Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil

Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
AbbreviationRSPO
FormationApril 2004 (2004-04)
TypeNonprofit
HeadquartersGeneva and Kuala Lumpur
CEO
Joseph (JD) D'Cruz
Staff
51–200
Websitewww.rspo.org
Roundtable No 2 (RT2) in Zürich in 2005

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable palm oil products through global standards and multistakeholder governance. The seat of the association is in Zürich, Switzerland, while the secretariat is currently based in Kuala Lumpur, with a satellite office in Jakarta. RSPO currently has 5,650 members from 94 countries.[1]

The RSPO was established following concerns raised by non-governmental organizations about environmental impacts resulting from palm oil production.[2]

51,999,404 metric tonnes of palm oil produced in 2016 was RSPO certified.[3] Products containing Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) can carry the RSPO trademark.[4] Members of the RSPO include palm oil producers, environmental groups, and manufacturers who use palm oil in their products.[5][2] In 2014, Indonesia accounted for 40% of global palm oil production and 44% of the total RSPO-certified areas.[6]

After the meeting in 2009, a number of environmental organisations were critical of the scope of the agreements reached.[5] Palm oil growers who produce CSPO have been critical of the organization because, though they have met RSPO standards and assumed the costs associated with certification, the market demand for certified palm oil remains low.[2][4] Even though deforestation has decreased in RSPO-certified oil palm plantations, peatlands continue to be drained and burned for the creation of new RSPO-certified palm plantations.[6]

  1. ^ "About Us". Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
  2. ^ a b c Gunasegaran, P. (8 October 2011). "The beginning of the end for RSPO?". The Star Online. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  3. ^ Voora V, Larrea C, Bermudez S, Baliño S (2019). "Global Market Report: Palm Oil". State of Sustainability Initiatives. International Institute for Sustainable Development.
  4. ^ a b Yulisman, Linda (4 June 2011). "RSPO trademark, not much gain for growers: Gapki". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  5. ^ a b Browne, Pete (6 November 2009). "Defining 'Sustainable' Palm Oil Production". The New York Times Blogs. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  6. ^ a b Carlson, Kimberly M.; Heilmayr, Robert; Gibbs, Holly K.; Noojipady, Praveen; Burns, David N.; Morton, Douglas C.; Walker, Nathalie F.; Paoli, Gary D.; Kremen, Claire (2 January 2018). "Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (1): 121–126. Bibcode:2018PNAS..115..121C. doi:10.1073/pnas.1704728114. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 5776786. PMID 29229857.