Palm Oil City Chester the first Sustainable in the World

In 2019 Chester became the first Sustainable Palm Oil (SPO) City in the world, as a result of a long-running campaign led by conservationists at Chester Zoo.

TO ACHIEVE THIS REMARKABLE status more than 50 organisations in the city of Chester had to 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.

One of the early companies to sign up to this ambitious initiative was Hillyer McKeown (HM) Solicitors

Richard Burnett, from Hillyer McKeown (HM) Solicitors says: “The campaign led by Chester Zoo felt hugely ambitious, and as an innovative business ourselves, we jumped at the chance to support the Zoo and Chester achieving the 1st SPO City status. Faye Sherlock provided information and after asking staff if they would like to get involved, straight away colleagues came forward. At first it was a steep learning curve for us all. It became clear that people (including us!) were confused about how to choose sustainable options – largely because of the many names used for palm oil. We began by auditing products used in our office and worked with supply chains to swap to sustainable alternatives – with help from the Zoo to choose the right brands. As well as company-wide changes and promoting SPO online, we encouraged colleagues to ‘Make One Swap’ to a sustainable product each month.

“When news came in that Chester achieved its goal and HM had become the First SPO Workplace in the World we were incredibly proud. As an SPO Champion we continue raising awareness of the campaign and the challenges of switching products.

“Looking back on where the campaign for Chester began compared to today, we believe that this was the beginning of a significant shift in people’s perception. The huge impact of Chester’s campaign became more obvious when it featured in the Earthshot Prize 2021 – putting SPO in front of a global audience. The ambitious plan continues, and we look forward to SPO becoming the norm not the exception.”

What were the origins of the initiative?

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. In September 2017 Chester Zoo launched an ambitious, major new conservation campaign to make Chester the first city in the world to source its palm oil from entirely sustainable sources.

The Zoo wanted to do something innovative; something game-changing; something that could have a significant impact on shaping the future of our planet. It wanted Chester to lead the way on an issue that’s vitally important to the long-term survival of many iconic species.

Local collaboration

To achieve Sustainable Palm Oil City status, the zoo needed to get representation from key organisations across Chester. Chez Jules was the first Chester business to commit to the project. All of its champions took steps to put in place a sustainable palm oil policy, switching products from unsustainable sources to sustainable ones and some went even further.

To achieve Sustainable Palm Oil City Status, the initiative had to reach five stars:

• Star 1 - 25 restaurants, cafes, hotels and fast-food outlets

• Star 2 - Five workplaces that offer staff catering services

• Star 3 - Two of five schools (local authority, catering provider for the majority of schools or consortium of schools), colleges, universities, council food outlets (a key catering provider to a large proportion of council outlets) and hospitals (key catering provider)

• Star 4 - Three visitor attractions or leisure facilities (zoo, aquarium, football club, gym)

• Star 5 - Three manufacturers or retailers based in the city