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Krispy Kreme joins sustainable palm oil bandwagon

September 18, 2014

Following Dunkin Donuts announcement Wednesday that is has committed to sourcing only 100-percent sustainable palm oil by 2016, Krispy Kreme made a similar pledge.

On its website, Krispy Kreme said its efforts to source "responsible" palm oil began in January of this year in the US. The company asks suppliers to guarantee compliance with all sustainable palm oil production methods as defined in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil guidelines.

The company said it has purchased enough GreenPalm certificates to cover 100 percent of its estimated usage of palm oil in the US through the end of this year.  

Krispy Kreme is expanding its commitment to achieve 100-percent sourcing of sustainable palm oil.

"By the end of 2016, a large percentage, if not all of the brands palm oil usage will be sourced through some combination of RSPO certified segregated supply, RSPO mass balance mixed-source supply, and the purchase of GreenPalm certificates. All of the brands suppliers will be required to trace their palm oil sourcing to plantations that adhere to the principles for protecting forests, peat lands of any depth, and no exploitation of communities and workers; and to comply with Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil principles and criteria," the company said on its website.

Suppliers not in compliance will be required to submit an action plan to close gaps, or be removed from the brands supply chain.

With the announcements from Dunkin and Krispy Kreme, pressure now builds on Tim Hortons to follow suit. Two organizations – SumOfUs.org and Forest Heroes – are asking Tim Hortons to commit to sustainable palm oil, and 7,000 Canadians have since signed a petition on the topic.