The company updated its policy statement on packaging sourcing this week, stating explicitly that it would not use suppliers involved in rainforest clearance. It also said it would seek to use recycled materials where possible and ensure that any virgin materials used did not contain mixed tropical hardwoods (MTH), the fibres of which usually come from rainforest logs.
KFC and its parent company Yum! Brands have been targeted by Greenpeace since May, when the charity released a report revealing that takeaway boxes used in KFC’s UK, Indonesian and Chinese restaurants contained “significant” levels of mixed tropical hardwood.
Greenpeace claimed it had tracked these fibres back to packaging supplier Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), which it accused of sourcing materials from the virgin tropical rainforest in Indonesia, the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tigers.
The commitment from KFC UK & Ireland will rule out APP as a future supplier. Greenpeace rainforest campaigner Ian Duff said: “Millions of KFC customers in the UK will be relieved to hear that their meals no longer contribute to the destruction of pristine Indonesian rainforest – the place endangered species like the Sumatran tiger call home.
“By walking away from companies like the increasingly ‘toxic’ APP brand, KFC UK is sending a strong message to the business community that it is not acceptable to buy from companies that are turning the rainforest into rubbish.”
Greenpeace has vowed to continue putting pressure on Yum! to introduce a zero-deforestation policy across its operations to ensure that none are sourcing products from suppliers involved in rainforest destruction.