Leading UK edible oil supplier KTC (Edibles) Limited has announced the completion of its switch to 100% Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)-certified segregated palm oil.
The company said it had previously offered a selection of certified sustainable options, including segregated and Mass Balance, alongside a smaller quantity of non-certified palm, but had pledged in 2019 to make the switch by the end of 2022 after signing up to the RSPO Shared Responsibility Initiative.
Over the last three years, the company had been phasing out the remainder of its non-certified and lower certification (Mass Balance) palm products and replacing them with certified segregated sustainable options, KTC said on 7 September.
To drive the transition, the company said it had been developing new products, explaining the benefits of sustainable alternatives to customers and encouraging them to make the switch.
“We recognise the social and environmental impact of our business and wider supply chain. Palm oil can be a truly sustainable option, as long as it’s grown in a responsible manner – and today, 100% of our palm we offer is RSPO certified segregated sustainable,” KTC chief commercial officer Gary Lewis said.
“We will continue to make improvements on sustainable palm, while working hard to improve the sustainability credentials of other key commodities.”
In addition to promoting sustainable practice across all its palm oil suppliers, the company said it had specific traceability goals, including having traceability back to 100% of the mills used in its supply chain and plans to increase traceability back to the plantation from 23% to 50% over the next year.
KTC Edibles operates two UK sites in Wednesbury and Liverpool and supplies more than 250M litres/year of cooking oils to customers across the UK food industry.
