Cargill expands RSPO-certified palm oil supply chain to North America

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Starting in December 2020, Cargill’s palm oil refinery in Charlotte, NC will be solely dedicated to providing palm oil certified by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), making Cargill one of North America’s first large-scale suppliers of segregated palm oil certified by RSPO. The expanded supply will allow Cargill’s customers to meet sustainability commitments and may give consumers more food options with sustainable palm oil.

“Palm oil plays a critical role in feeding and supporting millions, as it is the world’s most widely used vegetable oil,” said Reid Kinde, North American commercial leader for Cargill’s global edible oils business, in a press release. “With growing numbers of brands pledging to source palm oil responsibly, we are now positioned to supply North American food manufacturers with sufficient quantities of segregated RSPO-certified product to meet their sustainability commitments.”

RSPO verifies that forests are protected, and social and environmental safeguards are met during oil production and harvest. To carry the segregated RSPO designation, all products must be kept separate from commodity palm oil supplies and be traceable throughout the supply chain. Cargill has been supplying RSPO-certified palm oil since 2005, now reaching customers in Europe, Mexico, Australia, and Malaysia. The expansion of its supply chain further leverages the firm’s global footprint, and reflects the growing demand for ethically-sourced palm oil. Prior to this, Cargill offered North American customers mass-balanced sustainable palm oil.