Dive Brief:
- Danone will accelerate its plans to move to 100% sustainable palm oil sourcing by the end of next year, well ahead of an earlier commitment to avoid sourcing linked to deforestation by the end of 2020.
- Danone said it will work with the nonprofit organization called The Forest Trust to map the company's palm oil footprint and develop a transparent and sustainable sourcing program.
- Danone's decision comes roughly three months after the Union of Concerned Scientists urged the dairy giant to take such steps in its Palm Oil Sourcing Scorecard report. That report also singled out Nestle, Mondelez, Unilever, Kellogg's, General Mills, ConAgra, and other major food companies for criticism. .
Dive Insight:
This is one area of environmental concern in which giant food conglomerates play a big role -- and have demonstrated that they take that role seriously. Just a few years ago, the palm oil crisis was the sort of thing that only a handful of activists seemed to know about. But that has changed rapidly in recent months.
Danone joins a long list of companies that have announced plans to clean up sourcing in the past few years, including General Mills, Mars, and Kellogg's.