September 2025
Focus topics for 2025: innovation, biodiversity and social responsibility
Building on the new strategy for 2025 onwards, the Swiss Palm Oil Network has worked with external experts and NGOs to develop a set of focus topics, which have now been jointly approved by the members.
In future, the network will focus on the following three key areas in its work with suppliers and in local projects:
- Ecological innovations in cultivation and mills
- Promotion of biodiversity
- Improvement of living and working conditions for people in the growing regions
With these three focus areas, the Swiss Palm Oil Network is underlining its holistic and forward-looking approach to sustainable palm oil.
June 2025
Protecting coastal areas – partnership in the Solomon Islands
In June 2025, representatives from Florin, Migros and HUG travelled to the Solomon Islands to assess the progress of their sustainable palm oil cultivation project. In addition to installing six solar-powered water tanks to provide a secure drinking water supply for 4,000 people, significant progress has also been made in protecting and restoring sensitive riparian zones.
Landowners and smallholders are actively involved in reforestation and regular monitoring of these areas, which are important for water quality and biodiversity – this is important because the young trees take years to reach full maturity and community protection is essential.
The example of the Solomon Islands shows how local projects can strengthen both nature and the community – and thus make the entire palm oil supply chain more sustainable. For the future, there are plans to expand the cooperation to other focus areas of the Swiss Palm Oil Network.
Further insights can be found in the full travel report.
November 2024
New goals from 2025
Five years after its foundation, the Swiss Palm Oil Network has revised its strategy. By signing a new declaration of intent, the member companies are setting the course for the coming years. In future, in addition to crude palm oil, also in purchased, processed food and non-food products only certified palm oil is to be used. The network will also continue to be involved in the further development of standards such as the RSPO. Further impetus is provided by compliance with additional criteria, dialogue with suppliers and direct involvement in the countries of origin.
To the declaration of intent of the Swiss Palm Oil Network
September 2024
Use of palm oil in Switzerland
Last year, the Swiss Palm Oil Network was commissioned by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) to analyse the breakdown of imports and use of palm oil in Switzerland across various sectors and products. Despite a difficult data situation and a wide range of estimates, exciting findings were obtained that the public debate on the subject would not necessarily have led us to expect: the majority of palm oil used in Switzerland is not for food, but for products in the non-food sector, such as soaps, detergents and candles.
The Swiss Palm Oil Network is therefore taking the study as an opportunity to create the conditions for the future involvement of non-food companies.
To the study ‘Background report on imports and use of palm oil in Switzerland in 2022’ (German only)
May 2024
20 years of RSPO – welcome home!
After being founded in Switzerland 20 years ago by WWF and Migros, among others, the Swiss Palm Oil Network welcomed a delegation from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) from Malaysia to Switzerland.
Together with representatives of WWF Switzerland and SECO Economic Cooperation and Development, several members of the palm oil network exchanged views on current developments, such as the upcoming EU deforestation directive and its significance for Swiss companies, as well as future improvements to the RSPO standard in the areas of climate protection and biodiversity.
Link >> More information on the history and milestones of the last 20 years
June 2023
Together, develop measures for the conservation of tropical forests
Ongoing deforestation in Asia, Africa and Latin America is having a negative impact on people’s livelihoods. This accelerates climate change and decreases biodiversity. The Platform for Sustainable Cocoa, the Soy and Palm Oil Network and the Coffee Interest Group decided at the Gurten in Bern on 28 June 2023 to tackle the challenge of deforestation together in the future.
June 2022
Landscape Projects in Indonesia
SECO is launching a call for proposals for landscape projects in 2 to 3 Indonesian districts on the islands of Kalimantan, Sumatra and/or Sulawesi. Organisations and companies of all sectors are invited to submit project proposals by 21 August.
