The news has been full of stories about palm oil – with the Rang Tan video going viral and many petitions and campaigns being set up in response.

We wondered how museums could respond.

Our Affiliate, Chester Zoo, recently blogged about the work they have done in their organisation, and with their community campaigning for sustainable palm oil, so we contacted them to ask for their advice.

Chester Zoo’s position, which is shared by many orangutan conservation and environmental NGOs, is to support sustainable palm oil.   They believe that a boycott on all palm oil is likely to shift the problem elsewhere and drive demand for other less efficient oils – which require more land to produce. By driving demand for sustainably produced palm oil we can be part of the solution.

If you are thinking about how your museum could respond – Chester Zoo have created information and resources to support individual, community, organisational and city-wide responses.  They have a toolkit which organisations can use to audit their own supply chain, as well as a shopping list of Brands that contain CSPO.  Check out the Sustainable Palm Oil Challenge section on their website.

If your museum is taking up the challenge do let us know!