Tokmanni issues an important policy on the use of palm oil – All of Tokmanni’s private label products will contain only sustainably produced palm oil by the end of 2021

Tokmanni     Press release     17 September 2021 at 1:50 p.m.

According to a policy issued by Tokmanni, Finland’s leading variety discount retailer, all its private label products will contain only sustainably produced palm oil by the end of this year. Tokmanni is also increasing the use of RSPO-certified palm oil in its technochemical private label products, such as cosmetics, detergents and cleaning products. With its policy, Tokmanni is further strengthening its long-term work to promote sustainability.

The use of sustainably produced palm oil is extremely important because it prevents the production of palm oil, which is used in many food products, for example, from spreading to new tropical rainforest areas, and from threatening biodiversity and causing deforestation and significant greenhouse gas emissions.

“Focusing on sustainable, certified palm oil production is important because palm oil generates significant revenues in its production areas, for example. At the same time, sustainable palm oil production promotes the realisation of human rights not only for production workers, but also for indigenous peoples,” says Terhi Uusitalo, Project Manager, Sustainability at Tokmanni.

RSPO-certification is issued by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a non-profit organisation. It promotes sustainable palm oil production, taking into account ecological, social and economic aspects. Its more than 500 members include palm oil producers and processors, food industry companies and chains of stores, as well as associations, such as the WWF. Tokmanni joined the RSPO in early 2021.

In line with its palm oil policy, Tokmanni approves the following supply chain systems: Mass Balance (MB), Segregated (SG) and Identity Preserved (ID).

Customers can already purchase several RSPO-certified products at Tokmanni.

“Our food product selection has included RSPO-certified products even before this. However, this year we have replaced the palm oil in all our private label food products with RSPO-certified palm oil. In addition, our first technochemical products containing RSPO-certified palm oil became available for sale in the Skin Menu product line under our Pisara brand last summer,” Uusitalo explains.

“This autumn, the palm oil in all the Kotikulta candles to be introduced in our selection will be RSPO-certified.”

Important work to develop sustainability

Practical goals guide the development of sustainability at Tokmanni. The company has identified palm oil, wood, fish and cotton as raw materials to which it pays special attention in terms of origin. Tokmanni has previously updated its cotton and fish policies, and its wood policy will be updated during 2021. In line with its cotton policy, Tokmanni will replace the cotton in all its private label products with sustainably produced cotton by 2024. Tokmanni’s fish policy is based on the WWF seafood guide.

As part of its important sustainability work, Tokmanni carries out factory audits and has audits conducted by independent third parties. The factories used by Tokmanni are included in the BSCI system or equivalent. Last year, 94% of the factories had been audited. Tokmanni’s climate targets comply with the Paris Agreement and have been officially approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Tokmanni aims to be carbon neutral in 2025 regarding its own operations (i.e., Scope 1 and 2 emissions).


Read more about Tokmanni’s sustainability work at ir.tokmanni.fi/en/sustainability.


TOKMANNI


For further information, please contact:


Terhi Uusitalo
Project Manager, Sustainability

Tel. +358 20 728 7847
terhi.uusitalo(at)tokmanni.fi


Maarit Mikkonen
Head of IR and Communications

Tel. +358 40 562 2282
maarit.mikkonen(at)tokmanni.fi


Calls to a corporate number beginning with +358 20 7 from a landline or a mobile phone are EUR 0.0835 per minute + EUR 0.1669 per minute (incl. VAT 24%). Calls from outside Finland are subject to an international call charge.


Tokmanni is Finland’s leading variety discount retailer. Some 4,000 Tokmanni employees make customers’ everyday life and special occasions easier by offering a versatile and up-to-date assortment of Finnish and international brand-name products and other high-quality products at prices that are always affordable. With nearly 200 stores around Finland and an online store, Tokmanni is always close to its customers. Tokmanni’s revenue in 2020 amounted to EUR 1,073.2 million. Tokmanni shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.