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Palm Oil Free Certification programme launches in UK and Australia A new certification programme has launched to validate consumer products that make no use of palm oil, which has been blamed for fuelling deforestation in Asia. Set up by a group of women experts, the Palm Oil Free Certification Accreditation Programme (POFCAP) is now in operation in Australia and the UK following approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, IP Australia, and IPO UK. Fourteen other nations have applied to introduce the label. Australia-based eco cleaning products company Clean Conscience is the first to carry the label, and the group is working with a host of other companies on certification. Despite improvements to tackle deforestation, POFCAP said "only 17% of all palm oil used can be classed as 'non-conflict'". The scheme is based on extensive research and trusted methods to trace all potential palm oil and palm oil derivative ingredients of a product back to their source. (Business Green)

As the Arctic melts, oil companies are moving in to drill for more oil. Next year, the Norwegian owned oil company Statoil will drill further north than ever - unless we stop them. An unprecedented case was filed this morning that could do just that. This case is about holding back the oil industry at this final frontier, it is about protecting the beautiful Arctic, and it is about people stepping up to hold governments to account. If we win, millions of barrels of oil could be kept in the ground. We will argue in court that we must take action to keep the Paris climate agreement on track, and we will invoke Norway's constitutional right to a healthy and safe environment for future generations.

The Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG), as the group is known, unveiled its standards during the annual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the industry's main certification body. The standards build on criteria set by the RSPO by adding stricter requirements "to ensure that there is a supply of traceable palm oil free from forest and peatland destruction and human rights abuses," according to a statement from Greenpeace, one of POIG's charter members.  Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2013/1118-poig-palm-oil.html#wlI8Y8ZEEyKQzKTU.99

Since 2014, oil companies reported that they used more than 20 million pounds and 2 million gallons of chemicals in their operations, including at least 16 chemicals the state of California classifies as carcinogens or reproductive toxicants under the state's Proposition 65 law. That recycled wastewater was then sold to irrigation districts largely in Kern County. The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board has allowed the practice for at least four decades and only recently required the oil companies and water districts to disclose the details. EWG detailed its findings in a report released Wednesday, two days before a public meeting of an expert panel convened to study the practice's safety. Although scientists don't know whether using oil field wastewater to grow crops poses a health risk to people who eat the food, the water board has refused to halt the practice until the expert panel releases its findings.

Mondelez International has achieved Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) coverage for 100 percent of the palm oil it bought in 2013. This is two years ahead of the company's existing commitment to cover all requirements by 2015 through a combination of RSPO-certified oil and Greenpalm certificates that support sustainable production.

The El Paso Zoo launched a free national smartphone application Thursday that scans the product's bar code on the back of the item to help consumers identify which ones use palm oil. The El Paso Zoo Palm Oil Guide and Scanner app is currently available in the iTunes App Store for iPhones. An Android version will be available next month.

Procter & Gamble is conducting an in-field study to help small farmers improve their palm oil and palm kernel oil production as part of its goals to achieve zero deforestation in the palm oil supply chain made earlier this year.

Almost 21% of the global supply of palm oil is now certified as responsible and sustainable by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. Demand for RSPO-certified palm oil is growing due to many factors, including more food companies pledging to cut deforestation in their supply chains, SCS Global Services reports.

Every Fall, college and universities across the country welcome companies on their campuses to provide networking opportunities for students. These events can include career fairs, interviews, and industry specific networking gatherings. One such company is PepsiCo, major user of Conflict Palm Oil and top corporate laggard in Rainforest Action Network's Snack Food 20. "Pepsi's palm oil supply chain is saturated with rainforest destruction, human rights and labor abuses, and species extinction," said Adam Stackable, an Oklahoma student, "I won't work for a company that uses Conflict Palm Oil." Adam and several other students confronted a Pepsi recruiter at Oklahoma State University and delivered a letter urging the company to take action to address the egregious practices in its supply chain.

Mars will require all of its suppliers to provide palm oil from traceable sources by the end of 2015. The company already purchases 100% sustainable palm oil as certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.

Production of palm oil - the most widely used vegetable oil in the world - and a strong El Niño have converged into a perfect storm to amplify the effects of Indonesia's dry season. Indonesia produces half of the world's palm oil, which has led to illegal burning to clear land and plant African oil palm trees. Deforestation typically accounts for about 60 percent of Indonesia's total greenhouse gas emissions. 

PepsiCo announced that 89% of its palm oil has been traced to the mill level-up from 65% in 2015. The company also announced that 16% of its palm oil is now Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) physically certified sustainable.

To counter the impact of unsustainable palm oil production, such as deforestation and habitat degradation, the European Parliament has approved a resolution to develop a single certification scheme for palm oil entering the EU market and phase out the use of vegetable oils that drive deforestation by 2020. It is Parliament's first resolution on the issue, but it is now up to the European Commission to act upon it.

Agribusiness giant Olam International has for the first time published a list of the firms it buys palm oil from, part of the company's response to allegations that it is driving forest destruction in Southeast Asia and, more dangerously, perhaps, in West Africa. Almost all of the world's palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaysia, but as those countries run out of available land, companies like Olam are turning to Africa to expand. In defending itself against the NGOs' allegations, Olam points to the "right to develop" of nations like Gabon, where a third of people live below the poverty line and a fifth are unemployed.

The Indonesian Palm Oil Pledge, a group of the world's biggest palm oil companies committed to building an industry free of deforestation and labour exploitation, has disbanded less than two years after it was launched.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has released its 2016 RSPO Impact Report, which highlights the following accomplishments for 2016: * Increased membership by 29% over the previous year. * Achieved 83 million hectares (10,900 square miles) of certified palm oil producing lands across 14 nations. * 40 RSPO growers have phased out the toxic herbicide paraquat, with another 33 firms saying they are on track to ban the use of this chemical. * Doubled the number of certified independent smallholders. * Closed two-thirds of the labor grievances filed since 2009.

Palm oil continues to proliferate in everything from ice cream to shampoo but sustainable palm oil has failed to catch on, as a punchy short film by the environment group, WWF, ... But there are more fundamental issues at play.

Kellogg has promised to buy palm oil that has been verified for environmental quality starting in 2016. Suppliers will need to ensure independent verification of palm oil they source, said Diane Holdorf, chief sustainability officer at Kellogg.

The world's most popular cheap cooking oil is becoming less affordable. Palm oil prices are up 10% since the start of the year, and closer to 16% since the end of January, when they dropped to $765 per tonne ($843 per ton). The stuff hasn't been this expensive since September of 2012.