Too much focus on palm oil commitments and not action, says ZSL

The Zoological Society of London or ZSL has published its annual SPOTT palm oil producer ranking, and found that well over half of what it describes as significant palm oil companies are not assessing suppliers publicly on zero deforestation and other sustainability metrics. ZSL says that 61% of producers have limited or no public commitments for evaluating the risk of suppliers being associated with habitat destruction and biodiversity loss. 

The latest analysis found that 58% of the companies have a zero-deforestation commitment that extends to all suppliers, but only 12% have a disclosed time-bound action plan for suppliers to become compliant with sustainable palm oil sourcing commitments. ZSL says that the palm oil sector should focus on transparency to ensure suppliers are playing their part in addressing the biodiversity and climate crises. 

Netherlands based multinational food giant Ahold Delhaize has announced a number of decarbonisation initiatives for its supply chain, including asking suppliers to set science-based targets and be more transparent on emissions. The headline target is a reduction of total emissions across its value chain by 37% by 2030. 

The company has already committed to net zero carbon emissions in its operations by 2040 and across all of scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050. Among the priorities that the company has identified include initiatives to target livestock farming, raw material sourcing, deforestation, packaging and transportation. Increasing plant-based proteins and consumer empowerment are also areas Ahold Delhaize says it will target.  

As part of its 2040 net zero carbon emission plans Vodafone has announced a new programme to incentivise customers to trade in devices to be repaired, refurbished or recycled. The company says that reusing a smart phone saves 50kg of CO2 compared to a new one. Vodafone has pledged to donate £1 or its equivalent to WWF projects around the world for every phone traded in. The initiative is part of Vodafone’s target to reuse, resell or recycle 100% of its network waste, and its net-zero emissions by 2040 commitment.   

Jet engine manufacturer Rolls Royce and European airline EasyJet have collaborated on testing of an aircraft engine powered by green hydrogen. Such power plants are seen by many as a long-term solution to decarbonise aviation, alongside interim moves to increase efficiency, use more sustainable aviation fuels from non-oil feedstocks and to electrify aircraft. The latter solution is not seen as viable for anything other than short haul routes.  

Aviation is currently responsible for up to 3% of global emissions, with that projected to jump significantly in the coming decades under business-as-usual projections. EasyJet has committed to net-zero emissions by 2050.