Deforestation Free Palm Oil and the EU
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has released a position paper - ‘Delivering Deforestation-free Sustainable Palm Oil’ in response to the European Commission’s communication, ‘Stepping up EU Action to Protect and Restore the World’s Forests’.
The five priorities according to the EU Commission are:
“-Reduce the footprint of EU consumption on land and encourage the consumption of products from deforestation-free supply chains in the EU;
-Work in partnership with producer countries to reduce pressures on forests and to “deforest-proof” EU development co-operation;
-Strengthen international cooperation to halt deforestation and forest degradation, and encourage forest restoration;
-Redirect finance to support more sustainable land-use practices;
-Support the availability and quality of information on forests and commodity supply chains, the access to that information, and support research and innovation.”
RSPO Response to EU Commission
The RSPO response to the EU Commission urged the support of EU members for its certification scheme by listing out five benefits should the EU Commission support the RSPO. Pasted below:
• The RSPO Principles & Criteria is the best way for companies and governments to meet their No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) commitments as it applies to palm oil sourcing policies;
• Certification standards, such as RSPO, offer a real opportunity to take responsibility and become part of the solution;
• To scale the efforts of RSPO members, we welcome legislative action from governments to include our standards in their policies, from national interpretations of the RSPO’s standards for growers, to public procurement policies encouraging the purchase of RSPO Certified Sustainable Palm Oil;
• The RSPO’s Annual Communication on Progress provides the EU Commission the ability to benchmark progress of European companies and industries; and
• By advocating for certified sustainable palm oil, governments can encourage deforestation-free supply chains and determine the future of our forests.
Certification for Palm Oil will not have Landscape Impact
If certification for palm oil cannot reduce deforestation on the level that the EU is looking for, then what are the options? In order to review possible options, one has to look at the problems with certified sustainable palm oil in its popular form i.e. certified palm oil as provided by the RSPO.
Its sustainability has long been challenged by environmental groups for its association with deforestation even if the certified plantations were not the original cause of deforestation.
As an example, the RSPO response was picked up by FoodNavigator which in its coverage, threw in a barb by quoting Greenpeace as having said of the RSPO that the certification scheme is “about as much use as a chocolate teapot.” The Greenpeace critique of “certified sustainable palm oil” had its own five facts including one that simply stated that “certified sustainable palm oil is a con.”
Our Five Facts on the Challenges in Producing Sustainable palm oil
The EU Commission is on the right track towards reducing the deforestation impacts of EU consumers by taking on all imported goods with a known history of being a cause for tropical deforestation.
With its focus on “partnerships with producer countries” to halt deforestation and encourage forest restoration, the EU Commission could save a lot more tropical forests in working with palm oil producing countries like Malaysia and Indonesia to bring about change for the global good. Especially if the partnerships bring along finance for more sustainable land use practices.
The Netherlands as one of Europe’s biggest importers of palm oil, is an exemplary model of what the EU should be doing as a whole.
Published May 2020. CSPO Watch
The five priorities according to the EU Commission are:
“-Reduce the footprint of EU consumption on land and encourage the consumption of products from deforestation-free supply chains in the EU;
-Work in partnership with producer countries to reduce pressures on forests and to “deforest-proof” EU development co-operation;
-Strengthen international cooperation to halt deforestation and forest degradation, and encourage forest restoration;
-Redirect finance to support more sustainable land-use practices;
-Support the availability and quality of information on forests and commodity supply chains, the access to that information, and support research and innovation.”
RSPO Response to EU Commission
The RSPO response to the EU Commission urged the support of EU members for its certification scheme by listing out five benefits should the EU Commission support the RSPO. Pasted below:
• The RSPO Principles & Criteria is the best way for companies and governments to meet their No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) commitments as it applies to palm oil sourcing policies;
• Certification standards, such as RSPO, offer a real opportunity to take responsibility and become part of the solution;
• To scale the efforts of RSPO members, we welcome legislative action from governments to include our standards in their policies, from national interpretations of the RSPO’s standards for growers, to public procurement policies encouraging the purchase of RSPO Certified Sustainable Palm Oil;
• The RSPO’s Annual Communication on Progress provides the EU Commission the ability to benchmark progress of European companies and industries; and
• By advocating for certified sustainable palm oil, governments can encourage deforestation-free supply chains and determine the future of our forests.
