Bangkok--22 Nov--GIZ
Johnson & Johnson, the world’s leading health care company, won the purchasing deal of RSPO certificates under the Book and Claim system* from Thailand’s four independent oil palm smallholders’ groups, the first in the world to be certified with the RSPO standard. Through the purchase of the RSPO certificates, direct support is provided to small scale farmers and sustainable palm oil production.
The four groups of Thai smallholders were among the pilot independent smallholders taking part in the “Sustainable Palm Oil Production” project, which received RSPO certification in October 2012. The 3.5 year project (January 2009 — June 2012) was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and implemented by German International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Office of Agricultural Economics under Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. During the course of the project, the income of the Thai palm oil industry increased by up to 40 million baht, significantly from the reduction of the production costs. Farmers are now even receiving a price premium for their certified products. The participating mills, which provided considerable support to the farmers also financially benefited by increased Oil Extraction Rate (OER). There is huge potential for further up-scaling in the Thai Oil Palm Industry, as ‘only’ 412 smallholders have been certified, managing overall 2.767ha of plantation and producing about 52.000t of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) per year.
Darrel Webber, Secretary General of RSPO, commented “As the third largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO) in the world, more than 70% of oil palm in Thailand is produced by independent smallholders. Without certification, it is now difficult to compete in the world market. Because of the increased demand for environmentally friendly products from consumers, more and more manufacturers using palm oil as a raw material are looking for certified palm oil. However, there are challenges, and the smallholders need assistance to become certified. We are therefore pleased to have more partners from the manufacturer side like Johnson & Johnson to assist the smallholders to achieve their RSPO certification.”
Daniel May, Director of the Sustainable Palm Oil Production for Bio-energy Project, GIZ said “We congratulate the Thai smallholders, as well as Johnson & Johnson for this milestone in trading the world's first certified palm oil from independent smallholders. We are convinced that both parties have signed a very supportive agreement and we are proud to have been able to assist them all. We sincerely hope that the farmers continue their way of sustainable production and achieving benefits from good agricultural practices as well as from certification.
Alwi Hafiz, Managing Director, BSI Group ASEAN (the Certification Body which audited the smallholders) said “Adherence and certification to RSPO Principles and Criteria provides rigorous assurance that palm oil is cultivated and processed in a sustainable and responsible manner. The certification of the first groups of independent smallholders is a major step forward for Thailand’s palm oil industry. We certainly recognise that there are unique challenges faced by smallholders in ensuring compliance, but they have proven that it can be done. As such, BSI would like to applaud and congratulate their effort and commitment towards sustainable practices and for being the first smallholder groups in Thailand to achieve RSPO certification.”
Bob Norman, General Manager of the trading platform GreenPalm commented: “It is very rewarding for GreenPalm to be involved in connecting the world’s first certified independent smallholder groups to a major global brand, allowing J&J to directly support the growers and acknowledge their achievement. I’m sure this will be the first of many such projects that can be supported via the GreenPalm option.”
* Book and Claim system
Certified plantations are invited to register quantities of palm oil produced in accordance with specified methods. Certification credits are issued in proportion to the amount registered. The certification credits are purchased by users of palm oil to cover the producer's cost of maintaining the certification and to supply funds for RSPO activities.
About RSPO
In response to the urgent and pressing global call for sustainably produced palm oil, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders. The seat of the association is in Zurich, Switzerland, while the secretariat is currently based in Kuala Lumpur with a satellite office in Jakarta.
RSPO is a not-for-profit association that unites stakeholders from seven sectors of the palm oil industry - oil palm producers, palm oil processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation NGOs and social or developmental NGOs - to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil.
Such multi-stakeholder representation is mirrored in the governance structure of RSPO such that seats in the Executive Board and project level Working Groups are fairly allocated to each sector. In this way, RSPO lives out the philosophy of the "roundtable" by giving equal rights to each stakeholder group to bring group-specific agendas to the roundtable, facilitating traditionally adversarial stakeholders and business competitors to work together towards a common objective and making decisions by consensus.
About GIZ
The Deutsche Gesellschaft f?r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federal enterprise with worldwide operations. It supports the German Government in international cooperation for sustainable development and in international education work. It operates on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and other German ministries, governments of partner countries and international clients (like the EU, UN, World Bank, ADB) as well as private enterprises.
About BSI
BSI (British Standards Institution) is a global organization that equips businesses with the necessary solutions to turn standards of best practice into habits of excellence. Formed in 1901, BSI was the world’s first National Standards Body and a founding member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Over a century later it continues to facilitate business improvement across the globe by helping its clients drive performance, reduce risk and grow sustainably through the adoption of international management systems standards, many of which BSI originated. Famed for its marks of excellence including the instantly recognizable Kitemark?, BSI’s influence spans multiple sectors including aerospace, construction, energy, engineering, finance, healthcare, IT and retail. With over 64,000 clients in 147 countries, BSI is an organization whose standards inspire excellence across the globe.
About GreenPalm
GreenPalm, the RSPO endorsed Book & Claim supply chain option, was set up in 2007 by AarhusKarlshamn. It was designed to allow manufacturers and retailers whose products use palm oil to directly support RSPO certified growers. This is achieved by a web based trading platform. Certified palm oil is converted in to GreenPalm certificates that are then sold on the trading platform. Buyers of the certificates can claim that they support the production of RSPO certified oil safe in the knowledge that the money paid for the certificates has gone directly to the grower themselves. More can be found on www.greenpalm.org