ADM Cocoa commits to segregated sustainable palm oil In Europe

ADM Cocoa UK has received certification for the use of segregated palm oil in their facility. Segregated palm oil is 100 per cent RSPO certified sustainable. Via its certified facilities in Liverpool, UK, ADM Cocoa will serve the European market for compound coatings and fillings produced with RSPO certified segregated palm oil. Representative of the company’s ongoing commitment to sustainable cocoa and chocolate production, ADM Cocoa will start to exclusively source segregated palm oil for use within its European cocoa and chocolate manufacturing facilities. This is an important step towards providing ADM Cocoa’s customers with responsibly sourced products.

Using 100 per cent segregated palm oil allows customers to use the claim on their end product: ‘this product contains RSPO certified palm oil’. As a key member of the RSPO, ADM has played an active role in the ‘trade and traceability’ and ‘greenhouse gas emissions’ working groups. In addition, Olenex (a Joint Venture between ADM and Wilmar) now offers all of its palm oil and palm kernel oil blends under the mass balance method. This allows customers to claim that their products ‘contribute to the production of RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil’.

The certification strengthens ADM Cocoa’s position in sustainability, broadening its scope beyond cocoa to integrate sustainability activities across ADM. The company’s flagship cocoa sustainability programme – Socially and Environmentally Responsible Agricultural Practices (S.E.R.A.P.) has provided more than $15.3 million in financial incentives to cooperatives and individual farms in Côte d’Ivoire alone. By providing incentives at the producer-group level, S.E.R.A.P. encourages collaboration among growers as they work to responsibly address economic, social and environmental issues and improve the cocoa crop quality. The programme has now expanded into Nigeria and Indonesia, with the support of facilitating partners.

Dr Kai-Uwe Ostheim, ADM’s General Manager – Global Sustainability Cocoa, commented: “Committing to fully segregated RSPO certified palm oil at our facility in Liverpool marks an important step in our quest to offer the broadest range of sustainable products. We have made great strides in cocoa sustainability and continue to do more to achieve our ambitious sustainability goals. Incorporating other ingredients that are included in our products in our sustainability ambitions demonstrates our long-term commitment to offering responsibly-sourced products.”

As part of an ongoing commitment to sustainability across the organisation, ADM has also initiated a sustainable palm oil production and processing venture in Pará, Brazil – an investment developed in cooperation with local farmers and the Brazilian government. The operation will encompass approximately 12,000 hectares of oil palm plantation land, 6,000 of which will be owned and operated by about 600 smallholder family farmers. ADM will provide these farmers with technical assistance focused on sustainable agricultural practices. The processing facility is due to commence operations in 2016.