EM&M Activities Support RSPO Sustainable Palm Oil Implementation

RSPO Sustainable Palm Oil has evolved over the past three years through the Roundtable process that has involved many stakeholders along the supply chain. EM&M is actively involved with the Roundtable and is guiding a number of palm oil producers who are working towards RSPO Sustainable Palm Oil implementation. This brief report provides information on our involvement with RSPO activities.

EM&M participated in the inaugural Roundtable Meeting at Kuala Lumpur in august 2003 and since that time has maintained an active interest in promoting the advancement of RSPO sustainable palm oil. In particular, our activities have focused on two areas: (1) the practicalities of integrating the RSPO Principles and Criteria with the day-to-day operational management of palm oil plantations and mills and (2) changing companies’ priority for, and sequencing of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) to bring it further forward in the project lifecycle for providing input for the planning stage of new developments.

EM&M has assisted a number of palm oil producers to implement environmental managements systems (EMS) and gain certification to the ISO 14001 standard. An important outcome of this process was the demonstration that the ISO 14001 implementation process can be used as a catalyst for implementing change consistently throughout an organization. Following the release of the Draft RSPO Principles and Criteria, we worked on a Case Study with New Britain Palm Oil Limited to integrate RSPO sustainable palm oil within the ISO 14001 framework. We reported on this case study at RT3 in November, 2005. (To download a copy, 'Right Click' here and choose 'Save Target As')

Since RT3, we have been working on a major project with PT PP London Sumatra to implement the RSPO Principles and Criteria across all of their operations. London Sumatra was the first company in the world to volunteer for carrying out trial implementation of the Principles and Criteria over the next two years. This is a big challenge because London Sumatra’s operations encompass palm oil, rubber, cocoa, coffee and tea estates, palm oil mills and factories at 69 locations in 5 provinces of Indonesia. The ISO 14001 EMS framework is being used as a vehicle for ensuring uniform implementation of the Principles and Criteria across the company's operations. We plan to report on progress with this project at RT4 in November 2006. At the same time we are assisting three other palm oil producers to implement RSPO sustainable palm oil within ISO 14001 environmental management systems.

New palm oil developments and expansion of plantings at existing operations present the greatest risks to environment and local communities because of the very rapid pace of conversion of land to agriculture. Unfortunately, at many projects, Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) are not carried out until planning is well advanced and in some cases development is already underway. The reasons for this appear to be lack of commitment to sustainable development principles and an attitude of maximising the area of land planted to palm oil within the property lease boundary.

A way forward for ensuring that thorough and timely ESIA assessments are carried out, is for financiers to require ESIA as a pre-condition for investment. This is happening with some of the more progressive financiers, but there is still more room for improvement.

HCVF assessment can be carried out using a rapid appraisal process that costs significantly less than a full scale ESIA. We advocate that HCVF assessment is carried out much earlier in the planning process to screen the environmental and social implications of development and ideally should be done at the “due diligence” stage of property acquisition. We recently reported on our experience of (HCVF Assessment) in the April-June 2006 edition of the RSPO Newsletter.

It is important for RSPO Members to assess their progress towards implementing RSPO sustainable palm oil. We have recently evaluated the NBPOL-RSPO Self-Assessment tool at four of our client palm oil companies and reported on these findings in the April-June 2006 edition of the RSPO Newsletter. EM&M launched the self-assessment tool at the P&C Implementation Working Group Kick-Off Meeting at Kuala Lumpur on 25 April 2006, and provided a live demonstration of the tool.

Immediately following RT3, we volunteered to participate in the Verification Working Group, which aims to develop a set of rules and a system for third party verification of sustainable palm oil. At the Verification working Group Kick-Off Meeting at Kuala Lumpur on 22nd February 2006, we outlined the ISO System of auditor accreditation, registration and third party verification and certification.

EM&M advocated the adoption of the existing ISO standards as models for auditor accreditation and auditing standards. The RSPO has recently (30 June 2006) released a Public Consultation Paper entitled "RSPO Draft Verification Systems" that is available for public comment until 31 August 2006.

If you would like to find out more about RSPO Sustainable Palm Oil implementation, please Contact Charlie Ross