The Sustainable Palm Oil Communities project is a behaviour change campaign launched by Chester Zoo which aims to increase the use of sustainable palm oil across different sectors of society.
When palm oil is produced unsustainably, it is linked to many negative environmental impacts including deforestation, which is one of the major key drivers of habitat loss and climate change.
As a result, this campaign advocates for sustainable palm oil which is grown in a way that protects rainforests and prevents further deforestation. By choosing to buy and sell products that contain sustainable palm oil you are increasing demand and helping to protect wildlife and habitats all over the world.
In 2019, Chester became the first ever Sustainable Palm Oil City and there are now six other communities across the UK working towards this goal.
The prestigious BBC One documentary, The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet, explored the most innovative and ambitious actions being taken to protect global biodiversity, and the brilliant minds working on solutions to save the planet.
To become a Sustainable Palm Oil Community, businesses in the area must make a change from using unsustainable to sustainable palm oil and commit to sourcing 100% sustainable palm oil in the future. This can be anything from the meals a restaurant sells, to the products a hairdresser uses.
Each community has a target number of businesses to bring on board which has been carefully calculated based on the size of the community. When a community reaches their target they will be declared a Sustainable Palm Oil Community!
Take a look below at our current communities and see if you could become a Sustainable Palm Oil Champion in your area. The stars underneath each community name shows how many ‘Star Categories’ this community has completed and how close they are to becoming a Sustainable Palm Oil Community.
