Late final month, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the main commonplace for certifying an oil present in half of all grocery store merchandise, launched a draft of a new algorithm for the way the commodity could be cultivated in methods that don’t hurt folks or the atmosphere.
RSPO, which certifies one-fifth of the world’s palm oil as sustainable, has been beneath strain to replace its commonplace, as regulators have signalled that certification for forest-risk merchandise resembling palm oil, soy and rubber doesn’t go far sufficient to show the validity of sustainability claims. “The truth is that markets, regulators and shoppers are now not prepared to simply accept a certificates as full and ultimate proof of sustainability,” RSPO’s chief government Joseph D’Cruz informed attendees on the organisation’s annual convention a yr in the past.
The European Union’s regulation on deforestation-free merchandise (EUDR) specifically has prompted RSPO to interrogate the rigour of its commonplace. Evaluation has discovered technical and elementary gaps between the certification and the laws, and critics have urged that EUDR, and rules which might be more likely to comply with it in different jurisdictions, problem the legitimacy of RSPO and different commodity certification schemes. EUDR, which is set to be delayed partly on account of lobbying from palm oil producers, requires corporations within the palm oil provide chain to supply info past what is required to be RSPO-certified.
RSPO’s requirements, that are finalised by consensus amongst growers, client items companies, retailers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), are known as the RSPO rules and standards (P&C), and are reviewed each 5 years. The primary P&C have been adopted in 2005, the yr after the founding of RSPO; 2024 is the third iteration. The P&C encompass seven rules – one lower than the final iteration – and greater than 40 standards that growers must fulfil. RSPO final printed its revised P&C in 2018, when the certification prohibited deforestation after November of that yr, planting on peatlands, and improved staff’ and human rights defenders’ rights.
The most recent model of the usual, which will likely be efficient from 13 November 2025, options commitments to guard forests and peatlands, scale back the local weather impression of the trade, and safeguard the rights of staff, Indigenous teams, native communities and environmental defenders.
The P&C “characterize a major step ahead in making certain the sustainable development of the palm oil trade by implementable and auditable requirements,” the organisation mentioned in response to criticism from environmental watchdog Greenpeace.
Greenpeace mentioned that the usual weakens its no deforestation dedication by permitting forest clearance after November 2018 – the benchmark set when the P&C have been final revised – so long as treatment and compensation procedures are utilized. This may imply that the RSPO commonplace continues to be not compliant with EUDR, which has stipulated that no deforestation can happen December 2020.
Becoming a member of the Eco-Enterprise Podcast to debate the implications of 37-page doc is RSPO’s director of requirements and sustainability, Yen Hun Seng, an information scientist who joined the organisation a couple of months earlier than the final P&C was launched in 2018.
Yen Hun Seng, director of requirements and sustainability, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. Picture: RSPO
Tune in as we talk about:
- How has RSPO modified within the final 5 years?
- How has RSPO managed lobbying in the course of the P&C revision course of?
- How has the brand new commonplace modified on deforestation?
- How does the usual align with EUDR?
- How are smallholders being included within the sustainability dialog?
- What to anticipate from RSPO’s annual convention this month?
The edited transcript:
You joined a couple of months earlier than the launch of the final rules and standards which have been launched in November 2018. In that point, RSPO has gone by various change. Take us by a few of these modifications and a number of the pressures that RSPO has been beneath to revise its commonplace.
I got here in as an information scientist, and the factor that struck me was that RSPO is a really complicated organisation. It’s a multi-stakeholder organisation. We convene for change.
Reflecting on what’s occurred over the 5 years: sure, we’ve a brand new commonplace. It was an enormous step ahead in quite a lot of areas. However in that point, RSPO certification has additionally grown. We have now gone from about 360 mills on the finish of 2018 to over 500 licensed mills right this moment. Manufacturing has grown from about 12 million metric tonnes to over 16 million metric tonnes in 2023. Gross sales of CSPO – licensed sustainable palm oil – have grown from about 6 million metric tonnes to over 10 million metric tonnes in 2023. We must be doing one thing proper to see all this development. That encompasses a big vary of points on folks, planet, and prosperity.
