Palm oil: annual European Roundtable opens its doors next week
The event will discuss ways of speeding up market transformation, including how to prevent deforestation caused by increasing demand for palm oil from major markets, including the EU.
“Europe remains the leading market for sustainable palm oil, yet this continues to be a topic of debate among consumers and policy makers. People are looking for greater levels of transparency, commitment and sustainability,” explain the RSPO.
The sixth annual European Roundtable, according to organisers, brings into focus the need to adopt an inclusive approach at each stage of market transformation. This is fundamental to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the advancement of a more inclusive, sustainable future.
Speakers
Key speakers set to present at the event include:
Datuk Darrel Webber, CEO, RSPO
Dr Marc Ancrenaz, Scientific Director, Hutan-Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme
Professor Alain Rival, Resident Director for SouthEast Asia Island Countries and the Coordinator for Oil Palm Research at CIRAD
Prof. Dr Erik Meijaard, Chair, IUCN Oil Palm Task Force and Director at Borneo Futures
Laure d’Astorg, Secretary General, French Alliance for Sustainable Palm Oil
There will be two main topics for discussion:
1. RSPO progress and impacts, and the ongoing review of the RSPO Principle & Criteria, by RSPO CEO Datuk Darrel Webber
2. Findings from a IUCN report published on palm oil and biodiversity by one of its authors, Prof. Dr Erik Meijaard.
Further to this, this year, the RSPO is reviewing their Principles & Criteria (P&C) – the set of environmental and social standards that define what sustainable palm oil is.
This standard, which companies must comply with to produce Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO), sets out that growers are certified for five years after an assessment, and evaluated on an annual basis until the five-year assessment is repeated.
There are eight fundamental principles, which include a commitment to transparency, compliance with laws and regulations and a commitment to long-term economic and financial viability, which are then broken down into specific criteria.
All of this and more will be discussed at the event, with full details available here.
