WordPress has been down this past few days. Anyway, this is an essay on my personal opinion on the RSPO. Please note that these opinions are mine and mine alone and do not reflect the opinion of the Group that I represent.

The final Principles and Criteria for sustainable palm oil is out. This is a revised copy made by the Criteria Working Group (CWG) to be approved by the Executive Board.

RSPO October 2007 P&C

Before I begin, let me first introduce you to what RSPO is. RSPO is a multi stakeholder effort to introduce sustainable palm oil to the masses. It involves the whole supply chain from the producers to the end users. It involves NGO’s as well as large corporations and small holders that produce oil palm. It is meant to be an open channel whereby an agreement can be made on cultivating palm oil sustainably and responsibly.
Most people would take this lightly as it is already a 100 + year old industry. However with the effect of global warming and changing of the Earth’s climate, it is imperative that we do the best we can to conserve the environment and be more socially responsible to ensure sustainability of the resource and fair play is practiced by all parties involved.

As I am currently working on sustainability issues and how to prepare the current Group that I am working for certification next year. It has been a rat race for palm oil producers (more so here in Malaysia) to get certified. At least for big corporations that sell palm oil to Europe. As most of our oil actually goes to Europe (in fact we export more oil there than anyone else), it is vital that we get certified. We hope to be one of the early birds to get certified.

It has been quite a journey. Since I was transferred from the Estates to be an Agronomist working on sustainability issues. The main challenge would be to “sell” this idea of having sustainable palm oil to both superiors and the people on the ground. Primarily so that I am still very new to the industry (and do bear in mind, the industry is a very old one and is one of the building blocks of our country). I have had my share of praises, jeers, criticisms, snide remarks and genuine hospitality. Its been difficult. I never ever thought that I would end up here in this seat doing what I have been doing. I can safely call myself versatile, being a lobbyist, marketer, environmentalist, socialist, agronomist, internal auditor, documentation person, politician and even at times an actor. Dealing with people, mainly people with more experience and thicker skin than one’s self makes you become all that.

Most people are quite hard headed with their old ways. They fail to understand the one simple point that the world is changing. The market demands are changing. No longer is cheap price the primary factor why people buy something. Even in China, the scenario is changing. Its value based. Not just price value but aesthetics as well. And that’s just one thing one cannot put a price on.

Sustainability is something beyond just mere costs. Its also more of genuine sincerity and commitment in doing what we are supposed to do: Protecting the environment, provide a comfortable, safe, secure work environment/job opportunities, ensuring that the profits remain high, adopting sound agronomic practices to ensure that crop is high without depleting nutrient reserves of the soil, and providing our best to our stakeholders. Basically, its pleasing everybody and adding value to our end product.

This value added service has gone down to the raw material (palm oil). Before this, it was the finished product (eg. Body Shop). Now even the materials used to make these products are under scrutiny of consumers. As consumers are getting more educated and more aware on how products are being manufactured. That its not just out of the factory. That the supply chain is much longer and more complicated than initially perceived. More movies that stress this (Blood Diamond, The Constant Gardener, etc.) further reaffirms the awareness of the people and refutes the previous mentality that items work like instant noodles where one has to just add water.

There are however some corners that say that it is politically motivated. That it is actually a trade barrier to obtain cheaper oils and a smear campaign to promote the foreign country’s 0wn oil based agriculture produce. I am in no position to comment on that, however I feel that its a good move to introduce the RSPO at this time. Seeing that prices of palm oil is at an all time high (and the price don’t seem to be dropping any time soon), perhaps the costs to kickstart the exercise.

I believe there is still a long way to go from here. It takes a lot to both change the mindsets of the decision makers in the industry and to restore the industry back to the glorious days whereby agriculture was seen as a major contributor to the economy (and it still remains so, just that the perception of others have changed significantly since then). We are facing many challenges, from recruitment of workers and even executives to keeping it competitive.

It is hoped that after the RT5 , there would be a clearer path on how to go about sustainability in the oil palm industry. As of now, there is still much confusion based on how certain things should be interpretated and how certification is to be awarded. The meeting can however swing both ways. As people on the ground, we hope that it would work towards mutual benefit towards the industry and all parties involved.

It is still too soon to tell whether the whole RSPO is by itself sustainable and whether it would remain so in years to come.