I believe everybody acknowledges that RSPO is the gold commonplace, and we are able to say quite a lot of issues about what we’re doing on smallholders, labour, deforestation, biodiversity, local weather change. However RSPO is extra than simply the usual. It’s additionally in regards to the processes and the assist techniques that underlie the usual, the way it’s carried out, how compliance works, how assurance works, how the info is generated and turns into traceable, and that every one helps the usual itself.
We’re additionally creating Prisma, a unified structure that can convey collectively all our totally different commonplace techniques and procedures beneath one umbrella structure to essentially digitise our techniques and ship the info needed that individuals within the provide chain want.
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The method can take time. It might contain some disagreements…However everyone seems to be in the identical room as a result of they need the identical factor.
On the identical time, we’ve to acknowledge that the market atmosphere has modified within the final 5 to 6 years. We have now obtained new rules. The expectations of our members within the downstream and within the wider worth chain have advanced and the usual has to maintain tempo. So, to reply your query, we’ve revised the requirements for a number of causes:
One, as a result of we’re obliged to. RSPO is a member of the ISEAL Alliance and ISEAL Alliance Code of Good Observe for requirements improvement states that we’ve to evaluation a normal no less than each 5 years and revise it if needed. That evaluation was carried out and it was concluded {that a} revision was needed.
Two, we revised the requirements as a result of we must always. We wished to strengthen implementability, auditability and readability to assist assurance – the usual may very well be clearer in sure facets to cut back interpretation threat.
Three, we revised the usual as a result of we’ve to. There are new pressures and expectations, and it’s our duty to organize our members for the issues which might be being anticipated of them right this moment and maybe tomorrow.
What has it been like managing the varied stakeholder teams and the lobbying to push for the way the usual ought to be formed?
Lots of sleepless nights! Simply to present you a flavour of the stakeholder constituencies which might be concerned. RSPO is an organisation rooted in consensus. Our stakeholders are the seven peculiar membership sectors that characterize the palm oil worth chain; the growers, those who purchase it and use it, the processors, merchants, the buyer items producers, retailers, banks, buyers and civil society, which incorporates the environmental and social non-governmental organisations.
What you name lobbying, I might name representing stakeholder pursuits. All of those representatives have to come back collectively and discover a manner ahead on all of the totally different facets that we care about in a manner that’s impactful and implementable. The method can take time. It might contain some disagreements. There could also be variations in opinions in how particular indicators have been structured or worded. “This phrase’s lacking.” “I don’t like that phrase.” “This phrase carries this implication.” There could also be big debates about sensible issues in operational realities.
There could even have been some unintentional errors or phrasings that required stakeholder suggestions to regulate. And that’s why we additionally had a really intensive stakeholder session course of in seven international locations the world over involving totally different events coming collectively and agreeing on the best way ahead.
As a result of everyone seems to be in the identical room as a result of they need the identical factor. They wish to progress and so they wish to present that RSPO is consultant of what sustainable palm oil is. It’s a tireless course of.
How do you make sure that every of the stakeholder teams has an equal voice throughout the usual revision course of?
RSPO relies on balanced and proportional illustration. So totally different stakeholder teams are given an equal share based mostly on the proportion and in steadiness with the remainder of the teams. In the end, they’ve to come back to a consensus in easy methods to transfer ahead.
Let’s discuss deforestation. Within the final P&Cs in 2018, deforestation was prohibited. What has modified within the 2024 P&Cs concerning the necessity for corporations to keep away from clearing forests to get licensed? Greenpeace is worried that RSPO has dropped the excessive carbon inventory strategy methodology to give you its personal model. Greenpeace additionally says that RSPO is permitting forest clearance after November 2018 so long as treatment and compensation procedures are utilized. Are you able to reply to these two issues?
For top carbon inventory, the precept we’re speaking about right here is Precept 7 within the Rules & Standards. Particularly, Criterion 7.7, which is excessive conservation worth and excessive carbon inventory. Excessive carbon inventory continues to be in the usual. Criterion 7. 7 has been reformulated with none diminution however to make clear the process and improve implementation.
