Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
Global
What is it?
The RSPO is a global, non-profit organization with voluntary members focused on bringing together stakeholders from across the palm oil supply chain to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil.
- General Chain of Custody Requirements for the Supply Chain, which apply to all organizations in the supply chain.
- Supply Chain Models – Modular requirements for each supply chain model for all oil palm products. These have different requirements that each of the following different supply chain models:
- Module A – Identity Preserved (IP)
- Module B – Segregated (SG)
- Module C – Mass Balance (MB)
What is it?
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Principles and Criteria (RSPO P&C) applies to sustainable palm oil production worldwide and covers the most significant environmental and social impacts of palm oil production and the immediate inputs to production. It applies to all production-level companies,e.g., all mills, that do not fall under the definition of independent mill as outlined in the RSPO Supply Chain Certification (SCC) standard; and to all growers, who do not meet the definition of independent smallholder or the applicability requirements as outlined in the RSPO Smallholder Standard.
Compliance with the RSPO P&C and all requirements as outlined in associated documents is required for certification to be awarded. Any non-conformities may result in suspension or loss of certification.
This RSPO P&C is organized into individual criteria under the following three impact areas and principles using the RSPO Theory of Change as a framework.
| Impact Area – Theory of Change (ToC) | Independent Smallholder Standard |
| Prosperity – Competitive, resilient, and sustainable sector | Principle 1: Behave ethically and transparently
Principle 2: Operate legally and respect rights Principle 3: Optimize productivity, efficiency, positive impacts, and resilience |
| People – Sustainable livelihoods & poverty reduction. | Principle 4: Respect community and human rights and deliver benefits
Principle 5. Support smallholder inclusion Principle 6: Respect workers’ rights and conditions |
| Planet – Conserved, protected, and enhanced ecosystems that provide for the next generation | Principle 7: Protect, conserve, and enhance ecosystems and the environment |
Criteria under the standard and principles include the need for plans that focus on reducing pollution and emissions, including greenhouse gasses (GHG), are developed, implemented, and monitored and new developments are designed to minimize GHG emissions.
This includes starting in 2014, that the carbon stock of the proposed development area and major potential sources of emissions that may result directly from the development are estimated and a plan to minimize them prepared and implemented (following the RSPO GHG Assessment Procedure for New Developments).
To become RSPO certified you must first become an RSPO member
What is it?
The RSPO Independent Smallholder (RSPO ISH) Standard was developed in response to the growing recognition by stakeholders for the need to increase smallholders’ inclusion into the RSPO system through a mechanism that takes into consideration the diversity of challenges and situations faced by smallholders globally, together with their varying needs and concerns.
This standard complements the RSPO P&C for the Production of Sustainable Palm Oil – 2018. The standard is organized into the same three impact areas as the RSPO P&C using the RSPO Theory of Change as a framework but focuses on the following subset of principles.
| Impact Area – Theory of Change (ToC) | Independent Smallholder Standard |
| Prosperity – Competitive, resilient, and sustainable sector | Principle 1: Optimize productivity, efficiency, positive impacts, and resilience |
| People – Sustainable livelihoods & poverty reduction. Human rights are protected, respected & remedied | Principle 2: Ensure Legality, Respect for Land Rights, and Community Well-being
Principle 3: Respect workers’ rights and conditions |
| Planet – Conserved, protected, and enhanced ecosystems that provide for the next generation | Principle 4: Protect, conserve, and enhance ecosystems and the environment |
Criteria under the standard and principles also include the need for plans to reduce pollution and emissions, including greenhouse gasses (GHG), are developed, implemented, and monitored and new developments are designed to minimize GHG emissions.
This includes starting in 2014, that the carbon stock of the proposed development area and major potential sources of emissions that may result directly from the development are estimated and a plan to minimize them prepared and implemented (following the RSPO GHG Assessment Procedure for New Developments).
What is it?
Group Certification is a system in which groups of farmers implement an Internal Control System (ICS) and are certified by a third-party certification body, which assesses the performance of the ICS and performs a representative number of spot-check inspections of group members.
RSPO Group Certification allows growers to certify their Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) through group certification against the RSPO P&C together under a single certificate. The system allows growers to be grouped to be certified under a single certificate, which is managed through a central organization or by an individual, known as the Group Manager.
This document does NOT apply to any group of independent smallholders pursuing the RSPO Independent Smallholder (ISH) Standard; mills with their plantations (under one management control) and growers with land holdings larger than 500 ha to apply the RSPO P&C independently and directly; and independent mills to apply the RSPO Supply Chain Certification (SCC).
What is it?
The RSPO Supply Chain Certification (RSPO SCC) Standard describes the requirements related to the control of RSPO-certified oil palm products in the supply chain, including flows of RSPO-certified oil palm products and associated claims.
It is a modular document that includes:
The IP supply chain model assures that the RSPO-certified oil palm product delivered to the end user is uniquely identifiable to a single RSPO-certified IP mill.
The SG supply chain model assures that RSPO-certified oil palm products delivered to the end user come only from RSPO-certified sources (a mixture of IP products).
The MB supply chain model allows certified claims to be transferred from one oil palm product to another either through physical blending or administratively – with only the quantity of RSPO products sold as RSPO-certified and traceable to a list of RSPO mills.
What is it?
The RSPO Jurisdictional Approach (JA) to Certification is an approach to minimize the negative impact of oil palm cultivation on the environment and society, at the scale of government administrative areas (Jurisdictions), which involves a stepwise certification of the production and processing of sustainable oil palm products. It is a framework for Group Certification that allocates legal requirements and authority to a Jurisdictional Entity (JE), with a multi-stakeholder governing body, which will establish an Internal Control System to facilitate full compliance with the RSPO Standards.
The approach requires government leadership, support, and collaboration to play a key role in facilitating multi-stakeholder processes, and setting up overall governance, regulations, and frameworks to achieve RSPO standards.
The Pilot Framework document developed by the RSPO Jurisdictional Working Group (JWG), provides guidance and a framework for developing Jurisdictional Approaches to the certification of sustainable palm oil, which will follow the RSPO Standards (Principles & Criteria 2018, Independent Smallholder Standard, etc.) and sets a stepwise approach that is coherent across all regions.
Contact RSPO for more information on their Jurisdictional Working Group (JWG).