Member Article

Leading law firm joins movement to champion world’s first Sustainable Palm Oil city

Chester law firm Aaron & Partners have joined forces with other organisations in their home city as part of a campaign to become the world’s first Sustainable Palm Oil City.

The campaign – led by Chester Zoo – has seen Aaron & Partners, along with over 50 other organisations across Chester, revolutionise their supply chains and commit to sourcing palm oil – a vegetable oil used in thousands of household products from food items to cleaning materials and cosmetics - from entirely sustainable sources.

Oil palm plantations are causing widespread habitat destruction in South East Asian rainforests, pushing iconic species such as orangutans and tigers to the edge of extinction.

But now, under the guidance of conservation experts from Chester Zoo, an unprecedented collaboration of businesses, restaurants, schools and manufacturers from across the city of Chester have united to help tackle the crisis.

Keith McKinney, Head of the CSR committee and Senior Associate in Planning, Environmental, Energy and Regulation at Aaron & Partners said: “We are delighted to support the campaign for Chester to become the first Sustainable Palm Oil city in the world.

“As a business, we’re committed to practices such as recycling and minimising waste, but we’re always looking for ways in which we can reduce the environmental impact we have on the world.

“It wasn’t an obvious project for us to get involved with, as we’re a law firm – not a restaurant or food supplier. However, it was something many of us are passionate about and wanted to be part of and we’re thrilled to be one of the key workplace champions.

“We explored ways in which we could make a difference, such as swapping the cleaning products we use in the office, carefully selecting the catering suppliers we use for events and ensuring every individual in the company is aware of the small changes they can make to their weekly shopping list to swap unsustainable products for sustainable ones.

“It has been a pleasure to be at the forefront of this successful movement, and hopefully other law firms, organisations and cities will follow suit.”

Conservationists from Chester Zoo developed the Sustainable Palm Oil City model based on the framework created by the Sustainable Fish Cities project, led by independent group Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming. The campaign is backed by the Orangutan Land Trust and the Sumatran Orangutan Society and endorsed by key conservation organisations such as the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA).

The initiative has been supported by a host of industry advisors such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, as well as palm oil sustainability consultants Murdoch Associates and Efeca.

Faye Sherlock, Sustainable Palm Oil City Project Officer at Chester Zoo, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have recently announced that Chester is the first Sustainable Palm Oil City in the world!

“We are so proud of each and every one of our champions, and are really grateful to companies such as Aaron and Partners for their commitment to making sustainable changes in their workplace.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna .