients in our everyday products is to discover that palm oil plays a major role. About half of the products found in supermarkets contain it. Considered the cheapest vegetable oil in the world, it also has technical qualities that manufacturers love. But we know the other side of the coin: the massive disappearance of tropical forests in favor of the extremely lucrative oil palm plantations. Since 1990, 3 1 million hectares of jungle (almost the size of Germany) have disappeared in Indonesia.

As more and more brands claim to import palm oil without a single tree being cut, WWF wanted to assess these promises. The NGO analyzed the procurement policies of more than 173 global companies producing and distributing consumer products. Surprise: Ferrero, manufacturer of the most famous spread in the world, is the first in the class. "The company consumes 200,000 t of palm oil each year and they have been attacked enormously on this, but we are almost certain that they will supply palm oil without participating in deforestation" explains Arnaud Gauffier, co-director of WWF France programs.

Still a long way to go

"Some did not answer us like Lactalis or Pasquier brioches," adds the association manager. This does not mean that they are bad, but it does raise questions. " The 2019 ranking also shows that no company "achieves the highest score and that most still have a long way to go to keep their promises" underlines the WWF.

While some NGOs are calling for a boycott of this flagship ingredient, WWF advocates "a ban on non-responsible palm oil". But how can you be sure that no tree has been felled on the other side of the planet to produce it? In 2018, Greenpeace asked sixteen companies that had committed to "zero deforestation" to publish the list of all their suppliers and the factories from which they source. "The first step for an industrialist who wants to respect his commitments is to know from which palm oil producers he sources" estimates the NGO.

Le Parisien, partner of the consultation "How to act together now for the environment?" ”, Initiated by Make.org, invites you to vote on the proposals made by Internet users in the module below. You will be informed of the results in February.