Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) palm oil imports are sustainably sourced and (b) the effect of those products on deforestation is assessed effectively.

In 2006, the Government published a study into the environmental impacts of a number of commodities; it noted that the principle environmental impact of palm oil was deforestation.

In 2012 we published the UK Statement on the Sustainable Production of Palm Oil; which was signed by trade associations, NGOs and Government. The 2017 review notes that signatories have achieved a high level of success in delivering the Statement’s ambition of working towards 100% sourcing of credibly certified sustainable palm oil by the end of 2015.

The government is committed to supporting the implementation of deforestation-free supply chains for key commodities, including palm oil. We are signatory to the Amsterdam Declarations and have endorsed the New York Declaration on Forests which support a fully sustainable palm oil supply chain from 2020. We are also a member of Tropical Forest Alliance 2020; a public-private co-operation working to help organisations achieve their deforestation-free commitments, eliminate illegality from supply chains and improve the quality and availability of deforestation and supply chain data.