Finnish oil major Neste today (4th June) committed itself to using only certified palm oil, "as and when sufficient volumes become available", for biofuel production. The company has come under increasing scrutiny over its use of palm oil as a feedstock for its NExBTL renewable diesel, and today's announcement is seen as an attempt to minimize the criticism.

However, the company did add a caveat to its announcement saying that it thought is goal would be achievable possibly by the end 2015, a date still six years away.     

“Neste Oil is a pioneer in using sustainably produced raw materials for biofuel production. We require our palm oil suppliers to be members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and commit to sustainability and continuous development," says Executive Vice President, Renewable Fuels and Deputy CEO, Jarmo Honkamaa.

He continued; "Neste Oil has developed a system for the full traceablity of the palm oil it uses, all the way from plantations to NExBTL plants. We believe that responsible companies can make a difference. As a forerunner, Neste Oil is putting a lot of effort into establishing exemplary procedures for its operations, ones that we believe could also act as a model for other companies and industries using palm oil.”

The company recently received its first cargo (5,000 tons) of palm oil from sources certified using a mass balance supply chain model. Neste Oil expects to use at least 50,000 tons of certified palm oil this year, and projects that this figure will rise rapidly in subsequent years.