14 DAY TRIAL // 28 Greenpeace activists are now jailed in Russia, and the organization is working around the clock to free them. However, this does not mean that it has forgotten about its commitment to push for sustainability and convince industry giants to embrace a greener working agenda.
This November 18, Greenpeace launched a new environmental campaign dubbed the Tiger Challenge. The campaign is intended to keep tigers from falling off the biodiversity map by getting a total of eight large consumer companies to cut all ties with deforestation.
Specifically, Greenpeace demands that these companies no longer work with agribusiness group Wilmar International, and make sure that whatever palm oil products they use do not come from plantations set up in areas that used to be forests.
“Big brands have big responsibilities to us as consumers. The companies listed below purchase palm oil products through Wilmar International, a notorious trader in forest destruction. We challenge companies to commit to a No Deforestation policy and guarantee that the palm oil they use in the products we buy is tiger-friendly,” the organization writes on the official website for the Tiger Challenge.
“The need for action is urgent. Forest destruction is pushing the as few as 400 tigers that are left in Sumatra, Indonesia, to the edge of extinction. These brands have the power to create change. It’s time they take the Tiger Challenge!” it adds.
The eight consumer goods companies that Greenpeace hopes will agree to rid their supply chains of palm oil products linked to deforestation are as follows: food company Mondelēz International; Procter & Gamble; home, personal care, and hygiene products manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser; Colgate – Palmolive; L’Oréal; homecare, detergents, and personal care products manufacturer Guangzhou Liby; detergent and toothpaste producer Zhejiang Nice Group; and Indian conglomerate Godrej.
According to Greenpeace, these companies currently rely only on information provided by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to ensure that their products are not linked to unsustainable deforestation.
The organization maintains that, more often than not, this information is not in the least reliable, and that the companies should actively become involved in pinning down the exact source of the palm oil they use in their production lines.
Greenpeace is confident that, should these companies agree to take the Tiger Challenge, Wilmar International will find itself with no choice except green up its working agenda or risk going out of business.
“With every company that says no to dirty palm oil, the pressure is on the world’s largest palm oil trader, Wilmar International, to transform the industry and save the home of the Sumatran tiger,” the organization explains.