JAKARTA, INDONESIA, 16 JULY 2012 – The first RSPO trademarked product in Indonesia hit the shelves of Carrefour today in the company’s own branded ECOplanet cooking oil. The entry of this product in the second largest palm oil consuming market in the world is a significant development in supporting responsible cultivation and sourcing of sustainable palm oil by one of the world’s largest international retailers.
Carrefour ECOplanet cooking oil is made from 100% Indonesian grown palm oil.. This product is audited against strict safety control keeping in mind environmental aspects . This is to ensure that product has a lower carbon footprint.
RSPO certification at the plantation level and the Trademark on the end product completes the loop from upstream to downstream within the supply chain and will reflect that sustainable oil palm cultivation does not contribute to the sustained destruction of valuable tropical forests or damage the interests of people in the regions where the palms are grown.
As a leadership step in an affirmative direction within the retail sector, Carrefour has declared its aspirations towards 100% Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) by 2015. Since 2010, Carrefour has been purchasing RSPO GreenPalm certificates for its own brand products that are sold in France.
“We believe that the launch of ECOplanet cooking oil, the first RSPO certified sustainable palm oil product in Indonesia, strengthens Carrefour’s commitment towards sustainability. Sustainability is the heart of any businesses and we are proud to lead this initiative with Indonesia taking the leadership in the global arena. With the launch of this product, Carrefour is ultimately showcasing its commitment to its consumers who are increasingly becoming more discerning and ethical in their choices. Consumers now have an opportunity to play their part in contributing towards sustainable development in Indonesia.” said Adji Srihandoyo, Corporate Affairs Director, PT Carrefour, Indonesia.
Darrel Webber, Secretary General of RSPO comments on Carrefour’s commitment toward sustainability: “This innovation by Carrefour in the sustainable sphere by being the first international organization to launch the RSPO Trademark in the second largest consuming palm oil market in the world, will undoubtedly catapult the reality of our vision to transform markets. It should blaze the trail in inspiring other players within the Indonesian palm oil supply chain to transform the palm oil industry into a sustainable industry.”
“The RSPO Trademark which is displayed on the packaging of ECOplanet cooking oil that contain palm-derived ingredients sourced in compliance with the RSPO standards, will be able to increase the awareness of Carrefour’s customers towards responsible choices. The RSPO Trademark which was introduced a year ago provides the right momentum for Carrefour to intensively educate the public on the benefits and values of product that contains certified sustainable palm oil. This is a milestone in the history of the RSPO and Carrefour in Indonesia. This initiative marks RSPO’s commitment and capacity towards its member organizations and the industry at large to encourage sustainable production of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil,” Webber commented.
In line with its support to the development of sustainable palm oil in Indonesia, Carrefour recently announced its presentation of over IDR 165 million of premiums to smallholder farmers from PT Hindoli, Cargill’s RSPO certified oil palm plantation in South Sumatra, Indonesia. The premiums, from the purchase of RSPO GreenPalm Certificates, affirm Carrefour’s commitment to sustainable business practices. In May, Carrefour launched its support to 250 households of palm oil smallholders in Ukui Sub-district, Pelalawan, Riau, to obtain RSPO certification. The initiative funded by Carrefour Foundation willl make this the first independent smallholders group to be RSPO-certified in Indonesia.
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Carrefour Indonesia
Carrefour started its activities in Indonesia since 1998. Until now a total of 84 spread out in Indonesia under the Carrefour brand, Carrefour and Carrefour Market Express in 28 regencies/cities in Indonesia, Medan, Batam, Palembang, Jakarta, Attack, Depok, Jakarta, Tangerang, Cikarang, Falkirk, Cibinong, Bandung, Cirebon, Yogyakarta, Solo, Pekalongan, Semarang, Madison, Surabaya, Jember, Malang, Makassar, Denpasar, Singaraja, Pontianak, Mojokerto, and Pasuruan. Currently, Carrefour partners with more than 4,000 suppliers from all over Indonesia and up to 70% of this amount is included in the category of Small and Medium Enterprises. Through Carrefour, the supplier can provide access to customers to tens of thousands of products that 90% of them are local products.
About RSPO
In response to the urgent and pressing global call for sustainably produced palm oil, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders. The seat of the association is in Zurich, Switzerland, while the secretariat is currently based in Kuala Lumpur with a satellite office in Jakarta.
RSPO is a not-for-profit association that unites stakeholders from seven sectors of the palm oil industry - oil palm producers, palm oil processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation NGOs and social or developmental NGOs - to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil.
Such multi-stakeholder representation is mirrored in the governance structure of RSPO such that seats in the Executive Board and project level Working Groups are fairly allocated to each sector. In this way, RSPO lives out the philosophy of the "roundtable" by giving equal rights to each stakeholder group to bring group-specific agendas to the roundtable, facilitating traditionally adversarial stakeholders and business competitors to work together towards a common objective and making decisions by consensus.
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For further information, kindly contact:
Contact for Carrefour:
Hendrik Adrianto, Head of External Communication and Corporate Social Responsibility |
PT. Carrefour Indonesia | T: +62 21 2758 5800 ext.55989 | Mobile: + 62 – 8111680053 |
[email protected]
Contact for RSPO Indonesia:
Desi Kusumadewi, RSPO Indonesia Director | T: +62 21 5794 0222 |
[email protected] 
