Fast food chain pledges to use 'a large percentage' of sustainable palm oil by 2016
America's doughnut industry is on a roll. On Tuesday, Dunkin' Brands bowed to pressure from green campaigners and announced it would only fry its US snacks in sustainable palm oil by 2016. Not to be outdone, Krispy Kreme yesterday followed suit with a similar pledge to shift towards sustainable certified palm oil.
In a short statement on its website, Krispy Kreme said it would aim to source "a large percentage, if not all" of its palm oil from sustainable sources by the end of 2016. The company said it will use a mixture of directly sustainable certified palm oil and GreenPalm certificates that are designed to incentivise the market to become more responsible.
Significantly, Krispy Kreme said it would enforce the new regulations throughout its supply chain, in a bid to deliver a high degree of traceability.
"Suppliers who are found not in compliance will be required to submit a viable action plan for closing any identified gaps, or risk removal from the brand's supply chain," it added.
This week's news was welcomed by the Forest Heroes environmental campaign group, which said deforestation had been "a hole" in the environmental record of the palm oil industry.
"The one-two punch of Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme going deforestation-free signal a rapid shift in the US fast food industry," said Deborah Lapidus, Forest Heroes campaign director.
The announcements come ahead of a major business summit on deforestation due to be hosted on Monday in New York ahead of the UN's latest climate change summit. Corporate leaders and politicians are expected to debate what is required to slow deforestation, reduce conflict over forests and curb the impacts of climate change.
