Greenpeace is on the move again and this time targeting Nestle. You might have heard about this from the YOUTUBE video Greenpeace posted about Nestle's use of palm oil in their products, mostly Kit-Kat, and how this is destroying rainforests in Indonesia and killing the Orangutans.
Nestle then demanded that the video be taken off YouTube and YouTube agreed to take it down. Although Nestle argued this they have said they realize a lot more could be done to help the natural habitat in Indonesia. Unfortunately they have yet to respond to the consumers on Facebook, which is bound to be a blow for business and not a ideal PR strategy.
Greenpeace has sent out the Press Release as follows.
San Francisco, United States — A new Greenpeace report (1) reveals Nestlé is using palm oil from destroyed Indonesian rainforests and peatlands in popular products like Nestlé Crunch, CoffeeMate, and PowerBar (2), pushing already endangered orangutans to the brink of extinction and accelerating climate change.
The new Greenpeace report, “Caught Red-Handed: How Nestlé Use of Palm Oil is Destroying Rainforests and the Climate” exposes how Nestlé is sourcing palm oil from suppliers, which continue to expand into virgin rainforests and carbon-rich peatlands, including habitat critical for endangered orangutans. Nestlé suppliers include the controversial Sinar Mas group, Indonesia’s largest producer of palm oil.
Nestlé, the world’s leading food and drink company, is a major consumer of palm oil. In the last three years, its annual use has almost doubled, with 320,000 tons of palm oil going into a range of products, including some of its most popular brands. (3)
“Every time you take a bite out of a PowerBar, you may be taking a bite out of Indonesia’s rainforests, which are critical for the orangutan’s survival. Nestlé needs to stop using palm oil from suppliers that are destroying rainforests and polluting the climate,” said Rolf Skar, Greenpeace senior campaigner.
The report launch and actions follows numerous attempts to persuade Nestlé to cancel its contracts with Sinar Mas. Most recently, in December, Greenpeace wrote to Nestlé with evidence that Sinar Mas is breaking Indonesian law and ignoring its commitments as a member the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an industry body that claims to be making the palm oil industry more sustainable. Evidence shows Sinar Mas’s forest and peatland destruction continues unabated. (4)
In the face of its unacceptable environmental practices, several major companies, including Unilever and Kraft, have cancelled their contracts with the group. (5)
“Other big companies are taking action, but Nestlé continues to turn a blind eye to the worst offenders which supply them. It’s time for Nestlé to cancel its Sinar Mas contracts and support a halt to rainforest and peatland destruction,” said Skar.
The expansion of palm oil plantations is a leading cause of deforestation in Indonesia, a country with one of the worst rates of forest destruction on the planet.(6) Due mainly to forest and peatland conversion, Indonesia ranks third behind only China and the U.S. as the world’s largest greenhouse gas polluter.(7)
