Bill Wiggin MP

The WASPO logo

About WASPO

WASPO – Wiggin Award for Sustainable Palm Oil:

The WASPO award and logo have been set up to promote the use of sustainable and orangutan-friendly palm oil. The WASPO will be awarded to any person, organisation, supermarket or producer who is working towards ensuring that the products that we buy contain palm oil that has only come from sustainable and orangutan-friendly sources. Recipients will have needed to have shown that they are taking responsibility over the future of the orangtuan and are acting with the urgency, vigour and courage necessary to save the orangutan from the brink of extinction.

Nominations are welcome from anyone and the forms are available here on the contact page.

The judging panel for the award will include Bill Wiggin MP.

The rapid growth in demand for palm oil has pushed the orangutan population, already under pressure from other sources of deforestation, closer to the brink of extinction.

Since the 1990s 10 million hectares of rainforest have been lost for oil palm plantations and this has caused tremendous levels of destruction and fragmentation to orangutan habitats.

Palm oil is found in one in three products on British supermarket shelves and in particular food and cosmetics.

Palm oil is also used as a biofuel and with the demand for greener fuels increasing, more rainforests are likely to be cleared for oil palm plantations. That is why it is so important that consumer awareness is raised now; so that orangutan-friendly biofuels can follow.

By raising awareness of the decline in orangutan numbers, demand for sustainable and orangutan-friendly palm oil from consumers and supermarkets can make a difference and can help to save the orangutan for future generations.