Global sustainability organisation the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has voted to adopt a major new standard aimed at balancing conservation goals with the practicalities of the palm oil industry.
RSPO members voted to adopt the 2024 RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C) and Independent Smallholder (ISH) Standard on 13 November during the 21st RSPO general assembly (GA21) in Bangkok, Thailand.
The revised standard, which outlines the aims and mandatory requirements for the sustainable production and procurement of RSPO Certified sustainable palm oil, was the first update since 2018.
Following a transition period, the new standards would take effect in 12 months, the association said on 13 November.
Key improvements of the 2024 RSPO Standards include: refining the approach to deforestation and environmental sustainability to ensure responsible land clearing; the introduction of human rights due diligence; strengthening smallholder inclusion; streamlining the audit process for members, certification bodies and accreditation bodies.
“The RSPO Standards revision process counted on the insights of smallholders, social and environmental NGOs, auditors and experts from Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and India, over a two-year period,” RSPO CEO Joseph D’Cruz said.
“I welcome the adoption of the 2024 Standards by the RSPO membership, who have delivered stronger standards that are more ambitious, clearer and … address the challenges of our times – from protecting workers to combating deforestation.”
Although welcoming the new standard’s provisions to halt deforestation, prohibit planting on peat and better protection of workers’ and communities’ rights, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) said a range of challenges remained for the RSPO.
To date the RSPO had failed to ensure adequate compliance with its standard, and only half of RSPO-certified palm oil had been sold, the EIA said on 16 November.
In addition, criteria around legality had not been significantly strengthened, according to the EIA.
As plantations only needed to be legal at the time of certification, they could have previously operated illegally and then subsequently legalised themselves, the EIA said.
In addition, certified mills could still receive oil palm fruit from illegal sources for up to three years if the fruit had been sourced indirectly, the agency said.
There are also still exceptions to the ‘no deforestation’ rule in the new P&C which will potentially allow some forests to be cleared, according to the EIA.
As of 2023, RSPO certification had protected over 466,600ha of high conservation value (HCV) and high carbon stock (HCS) forests since the adoption of the HCV Approach in November 2005 and the HCS Approach in November 2018, the RSPO said.
With the inclusion of other critical ecosystems, RSPO certification has protected and remediated about 646,700ha of forests and areas including tropical peatlands and riparian reserves globally, according to the association.
“The updated text is clearer and helps eliminate some of the confusions we’ve observed during audits,” RSPO accreditation programme manager, Assurance Services International (ASI), László Mathé said.
“For example, in relation to the Land Use Change Analysis (LUCA) methodology, we noted that growers in certain regions had misunderstood the requirements. Greater clarity would be a major benefit, especially given recent developments such as the EUDR.”
