KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) aims to "significantly double" the amount of certified sustainable palm oil globally and increase the number of its memberships by 2020, said its chairman Biswaranjan Sen.
"At present, 11.1 million tonnes or 18% of global palm oil production are certified as sustainable. This is a big step forward and yet there is a lot more to be done to get the balance 82% to be certified sustainable as well," he said in his welcoming remarks to some 800 participants at the RSPO's 12th annual general meeting here today.
On the latest global palm oil production statistics, RSPO secretary-general Datuk Darrel Webber said 50% of the RSPO-certified palm oil are now produced in Indonesia, followed by Malaysia (41%) and Papua New Guinea (5.6%). The remaining 4.2% are from countries such as Solomon Islands, Ivory Coast, Thailand, Guatemala, Ecuador, Brazil, Cambodia and Colombia.
"As many as eight European countries and major consumer-good corporations such as Nestle and Unilever have pledged to buy 100% certified palm oil by next year as the new food labelling regulations will be enforced by year-end," Sen said, adding that the precedent set by these countries reflect the development in other non-European markets.
The European Union has enacted a food-labelling law that will be enforced next month, to explicitly declare the type of vegetable oils including palm oil, used in ingredients.
Sen also reprimanded 40% of RSPO members for failing to submit their annual communication plans despite several reminders.
"We are faced with an unusual situation in the RSPO where we have failed to ensure compliance of our own standards by our own members.
"This is not acceptable. RSPO is not a club where payment of membership fees is enough to secure a sear at the table," he said.
Sen added that RSPO, in its quest to drive compliance to its standards and procedures, will take disciplinary actions against its members for failure to comply with its directive.
He said that RSPO's membership has grown to more than 1,900 members from more than 70 countries.
Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, RSPO also has satellite offices in Jakarta, London and Zoetemeer (the Netherlands).