Yum! Brands, the company that owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, on Thursday announced a zero deforestation policy for its palm oil sourcing.
The move came after aggressive campaigns by environmental groups that argued the chains weren’t doing enough to ensure the palm oil they used to fry foods wasn’t linked to human rights abuses, destruction of peatlands, and logging of rainforests.
The policy sets a December 2017 target for establishing safeguards for palm oil sourcing. Yum! says it will only source from suppliers who bar plantation development in high carbon stock and high conservation value areas, like rainforests and peatlands; have disputes resolution processes in place; offer traceability to the mill level; and avoid underage workers and forced labor. The standards apply Yum!’s global fast food business, meaning it applies to all of its restaurants.
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If Yum! Brands wants to be an environmental leader amongst fast food giants, the company should to extend the commitment to all forms of palm oil and bulk up its transparency efforts. Such transparency efforts include reporting the quantities of palm oil used and on the commitment’s implementation.
Lael Goodman from Union of Concerned Scientists
Yum! has a similar set of guidelines for its paper and fiber sourcing.
The announcement was quickly welcomed by Greenpeace, which campaigned against the company’s pulp and paper sourcing practices in 2012.
“Yum! Brands’ new palm oil policy is a good sign it’s listening to customers around the world who want rainforest destruction taken off the menu,” said Rolf Skar, Forest Campaign Director at Greenpeace USA.
Skar added that Greenpeace still wants Yum! to “more clearly define terms like ‘high carbon stock forest’ and ‘best management practices’ for peatlands in order to make sure change really happens on the ground.”
However the Union of Concerned Scientists(UCS), an advocacy group that on Wednesday released a scorecard giving Yum! a zero out of 100 rank on its palm oil policy, wanted more from the company.
“Yum! Brands seems to have good intentions with this commitment,” said UCS’s Lael Goodman in a statement. “The problem is that palm oil is also a common ingredient in some the company’s baked goods and sauces – products that are prepared by a third-party vendor – and are not covered under the commitment. This is where the commitment loses steam.”
Nonetheless Goodman said that the policy would boost Yum! on UCS’s scorecard, moving it out of the bottom position it shared with Wendy’s, Carl’s Jr, Dairy Queen, and Domino’s.
“The company scored a zero as of yesterday, but today’s announcement will surely raise their score somewhat,” she said.
“However, if Yum! Brands wants to be an environmental leader amongst fast food giants, the company should to extend the commitment to all forms of palm oil and bulk up its transparency efforts. Such transparency efforts include reporting the quantities of palm oil used and on the commitment’s implementation.”
Yum!’s commitment has been made much easier in recent years with the adoption of zero deforestation policies by some of the world’s largest palm oil producers and traders, including Golden-Agri Resources, Wilmar, Cargill, Musim Mas, IOI, and Bunge.
These policies have emerged as a direct result of pressure from advocacy groups and consumers concerned over palm oil’s role in driving conversion of peatlands and rainforests for plantations. Most of the damage has occurred in Malaysia and Indonesia, but the industry has its sights on expanding in West and Central Africa, the Amazon, Central America, and other parts of tropical Asia.