It’s price noting that RSPO is extra than simply the usual. It’s about supporting procedures and the techniques that encompass it. Lots of these necessities and guidelines on land clearing – what could be developed, what can’t be developed – truly occur on the membership stage. It’s a prerequisite for certification.
As you enter the RSPO as a member, you need to disclose what your land holdings are. We have now to do a land use change evaluation to see what has occurred within the span during which RSPO has been energetic and remediate if needed.
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Excessive Carbon Inventory continues to be very a lot in the usual and nothing has modified when it comes to (no-deforestation) deadlines.
We even have the brand new planting process. If there are any new oil palm developments from our members – and this occurs all earlier than certification inside the usual – we test that this has been carried out in accordance with the varied situations and timelines.
HCV and HCS are the muse of this. Collectively they approximate what a pure forest is, which is in alignment with the varied rules which might be being developed or are in improvement. So we’re offering readability on what we’re defending. We’re placing everybody on a firmer basis on what they’ve achieved.
And since there are totally different definitions of forest and of deforestation, we are able to additionally use our supporting techniques that we’re creating – like Prisma, geospatial evaluation, and deforestation alerts – to deal with any gaps and advise our members accordingly. The 2018 [no deforestation] cut-off continues to be there – it’s in Criterion 7.7 in Annex 5.
We will likely be offering additional readability on the situations that apply. However nothing has modified considerably when it comes to forests and conservation strategy.
HCV has been there since day one, in November 2005, when the pilot commonplace was launched. HCS was launched in 2013 after which grew to become a clearance standards in 2018. We’re iterating on that in a manner that’s clearer and enhances implementation.
RSPO’s strategy to conservation goes past simply addressing deforestation, it covers reforestation, aforestation, rehabilitation. We have now the remediation and compensation process. It is usually about peatlands, riparian reserves, steep terrain, and fragile and marginal soils. All these delicate and demanding ecosystems that is probably not a forest, however are nonetheless crucial to guard. RSPO already goes past quite a lot of what upcoming rules are .
HCS continues to be very a lot in the usual and nothing has modified when it comes to deadlines. We will likely be offering additional steering and additional particulars within the months to come back to supply extra readability earlier than the usual turns into efficient.
Greenpeace known as the brand new commonplace a “missed alternative” to completely align RSPO with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Simply since you’re RSPO licensed, it doesn’t robotically imply that you’re EUDR-compliant. How do you reply to that?
Initially we’ve to look into the nuts and bolts of the EUDR regulation, and – delay not withstanding – we are literally ready for the EUDR each when it comes to techniques and compliance.
The EUDR is extra than simply (a regulation on) deforestation. It additionally has necessities on human rights, on free, prior and knowledgeable consent (FPIC), and authorized compliance. All of those are in our requirements and we’ve tried to boost or enhance them in ways in which make it clearer, that assist implementation, and make it extra auditable.
Additionally, EUDR requires traceability of the granular info. That’s why we’re upgrading our techniques into Prisma. I don’t suppose there’s a single commonplace or strategy on the market that’s aligned totally with the EUDR.
We are able to attempt to transfer the alignment and I believe the European Fee has additionally acknowledge that the RSPO is in very shut alignment with EUDR.
Gaps could exist. However we’ve techniques which might be being developed to deal with these gaps and advise our members, accordingly.
However I believe what Greenpeace is getting at is the definition of forest and deforestation within the EUDR itself, which RSPO is in alignment with, however maybe not utterly.
I don’t suppose it’s doable to really be in full alignment, just because the EUDR has additionally simply launched its steering and that modifications issues, as a result of now there are caveats on fallow, or quickly deserted land, that’s nonetheless thought-about agricultural lands for no less than 10 years if agricultural exercise resumes.
So there’s extra nuance in how you’re truly clarifying what a forest is. And I believe RSPO could be very a lot in alignment with that.
We’re additionally in alignment with the opposite rules which might be on the market. The UK Environmental Act 2021 makes use of the same definition of forest, however now contains additionally forests which might be partially or completely submerged in water, together with peatlands and intertidal mangroves.
The USA Forest Act that’s at present being debated makes use of a definition of forest that’s related. However now there’s a clarification that it [a forest] ought to be composed primarily of native species, which requires on-ground verification.
