The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has terminated the membership of Darrell Lea Confectionery Co PTY LTD (Darrell Lea) with immediate effect on 23 October 2020 for breach of the RSPO Code of Conduct.
Darrell Lea, an RSPO Supply Chain Associate member since February 2015, was found to have violated the RSPO Code of Conduct as a result of statements made by a Darrell Lea executive advocating a boycott or reformulation of palm oil, and failing to differentiate between conventional and sustainable oils. These statements were made as part of the company’s “palm oil free” marketing campaign, which failed to correct negative public statements about the availability of sustainable palm oil as an alternative to reformulation.
The RSPO Secretariat engaged with Darrell Lea to advise the company of its obligations under the Code of Conduct, specifically Section 1.4* and to set out the actions and communications that Darrell Lea would need to take to remedy this situation. Following a further period of review, the RSPO observed no satisfactory attempts by Darrell Lea to remedy this breach, and the decision was made to proceed with the termination of RSPO Membership.
* Code of Conduct for Supply Chain Associates, Section 1.4, “Members must not make claims which imply that the removal of palm oil from a product is a preferable social or environmental sustainability outcome to the use of RSPO certified sustainable palm oil. Moreover, members shall seek to promote, and not to denigrate the aims and goals of RSPO, namely the production and use of RSPO certified sustainable palm oil.”
