The brief.

In a world of complex supply chains, securing a sustainably produced commodity such as palm oil can be difficult. Even when a suitable source is found, segregating and tracking material can prove prohibitively expensive. It’s a global ‘Catch 22’ situation which GreenPalm certificate trading set out to beat. We were asked for our support, in 2008, to help get the programme off the ground.

The solution.

GreenPalm was devised by palm oil importer and processor AAK, in conjunction with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). By bypassing the physical supply chain completely, it provides a mechanism whereby palm oil producers can earn more for working sustainably, and the users of palm oil can support sustainable palm oil production, and make a supportive claim, without necessarily having sustainably sourced material in their product.

The scale of this communication challenge was huge and the complexity of the message daunting. First we had to persuade producers to join, and then convince manufacturers and retailers to buy GreenPalm certificates. To date we have used almost every communication tool in our on and offline armoury to achieve these objectives.

The result.

In just less than six years, the GreenPalm programme has over 800 members including manufacturers, retailers and certified growers. Over 10 million GreenPalm certificates have been traded, which has enabled RSPO-certified growers to earn direct premiums of over $65 million. It’s been challenging, interesting and rewarding to work on a global environmental project which really is making a difference – especially to small-scale producers of palm oil.

Visit www.greenpalm.org for up-to-date figures on certificates sold and premiums generated.