18.1 Introduction
18.1.1 Palm Oil—Importance, Global Extent and Trends
Oil palm is an oilseed crop which has been in use in civilizations as far back as
5000 years ago (Kiple and Kriemhild 2000). Prized for the diverse use of its oil from
food, detergents, cosmetics, lubricants and fuel, this crop, originating from West
Africa, is now cultivated in more than 40 countries in the world located in a belt
5 degrees north and south of the equator. Since 1961, the global cultivation area of
oil palm has shown exponential growth, from 3.6 million ha to 21.4 million ha in
2017 (FAOSTAT). In that same period, the production of palm oil increased from
1.5 million tonnes (t)/year to 55.45 million t/year. The explanation behind the
continuous growth in the production and demand of palm oil other than the versatility of its uses is its relatively low price; a direct correlation to the fact that palm oil
has 6–10 times higher oil yields/ha than other vegetable oil crops (Meijaard
et al. 2018).
The rapid expansion of the cultivation of oil palm since the 1980s has led to a
myriad of negative social and environmental impacts, namely land issues, labour
rights, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, human–wildlife conflicts as well as transregional haze issues due to expansion on peatlands and slash and burn techniques
applied by smallholders cultivating this crop. These impacts together with the
increase of awareness of the general public on social and environmental issues and
the importance of sustainable consumption and production led to market driven
pressure on the palm oil industry to clean up its act. The Roundtable on Sustainable
Palm Oil (RSPO) was formally established in 2004 with the goal of changing the
industry to adopt more sustainable practices in oil palm cultivation.
18.1.2 The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
The RSPO is a member-based multi-stakeholder not-for-profit organization uniting
seven sectors of the palm oil industry, namely oil palm producers, processors or
traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks/investors and environmental
and social non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Established in 2004 by a
co-operation of five organizations, the RSPO has evolved to an entity with more
than 4000 members globally, all supporting and promoting the production and use of
certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). In 2018, 19% of the total crude palm oil
(CPO) produced globally consisted of RSPO certified palm oil.
RSPO members who are palm oil producers and processors are required to
undergo a strict verification of their production process by independent, accredited
certifying bodies against the RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C) and Supply Chain
Certification Standard (SCCS). Certification, if meeting all the requirements of the
510
F. Parish et al.
18.1.1 Palm Oil—Importance, Global Extent and Trends
Oil palm is an oilseed crop which has been in use in civilizations as far back as
5000 years ago (Kiple and Kriemhild 2000). Prized for the diverse use of its oil from
food, detergents, cosmetics, lubricants and fuel, this crop, originating from West
Africa, is now cultivated in more than 40 countries in the world located in a belt
5 degrees north and south of the equator. Since 1961, the global cultivation area of
oil palm has shown exponential growth, from 3.6 million ha to 21.4 million ha in
2017 (FAOSTAT). In that same period, the production of palm oil increased from
1.5 million tonnes (t)/year to 55.45 million t/year. The explanation behind the
continuous growth in the production and demand of palm oil other than the versatility of its uses is its relatively low price; a direct correlation to the fact that palm oil
has 6–10 times higher oil yields/ha than other vegetable oil crops (Meijaard
et al. 2018).
The rapid expansion of the cultivation of oil palm since the 1980s has led to a
myriad of negative social and environmental impacts, namely land issues, labour
rights, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, human–wildlife conflicts as well as transregional haze issues due to expansion on peatlands and slash and burn techniques
applied by smallholders cultivating this crop. These impacts together with the
increase of awareness of the general public on social and environmental issues and
the importance of sustainable consumption and production led to market driven
pressure on the palm oil industry to clean up its act. The Roundtable on Sustainable
Palm Oil (RSPO) was formally established in 2004 with the goal of changing the
industry to adopt more sustainable practices in oil palm cultivation.
18.1.2 The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
The RSPO is a member-based multi-stakeholder not-for-profit organization uniting
seven sectors of the palm oil industry, namely oil palm producers, processors or
traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks/investors and environmental
and social non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Established in 2004 by a
co-operation of five organizations, the RSPO has evolved to an entity with more
than 4000 members globally, all supporting and promoting the production and use of
certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). In 2018, 19% of the total crude palm oil
(CPO) produced globally consisted of RSPO certified palm oil.
RSPO members who are palm oil producers and processors are required to
undergo a strict verification of their production process by independent, accredited
certifying bodies against the RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C) and Supply Chain
Certification Standard (SCCS). Certification, if meeting all the requirements of the
510
F. Parish et al.