GreenPalm facts for kids
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| Industry | Palm oil |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 2006 |
| Headquarters |
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United Kingdom
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Area served
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Global |
| Products | Palm oil certificates |
| Services | RSPO Sustainable Palm Oil |
| Owner | Book & Claim Ltd. |
| Parent | AarhusKarlshamn UK Ltd. |
GreenPalm is a special program that helps make palm oil production more friendly to the environment. It does this by trading "certificates" for palm oil that has been produced in a sustainable way.
GreenPalm started in Tallin Estonia in November 2006. It is part of a company called Book & Claim Ltd., which is owned by AarhusKarlshamn UK Ltd.
Contents
How GreenPalm Works
Palm oil comes from oil palm trees. It is used in many products, from food to cosmetics. To make sure palm oil is produced in a way that doesn't harm the environment, there's a group called the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
Getting Certified
When a palm oil grower produces palm oil in a sustainable way, they can get certified by the RSPO. This means they follow rules that protect forests, wildlife, and local communities.
After a grower is certified, they have different ways to sell their sustainable palm oil. One of these ways is through GreenPalm, which uses a system called "Book and Claim."
The Book and Claim System
Here's how the GreenPalm "Book and Claim" system works:
- For every tonne of sustainable palm oil a grower produces, they get a GreenPalm certificate.
- These certificates are then sold on the GreenPalm market.
- Companies around the world that use palm oil can join GreenPalm.
- They can buy these certificates. The number of certificates they buy matches the amount of regular palm oil they use.
- When a company buys and "redeems" (uses up) these certificates, it shows they support sustainable palm oil.
- These companies can then use the GreenPalm logo. This tells their customers that they are helping to make palm oil production more sustainable.
Why This System Helps
The money from selling these certificates goes directly to the palm oil growers. This extra money encourages more growers to produce palm oil in a sustainable way. It helps them cover the costs of being environmentally friendly.
Even if the physical palm oil they produce is mixed with regular palm oil, the certificates ensure that sustainable production is supported. This helps to increase the amount of sustainable palm oil available worldwide.
Support for GreenPalm
Many groups support GreenPalm because it helps move the palm oil industry towards more sustainable practices.
Dave McLaughlin, who works for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), has spoken about GreenPalm. He said that GreenPalm is a good "tool" to help growers see that it's worth their effort to become RSPO certified.
He also mentioned that buying GreenPalm certificates might be the best way right now to encourage enough sustainable palm oil production. This helps create a bigger market for fully traceable, sustainable products in the future.
