General Mills Focuses on Sustainability in Palm Oil

General Mills is reinforcing its long-standing commitment to sustainable sourcing of palm oil. As a buyer of palm oil, the company is working hard to ensure that it does not accept any ingredients or packing materials that may be associated with deforestation.

Palm production in regions along the equatorial zone, where palm is largely grown, is commonly associated with deforestation. General Mills has publicly voiced its concerns regarding the role of palm oil expansion in the deforestation of tropical rainforests and its effects on biodiversity and endangered species.

General Mills made a commitment in 2010 to achieve 100 percent sustainable and responsible sourcing of palm oil by 2015. It also made a pledge to purchase ingredients only from firms that were members of the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The company continues to support the efforts of the RSPO to promote and certify sustainable palm oil production practices globally.

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Vikas is a staff writer for the Sustainable Development news and editorial section on Justmeans. He is an MBA with 20 years of managerial and entrepreneurial experience and global travel. He is the author of "The Power of Money" (Scholars, 2003), a book that presents a revolutionary monetary economic theory on poverty alleviation in the developing world. Vikas is also the official writer for an international social project for developing nations "Decisions for Life" run in collaboration between the ILO, the University of Amsterdam and the Indian Institute of Management.