Fries, Face Wash, Forests

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analyzed 40 major US brands across the packaged food, personal care, fast food, and store-brand sectors to assess their palm oil sustainability commitments. While 21 of 30 companies previously scored in 2014 improved their practices, the report finds a wide disparity in leadership, with the packaged food sector leading and the fast food sector performing the worst. Despite an increase in corporate pledges, 32 of 40 companies lack adequate commitments to ensure transparency and traceability in their supply chains, and none of the 40 companies are currently sourcing 100 percent deforestation-free and peat-free palm oil.

• The packaged foods sector is the leader in palm oil commitments, with Nestlé, Danone, and Kellogg Co. identified as the three highest scoring companies in the scorecard. Nine out of ten packaged food companies improved their commitments or sourcing between 2014 and 2015.
• The fast food industry is the worst-performing sector, with most companies showing minimal movement. Dunkin’ Brands is the only fast food company with a commitment requiring the full protection of tropical forests and peatlands, while five companies—CKE Restaurants, Dairy Queen, Domino’s, Wendy’s, and Yum! Brands—received zero points.
• In the personal care sector, eight of ten companies improved their commitments or sourcing. L’Oréal, Colgate-Palmolive, Henkel, and Procter & Gamble have committed to full forest and peat protections, while Clorox is the only company in the sector with a score of zero.
• Store brands generally fall short of industry standards. Safeway is the only company in this new category to fully commit to deforestation-free and peat-free palm oil and the only one with a traceability commitment. Six companies—Costco, CVS, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Target, and Walgreens—have no commitments or ones too weak to receive points.
• There is a significant gap between corporate pledges and actual implementation. None of the 40 companies examined are currently sourcing 100 percent deforestation-free and peat-free palm oil, and only Nestlé reports using any palm oil that fulfills these requirements.
• A majority of companies lack the necessary accountability measures to verify their claims. Specifically, 32 of 40 companies do not have adequate commitments to ensure they can transparently trace their palm oil to land not obtained by clearing forests or draining peatlands.
• Irresponsible palm oil production contributes to climate change and biodiversity loss. Tropical deforestation accounts for approximately 10 percent of annual global carbon dioxide emissions, and in Indonesia, oil palm cultivation accounted for an estimated 2 to 9 percent of all tropical land use emissions from 2000 to 2010.

APA

Anair, D., Mahmassani, A., Goodman, L. K., & Sharma, A. R. (2015). Fries, Face Wash, Forests. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/04/ucs-palm-oil-scorecard-2015.pdf

Chicago

Anair, Don, Amine Mahmassani, Lael K. Goodman, and Asha R. Sharma. Fries, Face Wash, Forests. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2015. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/04/ucs-palm-oil-scorecard-2015.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Anair |first1=Don |last2=Mahmassani |first2=Amine |last3=Goodman |first3=Lael K. |last4=Sharma |first4=Asha R. |title=Fries, Face Wash, Forests |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=April 2015 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/04/ucs-palm-oil-scorecard-2015.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{anair2015fries, author = {Anair, Don and Mahmassani, Amine and Goodman, Lael K. and Sharma, Asha R.}, title = {{Fries, Face Wash, Forests}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2015}, month = apr, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/04/ucs-palm-oil-scorecard-2015.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }