News

Burger King stops using oil producer due to rainforest destruction

September 1, 2010

Burger King will discontinue using palm oil from Sinar Mas, an Indonesian corporation, after an independent audit showed one of the company's subsidiaries had ruined rainforests and carbon-dense peatlands in Borneo and Sumatra.

According to Mongabay environmental news, Sinar Mas tried to deny the results of the audit by claiming it cleared its subsidiary, PT Smart, of environmental transgressions in a report last month.

After claims reached the news media, the auditor, BSI Group, reprimanded Sinar Mas by releasing a statement emphasizing that PT Smart had cleared forests and peatlands without proper permits, an illegal activity under Indonesian law and rules under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil's certification system, in eight out of the 11 concessions audited on Sumatra and Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo.

Burger King announced its decision in the following statement:

As part of our BK Positive Steps corporate responsibility program, Burger King Corp. is committed to sourcing our products from sustainable suppliers. After completing a thorough review of the independent verification report conducted by Control Union Certification (CUC) and BSI Group, we believe the report has raised valid concerns about some of the sustainability practices of Sinar Mas' palm oil production and its impact on the rainforest. These practices are inconsistent with our corporate responsibility commitments.

As a result, we have decided we will no longer purchase palm oil from Sinar Mas or its subsidiaries. We are in the process of transitioning to a new palm oil supplier for the 176 Burger King restaurants that were supplied by Sinar Mas. In addition, we are notifying our suppliers of our intent to discontinue the use of palm oil supplied by Sinar Mas in the manufacturing of our products.

Burger King's announcement stems from a campaign by Greenpeace, the activist group whose efforts generated the first audit of PT Smart's operations.

Greenpeace is now pressuring other restaurants such as Pizza Hut, KFC and Dunkin' Donuts to stop using Sinar Mas.

Palm oil is used extensively in processed foods and cooking oil, but its production oftentimes harms rainforests and endangered species. Greenpeace and other activist groups’ mission is to convince palm oil producers to adopt better sustainable practices and the prohibition of new plantations on forest land.