Amid competition from other certification systems, the global leading palm oil sustainability standards development body, RSPO, has envisioned itself to embrace more sustainable leadership in the next 20 years with some shifts in its thinking and operation, its chief has revealed during the annual conference being held in Indonesia, the largest palm oil producer
At the opening of the Annual Roundtable Conference on Sustainable Palm Oil, themed “Partners for the Next 20”, CEO of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Joseph D’Cruz lined up the visions that the organisation would take while entering its next chapter after the first 20 years of achievements since established in 2004 as a multi-stakeholder non-profit organisation promoting sustainability for the world’s palm oil industry through assurance of standards and certification it has developed around economic, social, and environmental aspects.
“While we celebrate these accomplishments, there is a lot more we can strive for,” said Mr. D’Cruz at the RT2023.
First and foremost, Mr. D’Cruz said the organisation needs to advance the partnership that demonstrates sustainability beyond certification. He elaborated that while the RSPO’s standards and certifications are the most credible instruments for demonstrating sustainability in the palm industry today, markets, regulators and consumers are no longer willing to accept a certificate as full and final proof of sustainability.
“We need to rethink our existing standard and certification system, and develop approaches that help the industry to prove sustainability in the way that markets, regulators and customers demand today,” said Mr. D’Cruz.
The organisation envisions the standard and certification system and the assurance that underpins it and helps its members connect to the wider ecosystem of sustainability frameworks and platforms operating today_ a more flexible, modular and adaptive system that provides more fine-grained and tailored sustainability information to those who demand it.
Second, the organisation envisions the work that helps leverage its digital capacities and data to better support its members.
Mr. D’Cruz said at the core, sustainability standards and certification are about information and data, and the RSPO is actually a platform to convey information; on where, how and by whom a product is produced, and where it is traded, so that end buyers understand and trust the sustainability of the products they buy.
“We recognize that data and information are therefore the foundation of our value proposition, and we are investing significant effort and resources in building a digital infrastructure to unlock this value,” noted Mr. D’Cruz.
Mr. D’Cruz said the organisation is now investing in the new Certification, Trade and Traceability system and has appointed a consortium of three leading Agri-Tech companies to develop this.
Third, the organisation envisions amplifying “thought leadership”. Despite being a global leading palm oil sustainability standards development body, the RSPO chief noted that over and over the sustainability agenda for the industry is set by others, being driven by external criticism rather than by collective conviction and achievements from people in the industry.
The RSPO, he said, needs to define what sustainability means in the palm sector and identify the emerging sustainability challenges the sector faces. What is needed in the process is greater technical and analytical capacity, he said.
“And we will need the courage and the credibility to step out into the public sphere and speak for our industry and our people,” said Mr. D’Cruz. “This means telling the sustainable palm oil story better, and becoming a respected authority on responsible agriculture and sustainable development.”
Last but not least, the organisation envisions reaching out beyond its membership.
“The palm industry will never be seen as sustainable if only some of us are sustainable. No matter how much we accomplish, no matter how high our standards, the credibility of our sector will always be challenged if others aren’t improving also,” said Mr. D’Cruz. According to Mr. D’Cruz, the RSPO today certifies just over 20% of global production, and it needs to engage more.
For nearly twenty years of its operation, the RSPO has facilitated global change to make the production and consumption of palm oil sustainable. Starting from 200 members from 16 countries in 2004, its membership has expanded to more than 5,700 members in over 100 countries and territories.
The global certified area has increased from just 125,000 hectares in 2008 to 4.9 million hectares across 23 countries this year, or around 19% of the global plantation area. Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) supply has reached 15.4 million metric tonnes, while its Trademark licences have increased to more than 1,600 licences in over 100 countries and territories, with growth seen in China, Japan and Southeast Asia.
The RSPO Smallholder Support Fund (RSSF) has provided US$4.2 million in funding to support 44,203 farmers in 12 countries since 2013. And their production accounts for 40% of total palm oil production output in key producing countries.
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