As of January 2019, The Forest Trust has become Earthworm Foundation.

To save the world’s forests, French ecology minister Ségolène Royal’s directive to put down the Nutella and other palm-oil containing products is the wrong approach. A boycott risks rerouting palm oil sales to less regulated markets, or worse, crashing local economies and leading to desperate survival activities that are neither good for the forests nor the people who need to be making a sustainable livelihood alongside them. We need a different strategy.

At TFT, we have found that it is engagement not isolation that will stop the chainsaws, protect the orang-utans and help lift forest-based communities out of poverty. We have been working with the palm oil industry since 2010 – and in that short time we have seen growing company commitments to achieving no deforestation and no exploitation in palm oil supply chains – commitments that now cover more than 80% of the palm oil trade. TFT member companies also promise full transparency – tracing their supply chains back to the plantations where fruit is grown so they can make sure it is picked and processed in ways respectful to nature and people. The industry has proven it can change for the better – and Ferrero, the owner of Nutella and a TFT member, is one of the companies working with TFT to ensure that it does. We are not there yet, but we are well on the way. Now we need 100% of industry players on board, and a global effort of engagement and monitoring to make sure commitments keep turning into real change.

Scott Poynton
Founder, TFT