Boulder Brands Responsible Palm Oil Commitment
At Boulder Brands, we believe that palm oil can and should be responsibly sourced and
sustainably produced. Since 2010, we have been increasing the amount of responsible palm oil
we source every year, while also actively working to drive change and innovation in responsible
palm oil production. As such, by the end of 2015 we plan to source 100% of our palm oil
products from companies whose entire palm oil operations are independently verified as
meeting responsible palm oil requirements set forth by the Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG) in
support of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) – the leading organizations dedicated
to solving the palm oil issue. Boulder Brands will also be working closely with respected
international agencies like Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, the World Wildlife Fund
and the Orangutan Land Trust, among others, to develop standards and innovations that will
change the face of the palm oil industry.
As an edible plant-based oil, palm oil provides unique functional health and performance
benefits, and is an essential ingredient in many of our foods, including but not limited to
buttery spreads and sticks, gluten-free goods, pure and simple frozen entrees and convenient
snack foods. The Boulder Brands family of brands is dedicated to leading change and improving
lives. One way we endeavor to uphold this mission is to focus on the quality of our ingredients
to help change “the way America eats” for the better. While there are options for replacing
palm oil, such as hydrogenated and interesterified oils, those alternatives would compromise
the health and product quality of our products, which is a compromise we’re unwilling to make.
In total, Boulder Brands is a very small player in the global vegetable oil commodity business,
purchasing a tiny amount of the palm oil that is imported in the US (less than one percent in
2014). The announcement of our responsible palm oil commitment is another exciting step in
this journey.
Our Commitments
Boulder Brands’ palm oil sourcing commitment requires its suppliers to comply with these
underlying parameters:
1. Environmental responsibility and conservation
2. Community partnerships and the respect for human rights
3. Traceable and accountable supply chains and transparent reporting and
improvement metrics
We commit to only purchasing palm oil from suppliers who operate in accordance with the
following responsible palm oil requirements:
1. Environmental responsibility and conservation
- No Deforestation: Suppliers must not contribute to deforestation of high
conservation value (HCV) areas or high carbon stock (HCS) forests.
- No Development on Peat Lands: Suppliers must protect peat lands of any depth
from development, fires and drainage, and support strategies to restore peat
land ecosystems.
- Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Accountability: Suppliers must publicly report on all GHG
emissions in conjunction with the parameters set forth in the
POIG charter.
- Pesticide Use Minimization: Suppliers must avoid the use of highly toxic, bioaccumulative and persistent pesticides. Suppliers must be accountable and fully
transparent about the use of any pesticide or chemical fertilizers.
- No GMOs: Suppliers must prevent the cultivation of GMOs.
- Water Accountability: Suppliers must have in place a responsible water management
system that minimizes and discloses water use, eliminates pollution, considers
catchment level impacts of irrigation and ensures equity with other users.
- Wildlife Protection and Conservation: Suppliers must conduct biodiversity surveys
and ensure the protection and survival of all rare, threatened or endangered species
within their concession land.
2. Community partnerships and the respect for human rights
- Respect Human Rights: Suppliers must fully respect the right of Indigenous Peoples
and local communities to give or withhold their Free, Prior and Informed Consent
(FPIC) to any palm oil development on their land via their own freely
chosen representatives.
- Food Security: Suppliers must support land use choices that assures food security for
indigenous and local communities.
- Conflict Resolution: Suppliers must respect the right of indigenous peoples and rural
communities to have access to a balanced, accountable, mutually agreed upon and
documented conflict resolution system to deal with complaints or grievances.
- Social Conditions: Suppliers must support social programs to prevent human rights
violations, social conflicts or land grabbing, and address key social equity issues
including housing, health care, education and empowerment of women.
- Worker Rights: Suppliers must respect the rights of all workers, including contract,
temporary and migrant workers, and workers of all genders, in accordance with the
International Labor Organization (ILO) requirements for “decent work” and core
conventions on child labor, forced or compulsory labor, freedom of association, and
elimination of discrimination.
- Support Palm Oil Smallholders: Suppliers must support the inclusion of smallholders
and ensure all contracts with smallholders are based on a fair, transparent and
accountable partnership.
3. Traceable and accountable supply chains and transparent reporting and improvement
metrics
- Transparency and Corruption: Suppliers must publicly commit to prohibit any form
of corruption, including during the concession acquisition process and within their
operations, and support efforts to establish and comply with anti-corruption
legislation where this exists.
- Traceability: Suppliers must build fully traceable supply chains to ensure
that all sources of palm oil are traceable to the plantation of origin and to their mills.
- Report on Social, Labor and Environmental Performance: Suppliers must disclose
social, labor and environmental performance using the guidance of the Global
Reporting Initiative or equivalent approach.
- RSPO Certification and Company Operations: Suppliers must commit to achieving
100% RSPO certification within two years. This shall cover all palm oil operations,
subsidiaries, acquisitions of existing plantation and fresh fruit bunch purchases from
third parties, with possible alternatives to full RSPO certification for small
independent producers.
- Responsible Supply Chains: Suppliers must independently verify and report on
compliance with these requirements and measures set forth by the POIG charter
and RSPO standard. Boulder Brands will cease to do business with any suppliers in
serious violation of its policy, and with suppliers that do not take immediate
remedial action to correct those violations.
Our implementation target: We plan to be 100% compliant with our responsible palm oil
commitment by the end of 2015.
Resources:
 Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG): www.poig.org
- POIG statement on Boulder Brands support
 Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil: www.rspo.org
 Rainforest Action Network: www.ran.org
 Greenpeace: www.greenpeace.org
 World Wildlife Fund: www.worldwildlife.org
 Orangutan Foundation International: www.orangutan.org