Palm oil

1. An International Multi Stakeholder Initiative
Transforming Markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm

2. Outline
What is palm oil?
The need for certified sustainable palm oil
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
Where we are today
Where do we go from here

3. “It has the scent of violets,
the taste of olive oil and a
color which tinges food like
saffron but is more
attractive”
Ca’da Mosto,
15th century explorer,
on discovering palm oil.
What is palm oil?

4. Why palm oil?

5. Palm Oil is….
A highly versatile vegetable oil
Used in many food and non-food products
Produced in tropical countries
Rapidly growing market share
World’s top selling vegetable oil

6. • Palm oil is used in more than half of
packaged supermarket products today

7. Growth of world’s palm oil
production
0
10
20
30
40
50
1966 1976 1986 1996 2006

8. palm oil
soy
rapeseed
sunflower
others
Palm oil – world’s number one
vegetable oil
palm oil 30%
Soy 29%
Rapeseed 14%
Sunflower 8%
Others 19%

9. Top palm oil producing countries
indonesia malaysia others
47%
39%
14%

10. Asia and Europe are world's major
importers of palm oil
(2009)
Other Asia
Europe
China
India
Pakistan
Other
Africa
Asia

11. Advantages of palm oil
• are highly efficient producers of oil
• require less land than other oil crops

12. Average yield per year (tonnes of
oil per hectare)
0
1
2
3
4
Oil Palm
Rapeseed
Sunflower
Soybean
3.68
0.59
0.42
0.36

13. Why sustainable palm oil?

14. • More than 1 million
workers
• More than 3 million
smallholders
• Many more
household members

15. • Social issues in oil
palm cultivation
• Land ownership
conflicts
• Worker’s rights and
conditions
• Treatment of
smallholders

16. • Environmental
issues in oil palm
cultivation
• Forest, peatland
conversion
• Climate change
• Biodiversity loss

17. THE RSPO

18. HISTORY
2001 - WWF explored possibilities of a Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil.
2002 - an informal co-operation with Aarhus United UK Ltd, Golden Hope
Plantations Berhad, Migros, Malaysian Palm Oil Association, Sainsbury's and
Unilever together with WWF in 2002.
Inaugural meeting (RT) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 21 - 22 August 2003 -
attended by 200 participants from 16 countries.
31 August 2004, forty seven organizations joined RSPO.
8 April 2004 - "Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)," was formally
established under Article 60 of the Swiss Civil Code with a governance
structure that ensures fair representation of all stakeholders throughout the
entire supply chain.
The seat of the association is in Zurich, Switzerland, the Secretariat is based in
Kuala Lumpur with a RSPO Liaison office in Jakarta.

19. General Assembly (GA)
Ordinary Members Affiliate Members Supply Chain Associates
Executive Board (EB)
Working Groups Working Groups Working Groups Working Groups
Standing Committee
Trade and Traceability
Standing Committee
Finance
Standing Committee
Standards & Certifications
Standing Committee
Communications & Claims
Secretary General
Governance Structure

20. 8 PRINCIPLES & 39 CRITERIA
1. Commitment to transparency; NGO
2. Compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
3. Commitment to long-term economic and financial viability;
4. Use of appropriate best practices by growers and millers
5. Environmental responsibility and conservation of natural resources
and biodiversity
6. Responsible consideration of employees and of individuals and
communities affected by growers and mills (case study)
7. Responsible development of new plantings
8. Commitment to continuous improvement in key areas of activity

21. Over 800 members from 50 countries
**As of April 2012 – Latest information can be accessed at
http://www.rspo.org/en/membership_key_statistics

22. Multi Stakeholder Membership
Banks &
Investors , 10
Consumer Goods
Manufacturers ,
211
Environmental
NGOs , 17
Growers , 104
Processors &
Traders , 215
Retailers , 43 Social NGOs , 9
**As of April 2012 – Latest information can be accessed at
http://www.rspo.org/en/membership_key_statistics

23. Membership by country
UK
17%
Malaysia
16%
Indonesia
15%
Germany
13%
France
10%
Netherlands
10%
USA
7%
Singapore
4%
Switzerland
4%
Australia
4%
**As of April 2012 – Latest information can be accessed at
http://www.rspo.org/en/membership_key_statistics

24. Where we are today

25. • Code of Conduct for members
• Independent certification bodies
• Principles, specific criteria and
indicators for sustainable palm oil
production
• Supply chain certification systems
• Guidelines on communication and
claims

