March 4/Battle Creek, MI/just-food global news -- Kellogg has said that it will support the development of sustainable palm oil by purchasing GreenPalm certificates to offset all of its palm oil use.

While the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is working toward the development of a reliable supply of segregated palm oil, it is not available outside of Europe, Kellogg said.

Moreover, the company added, the form of palm oil Kellogg uses is not available in a segregated, sustainable supply in Europe. However, Kellogg said that it is committed to purchasing sustainable palm oil as soon as there is sufficient supply and it is "financially and logistically feasible."

In the meantime, Kellogg is "helping to reduce deforestation" from palm oil production through its support of GreenPalm certificates.

"As a socially responsible company, Kellogg is committed to conducting our business in a way that reduces our environmental impact," Kellogg sustainability officer Celeste Clark said. "Concerns about the sustainable production of palm oil are clearly on our radar screen."

GreenPalm works by giving palm oil producers certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil a GreenPalm certificate for each tonne of palm oil they produce sustainably.

Manufacturers and retailers -- from Mars Inc to Marks and Spencer - then bid for and buy the certificates online as a means of encouraging the production of sustainable palm oil.

The palm oil used may in fact be conventional palm oil and not necessarily from sustainable sources, but the scheme's operators say its aim is to demonstrate to palm-oil growers that there is demand for products from sustainable sources - and encourage them to invest in ensuring their output is sustainable in the future.

From the March 21, 2011, Prepared Foods E-dition