New palm oil standards voted in

RSPO members voted a resounding yes to the new palm oil standards to halt deforestation and improve human rights protection.

Revisions follow a 5 year cycle, and the last revision was carried out in 2013. Multiple organisations, including WWF, had expressed disappointment that it did not meet expectations, including on peat and deforestation. The newly adopted RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C), was a result of an extensive public multi-stakeholder consultation process and a consensus-led Task Force comprising representatives from all RSPO membership groups

The new P&C is a significant step forward in addressing the weaknesses in the previous version of the P&C and believes it now represents an essential tool that can help companies achieve their commitments to palm oil that is free of deforestation, expansion on peat, exploitation and the use of fire. However, it should be cautioned that certification on its own cannot solve all the environmental and social problems caused by irresponsible palm oil production.

Please read more in SASPO’s congratulatary statement. Do share with your partners as a demonstration of support from the new standards.