Here at Oliver & Co Solicitors, we have pledged to take part in the Sustainable Palm Oil Communities project to help protect wildlife around the world. Working with Chester Zoo, and many other champions across Chester, we want to do our upmost to protect the wildlife around the world from unsustainable practices.
What is palm oil?
Palm oil is an edible oil that is extracted from the fruit of oil palm trees. These trees are native to Africa but have been brought to South-East Asia, Indonesia, and Malaysia over the last decade.
Because of its versatility and low cost, Palm Oil is the most commonly used vegetable oil around the world. It is found in many food and cleaning products that we all consume and use on a daily and weekly basis including, chocolate, biscuits, pizza, margarine, deodorant, toothpaste, and shampoo just to name a few.
Is palm oil good or bad?
Palm oil itself isn’t inherently problematic, but the methods employed by certain companies in its production are concerning.
Vast areas of rainforest in locations such as Borneo and Sumatra are being destroyed and cleared to make more space for the planting of oil palm trees. Consequently, the habitats of a wide range of animals including orangutans, rhinos and elephants are being demolished. If this continues, it will inevitably bring these treasured species to the brink of extinction.
There are also heightening concerns that the production of palm oil in this way is contributing to the greenhouse gasses and global warming which in turn are threatening our planet’s future.
Why are Oliver & Co Solicitors joining the Sustainable Palm Oil Community and what will we do?
Oliver & Co have been champions of ethical and sustainable business practices for years, making a positive impact on the local community. For example, we ensure that none of our rubbish ends up in landfill. Having been made aware of the good work Chester Zoo and the Sustainable Palm Oil Community do, we wanted to join in and have a positive impact on our global community. We want to help in protecting the precious species that are affected by unsustainable palm oil production whilst also doing out bit for our beautiful planet.
We pledge to achieve the above goals by using the Palm Oil Scan App to scan the foods and cleaning products, using only the ones which have an “excellent” rating. This will ensure that the products being used by Oliver & Co are from sources who support the fight against unsustainable palm oil production.
What can you do to help?
The Palm Oil Scan App is available to download from mobile App stores. You can scan your barcodes to see how the manufacturers are sourcing palm oil.
Alternatively, you can look out for “The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil” labels on products that acknowledge the use of sustainable palm oil.
By doing your bit in making wise choices when purchasing products, you can join us in helping make a difference to the protection of habitats and species around the world.
