FrieslandCampina links RSPO to product names

AMERSFOORT – By August 2012, FrieslandCampina Kievit will have a link between the product names of its ingredients based on palm oil and their sustainable palm status, RSPO Segregated (RSPO SG) or RSPO Mass Balance (RSPO MB). This immediately informs customers of the product’s sustainability level based on the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil.

FrieslandCampina Kievit will be the first company in the spray-dried ingredients market to adopt this initiative. Initially, the RSPO status will be displayed for the palm oil-based ingredients that are destined for markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North and South America.

Sustainable products from the spray-dried ingredients will be immediately recognisable with the help of links between product names and their sustainability levels.

FrieslandCampina has decided to adopt a purchasing policy that focuses on sustainability for as many raw materials as possible as part of its strategy for making the entire dairy chain green and sustainable. “As a manufacturer of ingredients, we also want to play a leading role in the area of sustainability. By linking the sustainability level of our palm oil products to our product names, customers can immediately see that the palm oil used in our ingredients is sustainable,” Bas van Driel, business unit director EMEAA of FrieslandCampina Kievit said.

Objective: 100% purchase of sustainable palm oil

The sustainability criteria have been drawn up by the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). This organisation's mission is to encourage the sustainable production and use of palm oil by setting up appropriate guidelines. One of the stipulations of those guidelines, for example, is that valuable rainforest may not be cut down in order to produce palm oil. Organisations from the entire chain are represented in the Round Table’s membership: producers, traders, the palm oil processing industry, retailers, banks and social organisations such as the WWF and Solidaridad. FrieslandCampina has been a member of the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil since 2007.

Segregated palm oil is sustainably certified palm oil, which is kept separate from conventional palm oil throughout the entire chain. Mass Balance palm oil is sustainably certified palm oil, which is tracked administratively in the chain, but which is also mixed with conventional palm oil.

Edwin Riegman, R&D manager, category team Oils & Fats, said, “FrieslandCampina is a leading innovator in the dairy sector. The company has a progressive policy and strives to achieve 100% purchase of segregated palm oil in the long term. At presAir Zoom Pegasus 34 Leather