NETHERLANDS: All palm oil to be sustainable by 2015
The Dutch Product Board for Margarine, Fats and Oil (MVO) announced last week (5 November) that all palm oil used in the country would be sustainable by the end of 2015, as certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
The MVO said that all palm oil suppliers and buyers in the Dutch market have “pledged to work collectively towards this goal”.
The Dutch Taskforce on Sustainable Palm Oil, which includes all associations representing the Dutch refining industry, food manufacturing industry and feed industry, presented the Dutch Minister of Agriculture and Foreign Trade, Henk Bleker with a manifesto yesterday committing to the plans.
“Dutch business has long been closely involved in efforts to make the palm oil supply chain more sustainable. The country has been one of the front runners in this respect,” said Frans Claassen, director of the Dutch Product Board for Margarine, Fats and Oil (MVO). “Now, we commit ourselves to acting on our beliefs. Over the next few years, we will work very hard to ensure that all palm oil used in the Netherlands will be sustainable by the end of 2015.
Classen also called on other countries in Europe, North America and Asia to follow its example.