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I don’t suppose there’s a single commonplace or strategy on the market that’s totally aligned with EUDR.
And likewise the US Forest Act is unlawful deforestation in order that the sovereign legal guidelines of the nation are revered.
So there are totally different definitions on the market – to count on one commonplace to satisfy each a type of, I believe, is a really excessive bar.
What we are able to do is be agency and assured in what we stand for and have the techniques in place to detect any potential gaps and advise our members accordingly.
It’s additionally price noting that RSPO’s whole suite of normal techniques and procedures can also be very a lot in alignment with EUDR. Not a lot has been talked about about it, however the EUDR additionally applies to the exporters from the EU of something involving the seven commodities in accordance with Appendix One. So If palm oil enters into Rotterdam, it must be fulfilled with EUDR due diligence.
But when that refinery in Rotterdam sells it to a German derivatives processor, who then sells it on to a Belgian oleochemicals firm that exports it to the US, that Belgian oleochemicals firm additionally has to do due diligence based mostly on the palm that it is perhaps utilizing. And if that US firm that re-exports a number of the merchandise again to France, the entire EUDR due diligence occurs over again.
So the entire traceability chain must be full internationally and intra-Europe for that to occur and RSPO, at the side of the availability chain certification commonplace and the event of Prisma, may have the power to supply that full provide chain traceability.
The Malaysia and Indonesia governments have been pushing again on EUDR, arguing that smallholders battle to adjust to the regulation, due to the stringent traceability necessities. Inform us how RSPO is making an attempt to incorporate extra smallholders in its certification scheme.
Reflecting on the final two years, I believe the purpose about smallholders is justified – not simply in palm oil, however within the different commodities, significantly rubber, espresso, and cocoa.
There are no less than seven million oil palm smallholders around the globe which might be both totally or partially concerned in palm oil. They have totally different operational realities, totally different frameworks that they’re working with. However what’s true throughout all of the commodities is that smallholders are furthest up the upstream provide chain, which could be very lengthy and complicated. Any market or commerce disruptions disproportionately have an effect on them.
They haven’t any say in it, and even when they’re doing precisely what they’re alleged to be doing when it comes to sustainability, they could be excluded, due to pressures elsewhere. So it’s crucial that we embrace them. We have now the impartial smallholder commonplace that was launched in 2019 for the needs of certification and bringing them into a licensed provide chain.
The 2024 revision of the Unbiased Smallholder (ISH) Normal takes a clearer strategy, that are damaged down into steps, to essentially attempt to make it simpler for impartial smallholder teams that be a part of RSPO to grow to be licensed. That’s already a significantly lengthy journey in itself. It might take between 4 to 6 years for teams to affix and grow to be licensed from the purpose of first engagement.
So we hope that we are able to scale back the timelines to convey extra of them in. I believe we’ve seen some traction in that. In 2023, we’ve seen the variety of licensed impartial smallholders globally develop by a few third. We’ve additionally obtained schemes for smallholders to think about as effectively. And that is throughout eight totally different geographies.
There may be nonetheless a protracted method to go. We’d like our companions and collaborators to work collectively to proceed to convey smallholders in as a result of we are able to’t have them afford to lose curiosity in sustainability. In the event that they really feel they’ll’t be included within the wider sustainability financial system, excluding them may result in unintended penalties. If smallholders really feel that they’ll’t be included and that their voices usually are not heard, they could very effectively not practise sustainability.
However market mechanisms are additionally vital. Credit for impartial smallholders, which RSPO does have, are vital. There are direct market mechanisms that compensate the ISH teams for his or her work, that’s purchased by producers and retailers of finish merchandise.
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If smallholders really feel that they’ll’t be included and that their voices usually are not heard, they could very effectively not practise sustainability.
We encourage our downstream members to proceed supporting ISH teams with IS credit. But in addition listening to the smallholders themselves, having gone by all of the stakeholder consultations. What they really need is to ascertain helpful relationships with the mills that they bodily promote the recent fruit bunches to, as a result of they must promote the fruit to somebody.