Certification for Palm Oil will not have Landscape Impact
If certification for palm oil cannot reduce deforestation on the level that the EU is looking for, then what are the options? In order to review possible options, one has to look at the problems with certified sustainable palm oil in its popular form i.e. certified palm oil as provided by the RSPO.
Its sustainability has long been challenged by environmental groups for its association with deforestation even if the certified plantations were not the original cause of deforestation.
As an example, the RSPO response was picked up by FoodNavigator which in its coverage, threw in a barb by quoting Greenpeace as having said of the RSPO that the certification scheme is “about as much use as a chocolate teapot.” The Greenpeace critique of “certified sustainable palm oil” had its own five facts including one that simply stated that “certified sustainable palm oil is a con.”
Our Five Facts on the Challenges in Producing Sustainable palm oil
- Producing countries must be addressed. The RSPO response names the EU Commission and EU Parliament but did not make a reference to the governments of producing countries. Certification schemes like the RSPO may be able to produce a source of deforestation free palm oil but this cannot be considered “sustainable” if it only appeals to consumer countries like the EU while ignoring producer countries and their arguments for development.
- National certification schemes exist. Should the EU Commission acknowledge the needs of producing countries for development and choose to “work in partnership with producing countries to reduce pressures on forests,” for palm oil, the national schemes of Malaysia in the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certificates and Indonesia’s own Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Scheme (ISPO) are available on a G2G basis for greater potential impact.
- Certification of one commodity is incapable of making landscape impact. The EU communication supports a multi-stakeholder engagement where the RSPO can play a role but its history has shown that the RSPO or rather, the certification of one commodity, is incapable of producing landscape level conservation in regions where multiple commodities impact the landscape. As a certification body for only one of the commodities known as a cause of deforestation, the RSPO will not be able to create landscape impact in regions where cattle and timber have historically preceded palm oil. Were it that simple, the work at Solidaridad and Tropical Forest Alliance which tackles not only palm oil but all known sources of deforestation including cattle, timber and soy would be more credible.
- Jurisdictional certification conflicts with No Deforestation Principle. In the absence of palm oil sustainability initiatives in producing regions, the RSPO works well to protect some forests through the RSPO jurisdictional schemes like that of Ecuador. Jurisdictional certification however, will include certifying plantations in regions that will have been deforested for multiple other reasons. In adopting a standard on paper that demands no deforestation, the RSPO may be able to create a niche product for consumer goods manufacturers but will conflict its own standards when palm oil sources come from degraded cattle grazing pastures or timber concessions.
- National certification to eliminate leakage market. Certification schemes for individual commodities like palm oil, timber or soy can create deforestation free supply chains but do not address the massive leakage market for these commodities. The EU is a key market for palm oil which is why the industry is fighting tooth and nail to keep the market open, especially for the biofuels market. However, the EU is only one of a few major markets for palm oil. Data will show that the EU is in fact, not a cause for deforestation for palm oil in producing countries like Malaysia or Indonesia. It is the demand for palm oil from major markets like India or China which drive the much bigger leakage market.
The EU Commission is on the right track towards reducing the deforestation impacts of EU consumers by taking on all imported goods with a known history of being a cause for tropical deforestation.
With its focus on “partnerships with producer countries” to halt deforestation and encourage forest restoration, the EU Commission could save a lot more tropical forests in working with palm oil producing countries like Malaysia and Indonesia to bring about change for the global good. Especially if the partnerships bring along finance for more sustainable land use practices.
The Netherlands as one of Europe’s biggest importers of palm oil, is an exemplary model of what the EU should be doing as a whole.
Published May 2020. CSPO Watch