Shop for sustainable palm oil

We can help wildlife by supporting companies that are dedicated to improving the sustainability of their products.

What's the issue?

Demand pressures due to an ever-growing human population have driven palm oil production to an all-time high. It is now the most widely produced edible vegetable oil and is used in over 50% of household products, including packaged food, cosmetics, pet food, and even cleaning products. You probably eat and/or use it every day.
Estimates indicate that if the sustainability of palm oil production does not significantly improve soon, endangered species like orangutans and Sumatran tigers will go extinct.

Palm oil is produced from the fruit of the African oil palm tree. Although this tree is native to West Africa, it can thrive anywhere with abundant heat and rainfall. Currently, the majority of the world’s palm oil is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia. Millions of acres of rainforest are cut down in Borneo and Sumatra each year to plant more oil palm trees. The crop is also expanding into Africa and South America.
Instead of using already cleared land, some companies cut down healthy rainforest, which may include endangered plant species, to make room for palm oil plantations so they can gain added profits from the timber.
After logging rainforest habitat, burning is used to clear the land or peat swamp. These fires, which are often illegal, can burn out of control and further threaten local wildlife populations and human communities.

Palm oil itself is not the problem – how it is cultivated and where it has historically been grown is what threatens wildlife. In fact, sustainable palm oil production practices could be a solution to deforestation.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is working with stakeholders in the palm oil industry – producers, processors, manufacturers, retailers, investors, and NGOs – to minimize impacts of the industry on the environment and on communities in palm oil-producing regions. Their mission is to make sustainable palm oil the norm. In order to achieve CSPO (Certified Sustainable Palm Oil) certification, stakeholders must meet a strict set of environmental and social criteria, such as:
- - Behaving ethically and transparently
  - Operating legally and respecting rights
  - Optimizing productivity, positive impacts, and resilience
  - Respecting community and human rights and delivering benefits
  - Supporting smallholder inclusion
  - Respecting workers’ rights and conditions
  - Protecting, conserving, and enhancing ecosystems and the environment

Zoo Atlanta participates in sustainable palm oil education efforts to encourage our community to support companies committed to improving the sustainability of the palm oil used in their products.
We are also a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which helps fund program management and research into sustainable practices.
Zoo Atlanta cares for several species directly impacted by the palm oil industry, including: African elephant, binturong, Bornean and Sumatran orangutans, clouded leopard, Indochinese box turtle, Malayan sun bear, wrinkled hornbill, slender-snouted crocodile, Sumatran tiger, and Victoria crowned pigeon. For most of these species, we also participate in Species Survival Plan® (SSP) Programs to ensure a healthy, genetically diverse, demographically stable population in human care across AZA-accredited (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) facilities.

Support companies who have committed to making the switch to sustainable palm oil. Look for the RSPO or “orangutan friendly” logos on product packaging. Sustainable palm oil has been produced using methods that protect ecosystems and respect workers’ rights.

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (Colorado, USA) has developed many resources to help you find products made by companies committed to sustainable palm oil, including a mobile app called PalmOil Scan developed in collaboration with WAZA, Auckland Zoo, and Chester Zoo. Just search “palm oil” in your preferred app store to download. While shopping, simply scan a barcode or enter a brand name to see how that product rates.
The app uses a rating system to award points to companies in four categories (listed below). Based on the number of points they achieve, companies are categories as excellent (green), good (yellow), poor (orange), or no commitment (red). You can learn more about their rating rubric here.
- - Use of CSPO
  - Having a public commitment to sourcing 100% CSPO within the next three years
  - On-the-ground conservation outside of their own operations (more points awarded for conservation projects that benefit areas impacted by palm oil production)
  - RSPO membership
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo also provides a Palm Oil Tool Kit which includes annual buying guides, children’s activities, sample advocacy letters, infographics, photos, videos, logos, and more.

Write a letter, send an email, or call companies to express your appreciation for their palm oil sustainability efforts. If a company has not stated a commitment to sustainable palm oil, contact them to encourage them to do so.

The PalmOil Scan app underwent some changes at the end of 2023.
- - Some company's ratings went down due to the more rigorous scoring system.
  - The app now rates as many companies in the palm oil supply chain as possible, not just RSPO members.
The RSPO was established in 2004 to promote production and use of sustainable palm oil. As of February 2019, 19% of palm oil was certified by the RSPO. It’s important to note that RSPO certification does not necessarily mean a product contains sustainable palm oil. It means the company that produces that product is committed to using 100% CSPO by a specified target date. Some companies have made more progress on their journey than others.

First, it can be difficult to determine if palm oil or one of its derivatives is even in a product. There are more than 300 names for palm oil that may be used on product labels, so trying to boycott palm oil is not practical for most people.
Additionally, oil palms produce four to 10 times more oil per acre than other crops like soy or canola. In this way, palm oil is a better, more efficient alternative to these oils. If demand for palm oil drops, it would increase for these other oils, which require more land and could therefore threaten even more wildlife and cause more deforestation.
Socially, millions of people in Indonesia and Malaysia, which include Sumatra and Borneo, rely on the palm oil industry for jobs. Other economic opportunities in these areas are limited, so without the palm oil industry millions more people would be pushed into poverty.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society. (n.d.). Orangutans & Palm Oil. Retrieved May 27, 2020, from https://www.cmzoo.org/conservation/orangutans-palm-oil/
Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society. (n.d.). Palm Oil FAQs. Retrieved May 27, 2020, from https://www.cmzoo.org/conservation/orangutans-palm-oil/palm-oil-faqs/
Orangutan Foundation International. (2019). Alternate names for palm oil. Retrieved from https://orangutanfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Palm-Oil-Alternative-Names-07-2019.pdf
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. (n.d.). About. Retrieved May 27, 2020, from https://rspo.org/about
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. (2018). Principles and Criteria for the Production of Sustainable Palm Oil. [PDF]. Retrieved from https://www.rspo.org/principles-and-criteria-review

Updated October 2024

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