We have to create an ecosystem that’s inclusive, that they’ll kind these relationships with licensed mills, that leads to not only a market mechanism, but additionally a relationship that can profit their livelihoods in the long term.
The P&C Precept 5 is on smallholder inclusion. And there’s been a brand new addition to that. We are actually requiring licensed mills to supply alternatives to interact with and actively seek the advice of smallholders with a view to them being a part of their mills’ bodily RSPO provide chain. We wish to shut the loop and make sure that licensed smallholders have a pathway to the market, and the knowledge on sustainable practices that they’re setting up is offered for the remainder of the market to hint again to.
I believe we’re barely scratching the floor of what we are able to do. However no less than the usual is extra inclusive.
Let’s get on to human rights, which is one other level of competition within the newest commonplace. So some social NGOs raised the alarm that an earlier draft of the usual dropped the precept of FPIC, which supplies Indigenous peoples and native communities the chance to push again towards any potential improvement. However the newest draft of the usual contains FPIC in it. Are you able to inform us a bit about RSPO’s stance on FPIC?
FPIC has been retained in full within the ultimate draft.
The sooner drafts had worded it as “rights of communities have been revered”, which is, I assume, a wording that the social NGOs and different stakeholders had points with. And that’s why we had two to 3 months of very intensive stakeholder consultations. And that’s why we wished to listen to the suggestions within the first place in order that we are able to make changes. The sooner language that couched it differently has been reformulated into the 2018 language.
Inform us what we are able to count on from RSPO’s upcoming annual roundtable in Bangkok, that’s taking place from 11 to 13 November.
It’s themed “Companions for the following 20” as a result of we simply had our twentieth anniversary. I believe we’ve achieved quite a bit in 20 years. RSPO has managed to alter the vocabulary of sustainability within the palm oil trade basically.
We’ve obtained to twenty per cent of worldwide palm oil manufacturing in 20 years. Some may say that that’s not sufficient. However I can say that reaching that has been no imply feat, particularly as a result of absolutely the numbers of licensed volumes are nonetheless rising by about half 1,000,000 to 1,000,000 tonnes a yr.
And in comparison with different commodities which have a sustainable requirements like RSPO, solely cotton is greater. Different licensed agricultural commodities are nonetheless at about 10 per cent of certification ranges or beneath.
And past simply the headline numbers, we additionally wish to get higher at speaking in regards to the precise constructive impacts that we all know we’re making on the bottom, that we all know our RSPO members are enabling.
And that’s why we even have our revised concept of change and our impression report that dives into the main points of that. What can we are saying on local weather change? What can we are saying on biodiversity? What can we are saying about group engagement? What can we are saying about ladies’s empowerment?
In the event you stay up for the following 20 years, we’re more likely to see no less than one other 4 critiques of the requirements – probably 4 extra revisions if these critiques conclude that revisions are needed.
So the usual itself does must sustain with the occasions, and that’s why we want companions, we want collaborators, we want the world’s finest minds to come back collectively and convene to proceed to make sure that the usual can sustain with the occasions.
We are able to’t predict the long run, so future-proofing the usual is at all times going to be a little bit of a tough situation. It’s by no means going to be a silver bullet. However what we are able to do can also be future-proof the techniques beneath it – the mechanisms, the techniques, the peace of mind side of it to allow continued certification and future implementation.
We have to improve and digitise our techniques. You possibly can’t simply depend on a certificates. You want the knowledge behind that certificates.
But in addition in consideration of issues which might be taking place that mirror what the world may want in 5 or 10 years, resembling local weather change, we’re redeveloping our palm greenhouse fuel (GHG) emissions calculator to a brand new model 5 that’s in alignment with the GHG protocol. Notably Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
We’re additionally issues like water shortage, given the change in local weather patterns and the chance of water shortage turning into extra acute and probably triggering conflicts between water customers.
We may be introducing some modular facets to the requirements. We may very well be how certification itself may very well be strengthened with verification and validation mechanisms.
We’re additionally how we may present higher recommendation to wider trade and even different agri-commodities and the way they’ll speed up on their very own pathways to sustainability. There’s a lot that we are able to do.
