Following the announcement that Dr Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, is an ambassador for the Dorset Sustainable Palm Oil Community the project is leaping ahead.

Dr Goodall joins the 36 businesses and organisations across Dorset that have already committed to only using sustainable palm oil via the Dorset Sustainable Palm Oil Community (DSPOC).

Another 15 hospitality businesses are needed, as well as five workplaces with more than 20 people in order to become the world’s first sustainable palm oil county.

Operations director of Efeca, Lucy Cullinane, said a lot of work had gone on behind the scenes to get to this stage “and having Dr Jane Goodall now onboard is a huge leap forwards for this project.”

Efeca, a specialist on responsible sourcing of agricultural commodities, set up the DSPOC initiative within the Chester Zoo Sustainable Palm Oil Communities initiative that was launched in 2017.

The DSPOC, funded by Efeca, has now reached 13 towns and seven villages in Dorset within the space of a year, including Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Dorchester, Weymouth, Bridport, Shaftesbury and Gillingham to name a few.

The forward thinking 36 Dorset-based businesses and organisations committed to only using sustainable palm oil include the RNLI College, Bournemouth University, Compass Group, YMCA Bournemouth, The Green House Hotel and many more organisations as well as schools and restaurants.

They are now joined by the legendary Dr Jane Goodall who is a long-term Bournemouth resident.

Dr Goodall is a world-renowned ethologist and conservationist known for her study into the lives of wild chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania now spanning more than 60 years.  She is the author of 50 books and there are now 25 Jane Goodall Institutes around the world including in the UK based in Lymington.

Dr Goodall founded Roots & Shoots her humanitarian and environmental programme empowering young people of all ages to become involved in hands-on projects of their choosing to benefit the community, animals and the environment and there are groups in the Bournemouth area – www.rootsnshoots.org.uk.

Palm oil is the most efficient vegetable oil in the world and supports the livelihoods of millions, but it can be linked to serious environmental and social impacts. Supporting sustainable palm oil is important to ensure this key commodity is produced and consumed responsibly.

Efeca has been working tirelessly with businesses over the last year to help them to check their supply chains, and has worked to engage with and educate stakeholders on certified sustainable palm oil options as well as the issues associated with palm oil.

“Working with an organisation to become a champion is not an especially long process,” Cullinane continues, “but it does require an input and investment of time from the organisation themselves as they audit their current stock and supplies to see if they contain unsustainable palm oil.”

Rachel Eyre, sustainable procurement manager at Foodbuy UK (part of Compass Group UK&I) comments: “Transforming the palm oil supply chain is not something that can be done by one company alone. We have committed to have 100% sustainable palm oil in food products by the end of 2022 and now that we have joined the Dorset Sustainable Palm Oil Community (DSPOC), we are encouraging clients in the area to join the pledge alongside us, involving their other food providers too. Joining DSPOC for us is the first step in creating a domino effect of commitments to sustainable palm oil, ensuring that collaborative action takes place across the supply chain.”

Efeca is on the lookout for more Dorset businesses and organisations to join the Dorset Sustainable Palm Oil Community initiative with the hope that this will eventually spread across the whole of the UK, with other Sustainable Palm Oil Communities already operating and growing across the country.

For more information, visit Efeca’s website: https://www.efeca.com/