News

DuPont completes certified switch

31 Jan 2017

DuPont Nutrition & Health says it has completed its switch to 100% certified sustainable palm oil and palm oil derivatives used in its global emulsifier production in a transition that began in 2009.

DuPont completes certified switch

DuPont Nutrition & Health says it has completed its switch to 100% certified sustainable palm oil and palm oil derivatives used in its global emulsifier production.

Following the 2009 launch of the world’s first palm oil emulsifiers from Mass Balance supply chain certified by Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the first emulsifiers made with RSPO-certified Segregated palm oil joined the DuPont Danisco range in 2011.

The new development means that the remainder of the company’s entire global range of palm-based emulsifiers is now based on RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil and derivatives, which promotes the production of palm oil with greater consideration of its environmental and social impacts.

“At DuPont, we are committed to reducing the environmental impact from all of our raw materials, operations and final products,” said Brenda Kelly, business director, DuPont Nutrition & Health. “As such, it is clearly critical that we start by obtaining our raw materials with recognized, sustainable certification.”

In addition, DuPont recently announced a strengthening of its sustainable footprint for emulsifiers by converting to woodchips at its Grindsted facility, Denmark, which is said to be one of the world's largest emulsifier plants. The change means a reduction of 45,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to removing 20,000 average Danish cars from the road for a year.

DuPont says it initially intended to convert all of its palm-based raw materials to certified sources by the end of 2015, but this transition was delayed by insufficient market demand and a shortage of certain certified palm oil derivatives. RSPO Book & Claim certificates now allow DuPont to fill the gap until conversion to physical supplies can happen.

“Through the Book & Claim system, the intention is to support the growth of sustainable palm oil production over time,” said Kelly.

In the coming months and years, DuPont says it will continue to encourage its stakeholders in working towards replacing Book & Claim volumes with certified sustainable palm oil from physical supply chains such as Mass Balance, Segregated and Identify Preserved palm oil and derivatives.