Why is sustainability important?
According to the Global Footprint Network, we are already consuming 1.5 times more than the earth is able to renew each year. To bring our material and energy credit card back into balance we need to reduce our resource draw by 33%.
While biodiversity is essential for sustainable development and human well-being, as it underpins the provision of food, fiber and water as well as mitigates and provides resilience to climate change, humans impact the physical environment in many ways: overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation.
Sustainability looks to meet the needs of people and their communities and organizations not just in the near term but over the long term. It’s about people and their needs. Therefore, “Sustainability” is not a buzzword, it is a choice. It is a NECESSITY.
Why should we choose sustainable palm oil?
The production of palm oil has been associated with biodiversity loss—As many oil palm is grown in species-rich tropics, and it has become one of the most in-demand agricultural commodities over the past several years– Palm oil and its derivatives are common ingredients in everything from peanut butter and snack foods to shampoo and toothpaste. As such, it has also become a significant driver of deforestation.
The IUCN report, Oil palm and biodiversity, found that palm oil is damaging global biodiversity, with 193 species assessed as threatened on the IUCN Red List affected, and orangutans, gibbons and tigers among species suffering severe harm.
However, since Oil palms produce 35% of the world’s vegetable oil on under 10% of the land allocated to oil crops, if we ban or boycott palm oil, more land-hungry oils will likely take its place. Eventually displacing, not halting, biodiversity loss.
To slow down or even end the destruction, it is essential to work towards sustainable palm oil that is more friendly to the environment, and to improve the planning of new oil palm plantations to avoid the clearing of tropical forest or peatland areas, and better management of forest patches left untouched in plantations, known as set-asides.
A.S. Watson Group Pledges to support the use of sustainable palm oil
We know our customers are increasingly aware of sustainability issues and therefore expect your chosen brands to share the same values as you do. As the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer, A.S. Watson is proud to enhance public awareness on sustainability issues.
As part of our commitment towards sustainability, we has taken a Group membership with the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil, a leading organisation promoting social and environmental compliance in the palm oil industry. We feel it is our responsibility to do MORE, so we are making a commitment to create a more sustainable environment and offer more sustainable product choices to our customers.
