The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed in 2004 with
the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm
products through credible global standards and engagement of
stakeholders. The seat of the association is in Zurich, Switzerland,
while the secretariat is currently based in Kuala Lumpur with a
satellite office in Jakarta.
RSPO is a not-for-profit association that represents stakeholders
from seven sectors of the palm oil industry - oil palm producers, palm
oil processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers,
banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation NGOs and
social or developmental NGOs - to develop and implement global standards
for sustainable palm oil.
Such multi-stakeholder representation is mirrored in the governance structure of RSPO such that seats in the Executive Board and project level Working Groups are fairly allocated to each sector. In this way, RSPO lives out the philosophy of the "roundtable" by giving equal rights to each stakeholder group to bring group-specific agendas to the roundtable, facilitating traditionally adversarial stakeholders and business competitors to work together towards a common objective and making decisions by consensus
The organization holds an annual meeting called RT or Round Table
Meetings to bring together the various stakeholders to negotiate and
deliberate on various issues affecting the industry. Such
multi-stakeholder representation is mirrored in the governance structure
of RSPO such that seats in the Executive Board and project level
Working Groups are fairly allocated to each sector.
Some of the key achievements of the organization so far include:
- Establishment of the RSPO Principles & Criteria (P&C) for certification of mills and plantations;
- Formation of Working Groups on Green House Gases to address climate change issues;
- Smallholder Task Force to protect the rights of small farmers planting oil palm; and
- Biodiversity Technical Committee to work out biodiversity issues pertaining to sustainable production and biodiversity protection and conservation
