Information about palm oil from ABC Bakers, GSSNE's Girl Scout Cookie baker:
ABC Bakers is aware of and sensitive to concerns about the sustainability of palm oil production. The world’s food supply is intricately tied to the use of palm oil, which is an ingredient found in the majority of baked snacks sold in North America. Palm oil is used in many of the products on supermarket shelves, from margarine and chocolate to ice cream, soaps, and cosmetics. It’s smooth and odorless, making it an ideal ingredient for baked goods. When we eliminated trans fats from our cookies, we evaluated a number of alternatives to partially hydrogenated soybean oil. To maintain product quality, we determined that palm oil was our best alternative, and we continue to evaluate other oils. Additionally, growing palm oil requires less land in comparison to other vegetable oils and supports the livelihoods of more than 4 million farmers globally.
ABC Bakers is an official member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a non-profit organization of growers, buyers, manufacturers, conservationists, and other interested parties striving to develop and follow best practices to ensure an ethical supply chain. From 2015 to 2020, all the palm oil used in our Girl Scout cookies was sourced exclusively from RSPO members through RSPO Credits, which support sustainable palm oil production practices. In 2021, we completed the next step in our sustainable palm oil journey by elevating our certification of the palm oil used for Girl Scout Cookies to RSPO Certified Mass Balance palm oil. Working in partnership with our customers and suppliers, we continue to evolve our oil supply.
Thanks to the encouragement of and partnership with Girl Scout members, GSUSA and ABC Bakers have realized the power of the Girl Scout brand to make a positive difference in the move towards sustainably produced and ethically sourced palm oil.
