The company said it expects continued growth in the use of sustainable palm oil in Europe, as food manufacturers look to respond to consumer demand for natural and sustainable products. The 30% target approximately doubles the proportion of segregated sustainable palm oil from production quantities of about 15% at the end of October last year.
IOI Loders Croklaan sustainability director Hidde van Kersen said in a statement: “As the largest importer of sustainable palm oil in Europe, we offer a wide range of RSPO certified palm oil products, for both food and non-food markets. With our supply chain stretching from the plantations to the refineries, we know the origin of our oils. This gives us the best position to help our customers implement their sustainable sourcing strategies.”
IOI Loders Croklaan was the first company to offer RSPO-certified palm oil to the European market, starting in 2010. Since 2011, the company has been delivering all of its products according to the RSPO mass balance system, which allows suppliers to combine some segregated RSPO certified oil and some standard oil. This allows users to use the RSPO trademark (with the word ‘Mixed’) and the claim: ‘Contributes to the production of certified sustainable palm oil’.
IOI Loders Croklaan Europe also offers products that are certified according to the stricter RSPO segregated system as well, which means the oil must be traceable right along the supply chain back to certified plantations.
The company’s primary source of sustainable palm oil is its parent company, IOI Group, in Malaysia.
The RSPO aims to bring together palm oil firms and conservation groups and certifies oil that has not been grown on land deforested to produce the crop.