Palm Oil

Originating in West Africa, oil palm is a vitally important crop for global food security, producing 40% of the world's vegetable oil and with productivity per hectare 4-10 times greater than other major vegetable oil crops. It is also distinct in the wide range of different types of fatty acids that come from it versus other crops, giving it applications across a huge range of food and non-food products. Millions of smallholder farmers also rely on it as a source of income.
 

However, oil palm grows in equatorial regions that are also home to tropical forests and other highly biodiverse ecosystems. Historically, the expansion of palm oil production has come at the expense of these forests all over the world, and particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia that account for around 80% of the world's palm oil production. This expansion has also resulted in the expropriation of indigenous territories, and exploitation of people working in the industry, particularly migrants.

The JLP is committed to playing our part to find lasting solutions to these issues. 
 

Evidence shows that palm oil can and must be produced sustainably and ethically without further forest loss or exploitation. We believe the best way to achieve that is to transform the market for sustainable palm oil around the world, and help deliver sustainable development for people in palm producing regions in ways that allow nature to continue to thrive. 
 

Procurement of certified sustainable, and deforestation and conversion of free palm derived materials in our own supply chains is an important step towards this, but given that the JLP’s usage represents less than one hundredth of one percent of global soy production, to fully achieve that vision requires broader systemic changes to global supply chains and markets. 
 

We seek to influence this by working collectively with other businesses and organisations to affect change, as well as by supporting initiatives in sourcing landscapes and communities. By doing so we seek to have an outsized positive impact for nature and people in palm oil supply chains.
 

We do not believe eliminating the use of palm oil and palm-based ingredients from products is the right thing to do to solve the problems that are associated with the industry. This view is also shared by many of the world's leading conservation organisations such as WWF and IUCN. Research shows that doing so would simply displace tropical deforestation to new locations and crops with little net benefit for the environment and with negative impacts on people’s livelihoods.

We publish an annual update on our performance against our commitments in our E&S report.

Each year, our palm oil footprint is calculated as part of a common UK retailer reporting process that we undertake managed by the sustainability consultancy 3Keel. More information about this collective process can be found here. All suppliers using palm derived ingredients in food or indirectly in animal feed are contacted about this to collect data and evidence on palm oil sourcing for the previous calendar year. 

Additional information about the breakdown of our palm sourcing footprint can be found in the transparency section below. 

Our commitments

1. Sourcing 100% deforestation and conversion free* palm-derived ingredients in all JLP own-brand products by end-2025;
2. Sourcing all of the palm-derived ingredients in our own-brand products from RSPO certified sources that use a verifiably segregated or mass-balance supply chain model;**
3. Sourcing all of the palm-derived ingredients used in animal feed by Waitrose Farming Partnership suppliers from sources that are verifiably RSPO certified;***
4. Supporting initiatives in palm sourcing landscapes to help improve livelihoods, produce more sustainably, and protect nature.

* We classify deforestation and conversion free palm ingredients as those which are verified as certified to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s (RSPO) standard, with a verifiably segregated supply chain model for chain of custody. 

Our definitions of deforestation and conversion and the cut-off date for our target are aligned with those of the Accountability Framework Initiative (AFI). Here conversion free refers to non-clearance of non-forest ecosystems for palm production. 

** Uncertified palm oil is prohibited by our policy. If it is identified, it is immediately resolved with the supplier, and RSPO independent smallholder credits are purchased to an equivalent volume. 

*** This includes the use of RSPO segregated, mass-balanced, and independent smallholder credits. 

Independent smallholders are responsible for around 40% of the production of palm oil fruit, and a significant proportion of ongoing palm-related deforestation. Buying RSPO independent smallholder credits supports and incentivises the production of responsible palm oil among small producers that operate independently from major agri-business plantations. RSPO certification helps them to improve their agricultural practices, productivity and livelihoods and to protect forests.

The John Lewis Partnership has been recognised for the second time running as the leading UK retailer for responsible sourcing of palm oil in the WWF Palm Buyers Scorecard 2024.

The John Lewis Partnership was one of the top 3 retailers globally in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oils shared responsibility scorecard.

Waitrose was the first UK retailer to assess and certify palm-derived materials in feed used by its farming partnership groups to produce meat, eggs, milk and fish. 

We have reached a point of maturity in our sourcing and that of the UK retail market where almost all ingredients in own-brand products derived from oil palm that can be sourced as RSPO Segregated, already are sourced that way.

For the remaining RSPO mass-balance volumes, most are palm and palm kernel oil derivatives and some rare fractions, of which the majority are used in home and personal care products. Currently, there is no source of RSPO Segregated materials globally for these oleochemical ingredients, due to the complex supply chains and manufacturing processes that produce them prohibiting segregation. 

Our work on palm oil is now focused on working collectively to bring online new sources of RSPO Segregated oleochemicals in the global and UK marketplace to enable us to progress further towards our sourcing commitments. We are also exploring other methods that may be used to verify the deforestation and conversion free status of palm oleochemicals in our supply chains. 

An ongoing priority is also preparing to comply with UK and EU due diligence legislation on the use of forest risk commodities in supply chains.

We believe that the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) as an organisation and its standards are an essential part of delivering a sustainable and ethical palm oil industry globally. The JLP has been an active member since 2006, and since then has consistently been working to support and strengthen the organisation and its certification standards, and help grow the market for sustainable palm oil in the UK and globally. We support the implementation of the RSPO Shared Responsibility requirements in our palm oil related operations.

One way in which we have supported the RSPO is via the Retail Palm Oil Group (RPOG), through which we have a shared seat on the RSPO’s board of directors. We also vote annually in the RSPO AGM, input into consultations, and report annually on our palm oil sourcing to the RSPO via our annual communication of progress.

The JLP is a founder member and steering group member of the Palm Oil Transparency Coalition (POTC). A coalition of businesses working together through a robust engagement and evaluation process with major palm oil importers and traders to achieve greater transparency and insight about the sourcing, commitments and performance, as a means to inform procurement decisions and drive progress towards the removal of deforestation and exploitation from the palm oil industry.

The JLP is a member of the UK Sustainable Commodities initiative and its working group on oleochemicals where we are working to better understand oleochemical supply chains through research and engagement with oleochemical producers and suppliers, and working to identify alternative routes to verifying deforestation and conversion free oleochemical supply chains. 

The JLP has advocated via consultations and joint letters to UK and EU legislators in support of due diligence legislation on forest risk commodities in supply chains, to deliver market-wide changes in sourcing of palm derived materials to deforestation and conversion free sources.

Supporting the Mului indigenous community

Since 2021, working in partnership with the Forest Conservation Fund the JLP has provided financial support to the Mului indigenous community located in East Kalimantan Indonesia to help them protect and manage their customary forests, create sustainable livelihood opportunities, and to preserve their cultural heritage. 
 

Featured article on the RSPO website

Case study of support for Mului tribe

Supporting smallholder farmers

Each year, the JLP’s additional purchase of RSPO Independent Smallholder credits for the palm derived ingredients used in animal feed helps to support the inclusion of smallholder palm producers into certified sustainable supply chains.

Responsible Sourcing of Palm Oil Policy Summary

Human Rights Policy (see sections 5.5 and 5.6, in relation to the rights of local and indigenous communities with respect to land, water and natural resources, and to free prior and informed consent.)

RSPO membership page and annual communication of progress reports