Better Sourcing
Our stakeholders' expectations and concerns about where products and raw materials come from, and how they are produced, are central to our efforts to implement even better sustainability programs.
As a leading importer and processor of palm oil, AAK has been actively involved in the campaign for sustainable palm oil from the outset.
Sustainable Palm Oil: Making Better HappenTM through sustainable sourcing
As a leading importer and processor of palm oil, AAK has been actively involved in the campaign for sustainable palm oil from the outset.
We became a founder member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2004, and secured the UK’s first shipment of RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil in 2008.
Our Prep frying oils in the UK and Europe were the first in the foodservice sector to become RSPO certified, initially through the GreenPalm program in 2010, and then by using RSPO-certified sustainable material in our blends.
Since then, we have worked tirelessly with global partners to promote sustainable social and environmental practices in palm oil production. Our achievements in 2020 included:
- Increasing palm traceability to plantation by 70% - an increase of 27% since 2019.
- Doubling to 50% our use of verified deforestation-free palm.
- Increasing by 23% since 2019 our use of RSPO-certified palm.
- Piloting satellite monitoring and committing to cover our full palm supply base from 2021 onwards.
In the UK, we have supported an initiative led by Chester Zoo, WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and EFECA, a team of technical experts in forest commodities and sustainability, who are calling for sustainable palm oil to be used throughout the food industry.
Looking ahead, we are committed to developing a palm oil supply chain which is 100% sustainable by 2025, verified deforestation free and conversion free, and with full respect of human rights. It’s part of a much wider commitment to Making Better HappenTM through sustainable sourcing, across all of our supply chains.
Our aim is to work with our suppliers to verify that raw materials are produced in a sustainable way to protect biodiversity and ecosystems. We want to reduce our environmental impact, while safeguarding human rights and improving livelihoods – particularly those of smallholders and women.
Discover more about our commitment to sustainable sourcing as we work towards Making Better HappenTM.
