GreenPalm sponsored and exhibited at RT13, the annual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), in Kuala Lumpur during November last year.
GreenPalm, which enables every palm producer, including smallholders, to benefit from international demand for sustainable palm oil, updated conference attendees on traceability work which will ultimately allow every certificate purchased to be traced back to the certified mill or grower that produced the palm oil, palm kernel oil or palm kernel expeller. In addition, GreenPalm’s off-market deal facility enables buyers to choose and negotiate directly with a certified mill or grower of their choice.
The GreenPalm, or Book & Claim, option remains the most inclusive supply route, enabling the sustainable palm oil movement to involve independent smallholders and producers without a route to export, or those whose product is sold in markets where there is zero demand for certified material. It is estimated that up to 40% of the world’s palm oil producers fall into this category.
The call for all manufacturers and retailers to aim for a 100% segregated physical supply of certified palm would exclude this large proportion of the world’s palm producers, who without a market for sustainable product, would be unable to meet the ongoing costs of certification.
GreenPalm executive Simon Chrismas said the principles behind the system were the same as those of green energy tariffs designed to support the growth of renewable energy, but in practice would go a step further in offering traceability back to the supplier.
