The UK Statement is a positive development for certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). The RSPO General Assembly, held on 1 November 2012 in Singapore, adopted a resolution asking the RSPO Executive Board to look into accelerating the uptake of CSPO to ensure continued commitment from all parties. This remains one of our key focuses.
The UK statement should be viewed as a firm proposition for UK specifically, and in general, for the European region, building on the industry commitments launched by the Dutch Task Force for Sustainable Palm Oil and the Belgian Alliance for Sustainable Palm Oil in the Netherlands and Belgium. We hope that more countries will follow in the footsteps of these national commitments to build a European framework. Our ambition is to see Europe fully committed to certified sustainable palm oil by 2015.
It is apparent that the various signatories in the statement made by the UK have distinct commitments towards sustainable palm oil – some more definitive than others. We appreciate that the certified sustainable palm oil supply chain is complex as the availability of CSPO and derivatives are not always accessible to buyers from around the world. However, the 4 supply chain models that the RSPO supports – Book & Claim; Identity Preserved; Segregated and Mass Balance; are effective platforms for organizations to commit towards sustainable palm oil at different stages of its preparedness by opting to use one of these four models.
The two global power economies India and China will soon view Europe as a benchmark by witnessing how these companies address the complexity of accessing CSPO and its derivatives through the existing supply chain models. Already companies in India have and continue to explore Book & Claim by GreenPalm as their entry level option to get CSPO into these markets. Significant market transformation must take place in the two largest importers of palm oil, India and China if we are to expect the demand for CSPO to be accelerated.
To this effect – we positively hope to see significant, tangible actions to be demonstrated by the industry as a result of this statement from the UK so that it underscores the urgency of our collective agenda towards protecting our environment, communities and nations.
In June 2011 RSPO launched its Trademark for consumer goods products. Within just over a year, 72 licensees have been granted across 14 countries including France. The RSPO Trademark offers a well-informed choice for consumers who can now identify and differentiate products which use RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil.
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For further information, kindly contact:
Contact for RSPO Secretariat:
Anne Gabriel, Communications Director | T: 603 – 2201 2053 | [email protected]
Contact for Europe:
Giovanni Colombo, Hill+Knowlton Strategies | T: +32 (0)2 231 50 19 | [email protected]
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