Greetings from Kota Kinabalu!



First day of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Conference in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. From left: Antonia Alvarado (El Paso Zoo), Lori Perkins (Zoo Atlanta), Liz Harmon (Kansas City Zoo), Tracey Gazibara (Cheyenne Mountain Zoo), Debbie Fenton (Cheyenne Mountain Zoo), and Dina Bredahl (Cheyenne Mountain Zoo) 

 Hi all!

One of the highlights of the conference today is by 2015 all palm oil purchased by Nestlé will:

• Be derived from plantations and farms operating in compliance with local laws and regulations
• Protect high conservation value forest areas
• Support the free prior and informed consent of indigenous and local communities and activities on their customary lands where plantations are developed
• Protect peatlands
• Protect forest areas of ‘high carbon’ value.

Nestle is working in partnership with TFT (The Forest Trust), a global non-profit organization that helps companies and communities understand and combine environmental and social expertise to deliver responsible products which respect the environment and improve people's lives.  Click here to read the article about Nestlé's commitment to the environment.  Nestle has developed an action plan in collaboration with TFT to understanding and mapping the supply chain and initiating contact with all suppliers.  In one year, Greenpeace has praised Nestle for its commitment to no deforestation and their serious attempt to raise the bar. 

Although Nestle buys less than one percent of the worlds palm oil they are acknowledging the severity of the Palm Oil Crisis and its devastation on the environment.  Hopefully other companies will take a look at their palm oil consumption and become better stewards of the environment as well. 

Antonia