Background

The continual expansion of the RSPO, - in membership, activities, global receptivity (both friendly and hostile), and issues it has to deal with, needs an increasing degree of distributed management for it to keep pace. Methods that attempt to involve the entire Executive Board (EB), let alone the entire organisation, in each and every detail will be unmanageable and waste time and money without necessarily resulting in better outcomes. Four standing committees 1) Standards & Certification, 2) Trade & Traceability, 3) Communications & Claims, and 4) Finance – could adequately cover most of the current work of the RSPO.

Each Standing Committee (SC) shall comprise of members from the Executive Board and from among RSPO members or their respective alternates. The Executive Board, at its sole discretion, may propose changes to the composition of the Standing Committee, for it to serve RSPO better. Membership is honorary and participation voluntary and all contributions duly acknowledged. Lack of positive involvement over a continuous period of 12 months will suggest withdrawal from the SC irrespective of notification or otherwise. The SC shall decide leadership and functionaries from among its members. The SC, at its behest, may invite non-RSPO member participation on terms and conditions it prefers, but such non-RSPO member participation cannot assume leadership of the SC. RSPO Secretariat will provide facilitation resources to all SCs.

The brief for the Trade & Traceability Standing Committee (T&T SC) derives from Article 3 of RSPO's bylaws, the relevant excerpts being - “c) development of solutions to practical problems related to ...... procurement, trade and logistics (in sustainable palm oil);”

Terms of Reference

Committee Profile

EB Trade & Traceability Standing Committee

This Standing Committee looks into supply chain issues to get RSPO certified sustainable palm oil from growers to consumers. The WG comprises EB members and volunteer RSPO members, mostly from supply chain categories, such and Processors & Traders, and NGO representatives on the Board. The Standing Committee is chaired by Hidde van Kersen, Executive Board Member, Sustainability Director of Loders Croklaan Europe.