UK cities and towns join Sustainable Palm Oil City movement

We’ve been celebrating as Oxford and Newquay have committed to become Sustainable Palm Oil Cities and towns – following a model developed for the city of Chester by wildlife conservationists here at the zoo.

The major initiative – spearheaded by conservationists at Chester Zoo – is designed to protect wildlife habitats and prevent the extinction of species such as orangutans. Unsustainable production of palm oil is wiping out huge areas of rainforest – in order to provide the ingredient for food and household products consumed in the UK and around the world.

Chester became world’s first Sustainable Palm Oil City earlier this year. Now, Oxford, and Newquay are the first to commit to the scheme as it rolls out nationwide. The movement requires restaurants, schools, workplaces and attractions across each city to support sustainable palm oil, which conservationists proclaim is the best way to prevent habitat destruction for wildlife such as orangutans.

Conservationists from the zoo developed the Sustainable Palm Oil City model based on the framework created by the Sustainable Fish Cities project, led by independent group Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming.

“The campaign in Chester has helped businesses to influence their suppliers to switch to sustainable ingredients. These changes have then been passed along the chain to other customers. It’s a snowball effect.”

“Now we will see that effect spread around the UK. We are on the cusp of making sustainable palm oil the norm.”

“Thank you to the pioneering leaders in Chester, Oxford and Newquay for taking action. We are also in talks with a number of major global cities. Action is urgent, but it is not too late to save species.”

Conservationists have long advocated that embracing sustainable palm oil and halting deforestation is the best solution to the palm oil crisis. If consumers and organisations were to stop using palm oil entirely, an alternative supply would need to be found for the global demand for edible vegetable oils. Because other oil crops – such as coconuts, soya, olives, sunflowers and maize – are less productive per square kilometre, even more land would need to be converted to agriculture.

“Boycotting palm oil will push the problems elsewhere, so the only way to prevent extinction is to embrace sustainable palm oil.

“Sometimes environmental issues make people feel powerless. But with palm oil, we can all make a difference. By embracing a more sustainable future, we can stop this crisis.”

More than 50 organisations in Chester signed the sustainable palm oil pledge earlier in 2019. Restaurants and food outlets throughout the city now display the campaign logo in their shop windows – to help raise awareness among consumers and to enable sustainable choices.

Larger organisations in the city have also embraced the scheme, including school meal food providers Edsential, who provide more than 5.5 million meals for children each year. In a significant next step, conservation leaders in Oxford and Newquay have now committed to achieving Sustainable Palm Oil City status too. The campaign is backed by conservationists at the Orangutan Land Trust and the Sumatran Orangutan Society, and is endorsed by prominent wildlife organisations such as the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), as well as palm oil sustainability consultants Murdoch Associates and Efeca.