14 DAY TRIAL // The Hershey Company must have either watched this video of an orangutan asking for help from a deaf girl or suddenly grown a consciousness all on its own.
Long story short, the candy giant has recently announced that, by the end of the year 2014, all the palm oil it uses in its production line will come from sustainable and traceable sources.
In a press release on the matter at hand, the company details that it took the decision to work with its suppliers and ensure that all the palm oil it used was not in any way linked to deforestation in an attempt to further improve on its ecological footprint.
“The Hershey Company is committed to continuous improvement and transparency in our sustainable sourcing efforts,” says Frank Day, vice president of Global Commodities.
“Our move to source 100 percent traceable palm oil is the latest step forward in our efforts to ensure we are sourcing only sustainably grown palm oil that does not contribute to the destruction of wildlife habitat or negatively impact the environment,” he adds.
As part of this move to green up its working agenda, the Hershey Company is to collaborate both with its suppliers and with industry experts, the company details in its press release.
The goal is to ensure that the folks who provide it with palm oil do not illegally clear forests in order to make room for plantations, do not destroy wildlife habitat and do not cut high carbon stock forests.
The candy giant's suppliers must also prove that they do not contribute to peat land expansion, and abide by local rules and regulations concerning environmental protection.
“The goal of these requirements is to identify palm oil producers that are engaging in unsustainable practices, work with suppliers to remediate these actions and, if necessary, remove these producers from Hershey’s supply chain,” the company says.
The news that the Hershey Company has committed to zero deforestation comes shortly after Wilmar International, i.e. the world's largest palm oil trader, announced that it too was to cut all ties with this practice.