Corbion, a global supplier of sustainable biobased food and biochemical ingredients, has signed on as a member of the North American Sustainable Palm Oil Network (NASPON), through which major industry players in the region are collaborating to create a greener palm oil supply chain. The company stands out in the industry for its commitment to supplying customers with certified sustainable palm-based products, not as an option, but as a standard offering.

The NASPON was launched in December 2017 by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to educate, build momentum and assist North American companies in making and delivering on commitments to source sustainable palm oil. This year, the 17 founding members of NASPON—which include Albertsons Companies, Dunkin' Brands, Grupo Bimbo, Kellogg Company, Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo and Target—have been joined by 15 additional members, among them Aldi, Campbell Soup Company, and Colgate-Palmolive Company, along with Corbion.

"We can all benefit by working together toward our shared goals in terms of respect for human and labor rights, local communities and biodiversity, each contributing from our areas of strength," said Diana Visser, senior director of sustainability at Corbion. "The sustainability of companies throughout the value chain are interwoven to a great extent. For our part, Corbion brings the ability to provide certified-sustainable emulsifiers, helping companies who depend on these ingredients to meet their own sourcing targets."

Corbion, which has been an RSPO member since 2005, has made significant progress in converting its portfolio of palm-derived products to Mass Balance (MB) certification. ('Mass Balance' refers to sustainable palm oil from certified sources that is mixed with ordinary palm oil throughout the supply chain.) Four Corbion plants in the U.S. use palm oil. By January 1, 2019, all palm-containing products produced at two of those four plants will be RSPO MB-certified, with the exception of any products containing secondary oleochemicals such as polysorbate or ethoxylated monoglycerides (which are not yet available as MB-certified). By the first quarter of 2020, that achievement will extend to all four North American production sites.

"It's important to us and to our customers to ensure environmental and ethical integrity in all our supply chains," Visser said, "but it takes the commitment and collaboration of many players to make that possible. We expect the NASPON will accelerate our collective progress on that journey."