Greenpeace praises Nestle's environmental move
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International environment conservancy campaigner organization Greenpeace praised the move taken by Nestle, the world's biggest food and beverage firm that announced Monday its willingness to stop using products that come from rainforest destruction, a statement released by Greenpeace said in Jakarta on Monday.
The move follows a two month Greenpeace campaign that exposed Nestle's use of palm oil in some of its products.
The expansion of palm oil and pulp plantations is driving the destruction of Indonesia's rainforests and peat lands, pushing endangered orang-utans to the brink of extinction, the statement said.
"We are delighted that Nestle plans to give orang-utans a break and we call on other international retailers to do the same. Since the beginning of our campaign, hundreds of thousands of people have contacted Nestle to say that they will not buy products linked to rainforest destruction," Pat Venditti, Greenpeace International Forest Campaign Head, said in the statement.
Under its new policy, Nestle commits to identify and exclude companies from its supply chain that owns or manage 'high risk plantations or farms linked to deforestation'.
"Nestle's move sends a clear message to the rest of the palm oil and paper industries that rainforest destruction is not acceptable in the global marketplace. They need to clean up their act and move to implement a moratorium on rainforest destruction and full peat land protection. Greenpeace will closely monitor and push for the rapid implementation of Nestl's plan," Venditti said.
Global demand for both palm oil and paper from Indonesia is increasing, with industries' expanding into Indonesia's forests and peat lands. As a result, the country has one of the fastest rates of forest destruction on the planet and is the world's third largest greenhouse gas emitter.
Palm oil is used in a huge range of products - from chocolate, toothpaste and cosmetics to so-called 'climate friendly' biofuels.
"The Indonesian government must also take tough action against deforestation. It must protect our country's carbon rich peatland and rainforests as well as the reputation of the palm oil and paper industries by establishing a moratorium on forest destruction and full peat land protection," Bustar Maitar, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Forest Team Leader said.
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