A 100-Year Journey, Part 2

Sustainability and transparency are taken to the next level through the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standard.

While the RSPO is an important player in palm oil certification, its criteria and processes have proven to be simply too broad and too expensive for most small farmers to satisfy. The MSPO brings on board all levels of producers to meet a broad range of standards that still provide an assurance of sustainability and traceability.

The MSPO also represents the qualitative difference between palm oil from Malaysia and the output of other producers. Just as quality assurance is attributed to Japanese manufacturing or American innovation, a level of assurance can now be connected to the ‘Malaysian Palm Oil’ brand.

Following a pilot programme in 2014, a number of plantation companies and small farmers have received MSPO certification covering a planted area of more than 0.2 million ha. Progress is being made in training auditors and conducting awareness sessions across the country to further encourage acceptance of the scheme.

Establishing a standard was an important first step. Measures are being put in place to ensure that there is the capacity for the MSPO to be implemented and verified in a cost-efficient manner. It could then play a significant role in the future of palm oil certification.