Unilever Publicly Discloses Palm Oil Supply Chain

Unilever has become the first consumer goods company to publicly disclose all the suppliers and mills it buys palm oil from, both directly and indirectly.  Unilever is one of the biggest consumer goods manufacturers in the world, with around 2.5 billion people using at least one of its products every single day.  The company uses palm oil in many of its goods, from snacks, soups, soap and toothpaste, working with around 1,400 mills and 300 direct suppliers to buy its palm oil.  It uses around 1.000 milion MT of crude palm oil and its derivatives and about 0.500 million MT of crude palm kernel oil and its derivatives annually.    

Mapping these suppliers has highlighted both the progress made and the “serious environmental and social issues prevalent in the industry”, the company said, and by having a better idea of where its palm oil comes from, it will be able to proactively identify problems and address them both quickly and effectively.  Speaking at a panel at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Unilever CEO Paul Polman said, “A lot of people think if you outsource your value chain you can outsource your responsibilities.  I don’t think so.  We need to be at the forefront of change.  This is why Unilever is committed to greater transparency and continu to work with our partners to drive positive change in the palm oil industry”.