By Abigail Richards

Girl Scouts Madison Vorva and Rhiannon Tomtishen started a five-year campaign to limit the use of palm oil, and the production of it threatens orangutans in the rainforest in Malaysia and Indonesia, according to The Huffington Post.

They are now receiving awards for their efforts, as they were honored with a United Nations award in New York City this past Thursday.

The duo started their efforts in 2007, when they started to push for Girl Scouts USA to stop the use of palm oil in the girl scout cookie recipe, the media outlet reports.

"We are trying to keep the pressure up to ensure the Girl Scouts find an environmentally and socially responsible palm oil to be used in these in the cookies," Vorva told the news source.

According to The Associated Press, thousands of products contain palm oil, but the girls are promoting the use of canola oil instead.

Due to their work, they have persuaded Girl Scouts USA and Kellogg to start using sustainable products instead of palm oil by 2015.