Hershey Company Announces Plans for Sustainable, Traceable Palm Oil Sourcing

Orangutans finally catch an important break! Hershey Company, one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world, has made a statement that all of its palm oil purchases will be “sustainably sourced” and “100 percent traceable” by the end of 2014. Now, this is a good move for Hershey’s, considering just how scary the palm oil industry is, this is a step in the right direction for the forests, animals, people, and reduction of Pollution in palm oil-sourcing areas (and beyond).

“Hershey Company is committed to continuous improvement and transparency in our sustainable sourcing efforts,” said Frank Day, Hershey’s vice president of Global Commodities. “Our move to source 100 percent traceable palm oil is the latest step forward in our efforts to ensure we are sourcing only sustainably grown palm oil that does not contribute to the destruction of wildlife habitat or negatively impact the environment.”

The company’s new supplier requirements will stipulate that all suppliers will need to independently prove that sources of palm oil “do not contribute to deforestation or the destruction of wildlife habitat, do not clear high carbon stock forests, do not contribute to peat land expansion, and operate in compliance with local laws and regulations.”

It appears that global exports of palm oil are on the decline as a whole, “for the first time in 16 years as makers of biofuel and cooking oil substitute sunflower and soybean oil,” according to a Bloomberg News report.

Now, Hershey’s – how about going dairy-free, too? Then we’d be really excited!

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons