RSPO certification schemes in Poland and Portugal
(2023)
As in previous years, we have been using palm oil in our Private Brand products, particularly at Ara, where 85% is used in vegetable cooking oils. In Portugal, the use of palm oil in Private Brand products has decreased after being replaced by cooking oils with a better nutritional profile, such as sunflower oil, for example. In 2023, 100% of the palm oil used in our Private Brands and perishables in Poland and Portugal was RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) certified, with the vast majority certified according to the “Mass Balance” and “Segregated” schemes1.
Despite being among the top five palm oil producers worldwide, the level of RSPO certification is still relatively low in Colombia. This reality, combined with our strategy of promoting local sourcing in the countries where we do business, makes it all the more difficult to obtain RSPO certification for palm oil in the country. Since 2021, Ara has been part of the “Acuerdo de Voluntades para la Deforestación Cero en la Cadena de Aceite de Palma en Colombia” (Voluntary Agreement for Zero Deforestation in the Palm Oil Chain in Colombia), with the aim of ensuring that the palm oil used in Private Brand and perishable products does not contribute to deforestation. The Agreement is an initiative of the Colombian government and is supported by civil society organisations such as RSPO, Proforest, Tropical Forest Alliance and WWF. To that end, the Agreement acts on several fronts, from the traceability of palm oil produced in Colombia to production farm level, in order to ensure that palm oil is not associated with deforestation and to progressively ensure that imported palm oil is certified sustainable (e.g., RSPO).
In 2023, more than 90% of the palm oil used in Ara’s Private Brand and perishable products originated in Colombia, 13% of which was RSPO certified (10 p.p. more than in 2022). In 2023, we were able to trace the origin of 91% of palm oil from Colombia used in Private Brand and perishable products back to the area of the farm where it was produced. Based on this information, we confirmed that the palm oil came from the four production areas in the country and from 28 (out of 68) processing plants operating in Colombia. Only 0.65% of the deforestation identified by public entities in 2020 was associated with palm oil2.
In 2023, 98% of the palm oil used in Ara’s Private Brand products and perishables that did not come from Colombia was RSPO certified (24 p.p. more than in 2022), in line with the commitment to ensure that palm oil originating outside Colombia is not associated with deforestation or the conversion of high conservation value ecosystems.
1 Information on these certification schemes is available on the RSPO Website.
2 Data disclosed in the analysis of the level of deforestation linked to palm oil production, carried out in 2023 by IDEAM – Instituto de Hidrología Meterelogía y Estudios Ambientales and the Colombian Ministry of the Environment.