InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA - The invitation to implement sustainable palm oil (practices) through Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has already been twenty years. There have been many achievements, for instance, the wider certified areas, RSPO brands are now available in more than 100 countries. In the future, collaboration among parties would keep developing including with the smallholders to face sustainable palm oil challenges.
Many still apply and implement sustainable palm oil practices for the past twenty years both the stakeholders and smallholders. During the period, RSPO raised and facilitated the significant changes to realize sustainable palm oil production and consumption globally.
When it was established in 2004, RSPO just got 200 members from 16 countries but now it has more than 5.700 members in more than 100 countries.
It is not easy to encourage every planter and stakeholder to get environmental and social product but RSPO did the positive output for the past 20 years.
For instance, certified palm oil plantations in the world got wider from only 125.000 hectares in 2008 to be 4,9 million hectares in 23 countries in 2023. Certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) hit the new record that reached up to 15,4 million metric tons.
Meanwhile RSPO brand license significantly escalated to be more than 1.600 licenses in more than 100 countries and regions within the significant progress in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. This mean the significant challenges in the region and countries.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) RSPO, Joseph D'Cruz said, Indonesia specifically leads the positive progress in sustainable palm oil practices through the increasing membership, certification, and CSPO production volume.
“RSPO membership in Indonesia escalated 19%. Most of them derived from environmental non-government organizations, consumption goods producers, independent smallholders,” he said in a press conference of RSPO Annual Roundtable Conference on Sustainable Palm Oil (RT2023) that InfoSAWIT attended by the late of November 2023.
According to RSPO, in 2022, RSPO certified areas in Indonesia got wider 4%, and kept developing 6% from January 2023 to September 2023. This represented more than 2,5 million hectares, including the companies and independent smallholders’ palm oil plantations that got certification.
CSPO production volume significantly escalated up to 2,9% to be 8,64 million metric tons in 2022 compared to it in 2021, that reached 8,4 million metric tons.
“The progress means that Indonesia is ready to adopt sustainable palm oil (practices) and RSPO is ready to be the partner to encourage the changes,” Joseph D'Cruz said.
Until now CSPO contributed 20% of the total production in the globe. Just like RSPO is ahead for the next 20 years, Joseph D'Cruz continued that the organization takes and engages the rests, 80% though it is acknowledged it would not be easy to be realized but something that has to be realized.
In the future, he continued, the organization would reinforce the way of communication to create the awareness of CSPO application particularly in smallholders’ exclusivity that masters 40% of this sector in the globe. (T2)
