The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) has once again been ordered to change or remove adverts promoting palm oil as “sustainable”, as the sector steps up its efforts to convince EU policy makers to allow palm oil-based biofuels.
Following a complaint by Friends of the Earth (FoE) Europe, Belgian advertising watchdog Jury d’Ethique Publicitaire ruled that palm oil does have an impact on the environment, and that any advert describing it as “sustainable” is in breach of the country’s environmental advertising code.
MPOC, which represents the Malaysian palm oil industry, is keen to highlight its efforts to reduce the industry’s environmental impact as part of a campaign to convince the EU to include fuels made from palm oil in its sustainable biofuel certification scheme.
This is despite the fact that the sector has been blamed by green groups for widespread deforestation and increased greenhouse gas emissions.
The case, determined last week, upheld FoE Europe’s complaint that MPOC had breached “les règles de l’éthique publicitaire” in an advert on the EurActiv web site earlier this year.
Defining “sustainability” by three dimensions - social, environmental and economic - the jury concluded that there was not enough evidence to show that palm oil met all three aspects.
Last week’s decision followed two earlier rulings by the UK’s advertising watchdog against previous MPOC campaigns that also hailed palm oil as “sustainable”.
FoE Europe corporate campaigner Paul de Clerck argued that the decision raises questions about the credibility of the Malaysian palm oil industry.
“It is the third time they have been ordered to stop misleading the European public but they continue to ignore these rulings and spread false information,” he said. “The European Union must take note and stop the use of palm oil as a biofuel.”
MPOC was unavailable to comment at the time of going to press.
