Beiersdorf and WWF extend sustainable palm oil cooperation until 2026

By Julia Wray 24-Jan-2023

Ingredients

Ingredients supplier Evonik will also be onboarded as a new partner for the project

Palm oil plantation in central Kalimantan, image: Matthieu Paley

Beiersdorf and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) are stepping up their joint commitment to protecting the environment in Borneo for another four years.
 
The Nivea and La Prairie owner will support the WWF’s nature conservation project in West Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island, with the aim of preventing further destruction of rainforests.
 
The partners hope to achieve this by promoting the cultivation of sustainable palm oil and improving living standards for smallholders.
 
Specialty chemicals company Evonik, which supplies palm (kernel) oil derivatives to Beiersdorf, will also be involved in the project as a new partner.
 
Beiersdorf and the WWF have been working with smallholders in the Kapuas Hulu district of Borneo since 2018, setting up a small farmers’ association called Mitra Bersama.
 
In the second phase of the project, running until June 2026, 200 members of Mitra Bersama, who together have around 300 hectares of land, are to be certified according to the RSPO standard.

Another goal of the second phase of the project is for the smallholders to have direct market access to a palm oil mill.

“The project by Beiersdorf, Evonik and the WWF combines transformative corporate goals with local nature conservation, which makes our collaboration special,” said Silke Düwel-Rieth, Head of Economics and Markets at WWF Germany.

“Together we are strengthening sustainable palm oil production in order to maintain healthy, species-rich forest systems,”

In the long term, Beiersdorf and Evonik intend to source palm (kernel) oil derivatives for their products directly from the project region.

The two companies are also working with WWF on a palm oil project in the Tabin region of Malaysian Borneo.

Beiersdorf uses round about 30,000 metric tons of palm (kernel) oil derivatives per year to manufacture its skin and body care products, including the Nivea and Eucerin brands.