The Green Purchasing Network (GPN) announced on September 7, 2018, that SARAYA has been awarded first place in manufacturing thanks to its efforts with palm oil.
The GPN scored companies from various industries based on several criteria such as RSPO (Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil) membership, sustainable palm oil usage and other factors deemed valuable by the GPN. All of the scoring information is open to the public, allowing these companies to access through an independent party, showcasing their efforts.
Since its foundation, Saraya has made efforts to create environmentally conscious products, and in 2004 started environmental conservation activities in Borneo, Malaysia, where the rainforest is losing to palm plantation expansion. As the first Japanese member to join the RSPO (Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil), and in the year 2010, the first to developed and release products using RSPO certified oil in Japan, SARAYA has around 400 products registered RSPO certified. Our aim is to have all our palm-containing products certified with the RSPO by 2020.
Production of palm oil is expanding due to an increase in world food demand and plant oil derived products. This is causing major environmental and social problems mainly in Malaysia and Indonesia, which are the world’s largest producing countries, due to actions such as cutting down tropical rainforests and expanding plantations. In order to solve these problems, the international community is moving to procure RSPO certified oil, which is sustainable palm oil produced with consideration of the environment and human rights of its workers.
What is the RSPO?
In response to the growing demand for sustainable palm oil dampens its impact on the environment, related organizations from both the environmental conservation community and the palm industry community, took action and in 2004 the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established.
RSPO is an international nonprofit organization promoting the production of palm oil with consideration for the environment and society and is involved in seven sectors related to the palm oil industry (palm oil production, trade, consumer products manufacturers, retailers, banks/investment companies, environmental NGOs and social and development NGOs). Its purpose is to promote the production and use of sustainable palm oil through the establishment of worldwide trusted certification standards and stakeholder participation.
Report published by the Green Purchasing Network (in Japanese)
Green Purchasing Network (GPN)