26. • Code of Conduct: “All
members will publicly
commit to production,
procurement and use of
sustainable palm oil” –
Annual Communications
on Progress
• Grievance panel
supervises compliance

27. Sustainability Principles:
1. Transparency
2. Use best practices
3. Care for environment,
natural resources,
and biodiversity
4. Consider rights of
workers, smallholders
5. Develop new plantings
responsibly

28. Specific social criteria and
indicators:
• Rights to the land not
legitimately contested
• Workers’ pay and
conditions provide decent
living
• The right to form trade
unions is respected
• Health and safety plan
implemented
• Smallholders treated fairly
by mills

29. Specific environmental
criteria and indicators:
• Since November 2005, new
plantings did not replace
primary forests or high
conservation value areas
• Erosion and degradation of
soils are minimized
• Pollution and waste is
reduced
• Use of fires is avoided

30. Respecting diversity:
national interprations of guidelines (see:
www.rspo.org)
• Papua New Guinea (2008)
• Malaysia (2008)
• Indonesia (2008)
• Colombia / L. America (2010)
• Ghana (2011)
• Thailand (2012)

31. Plantation, mill certification procedure
Approved certification bodies listed on RSPO website
Audit by certification body (1 month notice)
Unit of certification: oil mill and suppliers
Compliance with Principles, Criteria and Indicators
Phase I: Document review
Phase II: Field checks, stakeholder interviews
Audit Report, summary published online

32. Supply chain models

33. Plantations
Refiners &
Blenders
Ingredient
Manufacturers
Retailers
Mill
Product
Manufacturers
Storage, transport, shipping
The palm oil supply chain:
• Many links
• Potential for mixing
Smallholders

34. Supply chain systems
• ‘Identity preserved’:
Sustainable oil kept apart, traceable to plantation
• ‘Segregated’:
Mixing of sustainable palm oil batches is allowed
• ‘Mass Balance’:
Mixing of sustainable and conventional oil
allowed
if monitored administratively
• Monitored by UTZ Certified, www.utzcertified.org

38. Supply chain model: certificates trading
• ‘Book and Claim’:
- No tracking, tracing or monitoring of oil
- Growers, end-users trade volume credits online
• Managed by GreenPalm, www.greenpalm.org

40. Supply chain certification procedure
• Verifies movement of oil through the supply
chain
• Step-by-step documentation
• Performed by 3rd-party certification bodies
• More info: www.rspo.org

41. Milestones

42. Consumer communication
RSPO trademark developed for
on/about-product communication
Rules for use, communication and
licensing under development
Trademark registration procedures
begun in
more than 60 countries
Launched: June 2011

43. April 2012 :
• Launched trademark – June 2011
• >800 members
• Annual production capacity: 6m metric tonnes
• Total production area: 1.148.134 hectares
• 30 grower companies certified
• 141 mills certified
• 166 supply chain companies certified
• 319 supply chain facilities certified
More info at http://www.rspo.org/en/grower_certification

44. Latest info at: http://www.rspo.org/en/key_statistics

45. Latest info at: http://www.rspo.org/en/key_statistics

46. Latest info at: http://www.rspo.org/en/key_statistics

47. Latest info at: http://www.rspo.org/en/key_statistics

48. Latest info at: http://www.rspo.org/en/key_statistics

49. RSPO’s aspirations:
Grow supply of certified oil
Grow demand for certified oil, including
in India, China
Grow RSPO membership
Engage governments
Engage and educate smallholders

50. Engaging more than 3 million smallholders
They maintain 20% of acreage
RSPO Task Force on smallholders:
Promotes smallholder interests within RSPO
Raises awareness among smallholders
Adapts RSPO standards and procedures
Develops group certification protocol

51. In conclusion

52. Key RSPO documents at www.rspo.org:
1. Statutes
2. Principles & Criteria
3. Criteria: National Interpretations
4. Code of Conduct
5. Supply Chain Certification Systems
6. Guidelines on Communication & Claims
7. 2011 RSPO CSPO Growth Interpretation Narrative
http://www.rspo.org/en/key_documents

53. RSPO’S VISION:
TO TRANSFORM MARKETS TO MAKE
SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL THE NORM

54. RSPO Secretariat
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
WWW.RSPO.ORG
Email : rspo@rspo.org